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My dog won't eat her new food. What can I do to make her eat it?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Female | unspayed | 1 year and 6 months old | 19.842 lbs

Based on a recommendation for Royal Canin alternative, i bought Purina Pro Plan Small & Mini adult. Price is similar, but Purina has more content than Royal Canin. Unfortunately, my dog doesn't wanna eat it, & i can't really just go buy another bag of Royal Canin while the other isn't empty yet. My mom already scold me because of this (doggo doesn't wanna eat her new dog food). So... What can i do to this dog food? Can i actually make my dog eat her new food? If i can, then how?? Thx again.

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Jessica Keay, DVM

Answered By Jessica Keay, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on November 8th, 2018

You can try mixing the two foods together if you switched abruptly because some dogs do not handle a quick transition well. Mix the old food and new food together in a bowl for a week or two to gradually switch her over. You can also try things like soaking the new food in warm water to soften it or with a low sodium chicken broth to try to make it more appealing initially, then gradually decreasing the amount of liquid added to the food. Some pet stores also have a satisfaction gaurantee if you pet will not eat the food, so you can also call and find out if the store offers this and will let you exchange the product if she still refuses to eat it.
Vote Icon1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Answered By Lauren Kennedy, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on July 19th, 2017

    I would recommend switching Romeo back to the original food he was on before since he was eating it well. He may just not like the new food. If there is a reason you need to switch his food I usually recommend doing it over the course of a week or two. If you change food to abruptly it can cause anorexia and/or diarrhea. Start by adding about 25% of new food to 75% of the old food for 2-3 days. Then go up to 50:50, then 75:25, and then finally 100% of the new food. Hope this helps. Good luck.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

  • Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on December 28th, 2018

    He probably just doesn't like the taste, try switching it gradually, put 10% of the new food the first day and 90% of the old food, every day increase the new food by 10%, hopefully this will do the trick.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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