My small dog is a picky eater. How can I get her to eat more?

As long as she eats and is not losing weight, don't stress out over it. It is true that smaller breeds can be a bit more finicky. Switching foods would not be recommended as it can lead to gastrointestinal upset and reinforce her finicky nature. Instead, try mixing in a bit of warm water or a teaspoon of baby food to stimulate the appetite.

Some dogs are just picky eaters or are not very food driven. So we have some dogs, like your typical labrador, that will eat anything and everything within 30 seconds of it being put down, and others that are more picky and graze throughout the day. There are not necessarily medical drawbacks to leaving her food down throughout the day, or at least leaving it down for a few hours in the morning and a few in the evening. Sometimes unfortunately with dogs who are picky we just have to be tough and not offer them a different food every time they decide they aren't excited about their current one. We can predispose dogs to food allergies if we are changing their foods all the time and we do get allergies later in life it is much harder to find a good diet for them. I would choose one food and stick with it, and she will eventually get hungry and eat it. The exception is toy breed puppies which can develop hypoglycemia if they go too long without eating https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952329 , but adult dogs should be able to tolerate this. I am a fan of the purina pro plan line, which is available at most pet stores and is good quality, they also have dry diets, wet diets, and their Savor line has kibbles along with softer/chewy kibbles which my dogs love. If there is some treat that she is very fond of you can mix it in with the food that you want her to eat and slowly decrease the amount of the treat each day so she gets used to the other food. Some people find putting some low sodium chicken broth on the food can entice them to start eating a food and you can slowly decreas the amount placed on the food, or warming food up slightly makes it more appetizing.

There is a great calculator in the PetCoach library. Find it here: https://www.petcoach.co/healthy-weight-calculator/ It can be used to estimate Parker's ideal weight. You can also ask your veterinarian to show you how to assess Parker's body condition score (BCS). A BCS and body weight paint a more accurate picture than one or the other. In the meantime, continue to feed as you have been. Dogs thrive on routine, so try to keep a consistent schedule for feeding. Prepare his meal then leave it down for 15-20 minutes before picking it up whether he has eaten or not. Repeat this at the next mealtime. Do not offer any food or large treats between meals. Tiny rewards for training or good behavior are allowed. These treats should take no more than 1-2 seconds to eat. Do not despair, he will not starve. Parker will eat when he is hungry. Try to avoid switching diets as this may cause gastrointestinal upset or create a finicky eater.

It's very common for some dogs to be more motivated to eat right away when there are other dogs present, since there's an element of competition involved in a multi-dog household - she likely knows that in that environment, if she doesn't eat right away, it may not still be there later! With dogs who are picky eaters, the major question I always ask is - is the dog a normal healthy weight, and acting normal otherwise? If so, then I don't worry about it. Some dogs are naturally "grazers" and may not be all that motivated to eat right away as soon as food is offered. Or you may be feeding more than she really needs, and she may simply not be very hungry sometimes. If the dog is underweight, or showing other symptoms of illness such as vomiting, diarrhea, acting lethargic, etc., then a medical work-up would be indicated to help figure out what the underlying problem is so it can be treated appropriately. But if the dog it not overly thin and otherwise acting normal, then I don't worry too much about it - she'll eat when she's hungry! I'm also not a big fan of dressing up the food with tasty "extras" to entice the dog to eat, since this is generally not necessary and can teach the dog to hold out for better and better things over time if she learns that you'll keep adding extra treats if she doesn't eat right away. So you could certainly take your girl in for a check-up to make sure she's healthy, if you're concerned - but if your vet doesn't feel that there is a genuine medical issue present, I'd just put her food down at her regular mealtime and leave her alone. A healthy dog won't starve themselves, so she'll eat when she wants to. :)

What a cute puppy! With him being 7 months old and a small breed dog, I think that Lucas is slowing down on his growing. This can cause a reduction in his appetite. I find that the more that we change a dog's food- the more pickier they become. I would stick with one brand, offer 1/3 of slightly less than the daily recommended amount (they sell dog food, so the more he eats the more you buy) three times daily. Give him a set amount of time and then pick up the bowl. This will create some urgency. He will eat if he is hungry. The more we change and add things, the more he will wait to eat to see what good stuff will be added. I would keep track of his body condition score- you should be able to feel his ribs with a little bit of fat cover, but not see them. As long as he is in good body condition, I would not worry. Some dogs are not food motivated and will just eat what they need. If you have any questions about his weight or body condition score, you can ask your veterinarian. I don't think that grain free food are necessary. Dogs are omnivores.

Hi there. If Molly isn't underweight and your veterinarian has confirmed that she doesn't have any underlying GI issues that might make her not feel well when she eats, then there's no need to constantly switch foods trying to find something to interest her. Many picky dogs are good at training us to do this. :) Instead, you can just offer her food at her regular mealtimes. Leave the food out for 10-15 minutes, then pick up whatever is left and put it away. Offer it again at the next scheduled mealtime. It might take a few days, but she'll eat when she gets hungry. It's a bit like insisting your child eat his vegetables, when he'd rather have ice cream!

The easiest thing to do without being overly scientific is to just cut back her daily food ration by 25%. Example, if she get 1 cup of food per day, cutting her back to 3/4 cup per day. Do a weight check once every 2 weeks. If she starts to get too thin then you can increase the food a bit (ex: 10% increase) and if she is not losing enough weight you can cut back more (ex: an additional 10% decrease). This is the best way to do it without changing too much.