How often should I use mixed food as training treats for picky dogs?

Picky dogs can be so frustrating! I personally am not a fan of grain free diets. The truth is, they are a marketing fad. The reality is that only 5% of dog allergies are caused by food, and of that 5%, the majority is protein related. Grain allergies are extremely rare, and I never recommend feeding a grain free food unless the dog has a proven food allergy to grains. Grains are beneficial to dogs, as it helps fill them up and keeps them satisfied for longer. I recommend switching them to a brand such as Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, or Iams. Whether or not you make the switch of foods, it's time to get tough with them if you want them to eat only dry dog food. They won't starve themselves, they will eat it eventually. You just have to be strong and not give in. Start by putting their food down in the morning for 15-20 minutes, taking it away after this time period even if they haven't eaten. Then no more food until dinner time. This is extremely important, they have to learn they need to eat the dog food or they don't get anything else. At dinner time, again put their food down for 15-20 minutes, taking it away after that time even if they haven't eaten. No more food until their dog food the next morning. Do not give in to them, no meat, cheese, or raw egg on their food. They will get hungry enough to eat the dog food only as long as you stay strong. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It sounds like you've got yourself a pretty picky Husky! As long as she does not have any food sensitivities or allergies, I would recommend boiling some chicken or ground turkey to use as a tasty treat that is low in fat. This is what I have to do for my own dog. She will likely consider this a much more rewarding treat than plain kibble, and hopefully motivate her to be trained into a sitting or laying down position. I hope this helps!

It's absolutely fine to mix together wet and dry food to feed your dogs. Just make sure the wet food does not contain any of the ingredients that cause his allergies. Typically with picky dog eaters, I recommend putting food down for 15-20 minutes, then picking it up when the time is up even if the dog hasn't eaten. The dog then gets no more food until the next meal time, no treats, human food, etc. At the next meal time, again put the food down for 15-20 minutes, picking it up when the time is up. No food again until the next meal time. What you are teaching the dog is that they have to eat during meal time, or else they won't get any additional food. You have to be very strict on making sure Jax gets no other food except during meal times. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

It sounds like she's trained you to give her the good stuff :) I'd first start with a vet visit to rule out a medical cause (Anxiety, intestinal parasites, an issue with her liver processing nutrients called a liver shunt). If everything is normal, then slowly start weaning her off the treats and on to food. It's ok for her to go a day or two without eating a normal amount while you're transitioning her.

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.

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.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is likely behavioral at this point. Meaning that he knows that you will get another food in a little bit if he does not eat that one. I would stick to one. If he skips dinner or breakfast that is fine and is unlikely to become an actual issue. You can add chicken broth, dog grade gravy, ham, among other things to his kibble to make it more palatable but I would recommend you stick to one diet and see how that goes. Eventually he will learn that he has to eat it. Best of luck!