My picky dog has allergies. Can mixing wet & dry food make him eat?

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!

Mix a teaspoon or two of canned food in with the kibble. Leave it down for 20-30 minutes before picking it up whether they have eaten or not. Repeat this at the next mealtime. Do not offer any food between meals. Be consistent, dogs thrive on routine. Be firm, they will not starve.

Some dogs tend to be picky eaters and learn to wait to eat until tastier food is offered. I'd recommend seeing a veterinarian to rule out a medical problem that could be causing a decrease in appetite and make sure he is maintaining his weight. If everything checks out, it is okay to offer food and wait a day or even two - he'll eat when he's hungry!

Some dogs can be very picky, and if Brownie enjoys eating food with a little wet food mixed in, that's not a problem. Many brands of dry dog food also carry equivalent wet foods, and you can mix that in while still providing a balanced diet that is healthy for Brownie to eat. If you do add in wet food, you may just want to decrease the amount of dry food slightly to account for the increase in calories for adding extras.

Dogs can sometimes be very picky! You can try mix together the dry and canned food so he can have both at the same time. You can also try soaking the dry food in gently warmed low sodium beef or chicken broth. Over time, decrease the amount of broth you add to the dry food until he is eating the dry food only. It's ok for Buddy to eat canned food only, but I would give him dental chews daily to help keep tartar build up on his teeth. Good luck, I hope this helps!

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.

You could mix some wet and dry together to see if that helps him eat more. Also, have your vet test a stool sample for parasites to make sure he doesn't have any, especially if he starts losing weight or has any vomiting or diarrhea. If his body score is normal than he is probably getting enough calories and nutrients. You could bathe him with a moisturizing dog shampoo and see if that helps his skin. Also, adding Free Form Snip Tips to his diet may help keep his skin and coat healthy. http://www.petcurean.com/blog/body-score-chart-for-dogs/