My 6-month-old puppy is picky. How do I get him to eat his dry food?

It sounds like you have a couple of picky eaters on your hands! You could still try another flavor of kibble - Purina makes a ProPlan with some softer pieces or you could try Royal Canin or Hills. You may need to ‘wait them out’ and leave the dry kibble out until they eat it without offering anything new. It also won’t hurt to continue to mix a little wet food in if you aren’t opposed to it. Good luck!

Hi there! Scooby sure sounds like he's becoming a very picky eater! A lot of dogs do this, and the more you give in, the more they will demand new and different foods mixed in and people food. The best way to break the behavior is to offer him his food, and no matter how long he takes to eat it, wait it out. Eventually he will realize that that's what he's getting to eat and that's it! If some people still have trouble at this point, I tell them to try balanceIT.com. it is a website that teaches you how to make a home cooked diet for your dog and also offers a supplement you can add into the food to make sure that they ate getting enough of the minerals and vitamins that they need. From the way it sounds, no matter what you add to scooby's food he's going to want something different in a few days, but you can try some plain low fat Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, or pumpkin mixed into the food, or even just some warm water to help bring out the fragrance. Also make sure of course that scooby is up to date on his vet visits, vaccines, dewormings, and other preventive care, and that he is not having any signs of illness like diarrhea or vomiting. If he absolutely will not est, a vet visit is in order, but it doesn't seem that way.

This can be difficult. Finicky eaters are not uncommon with small breed dogs. Fixing this depends on how stubborn both you and Freya are. A dog who is healthy will not starve themselves to the point of illness. You can pick a high-quality food, I recommend the brands Royal Canin or Purina pro plan. Offer the diet and don’t offer her anything else. It is likely she will refuse the food and may do so for a couple days but eventually she will eat. You can try adding in canned food or meal toppers, a very small amount of shredded boiled chicken or some plain brown or white rice to make it more appealing. An alternative is to look into a diet more like fresh pet or Nom Nom pet food. These will be more like meals humans eat and you may have more successful. When you have a finicky eater, it is crucial not to offer any human food or food from your plate. Treats must be minimal. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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!

It is likey just that - him being picky and stubborn. I would see if he would at least eat canned food. Canned food is at least more of a balance diet than just chicken and rice. If he doesn't eat, be sure to give him some nutrical to help keep his blood sugar up since he is so tiny. It will likely take you becoming stubborn as well to get him to transition to regular diet, but you don't want him to miss too many meals. You could also slowly mix in some soften kibbles with the chicken to help him get use to the taste and over a few weeks, decrease the amount of water you use to soft the kibbles and decrease the chicken as well. If you end up just cooking for him, I would visit balanceit.com to ensure he is getting a balanced diet. I hope this helps !

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.

This is a common problem in small breed dogs. They can be stubborn when it comes to dry food. I would stop offering her milk as this can upset her tummy. You could mix in some canned food or boiled chicken with her dry food to see if this helps to entice her to eat. If so, slowly start to decrease the canned food until she is just on dry food. And you may have to just be more stubborn than her. If she is continuously refusing the eat or not acting right then I would take her to your vet to ensure everything is okay. If she is skipping meals and she weighs less than 5 pounds then I would supplement her with nutrical (high calorie vitamin supplement) to help prevent her blood sugar from becoming too low. I hope this helps!