Puppy won't eat kibble, only hand-fed, and barks for everything. Help!

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern. Based on the description you have provided, I am not too concerned since she seems to eat anything but her kibble. Many times, this is a preference problem. Some dogs like kibble and some like canned food. Some dogs prefer home cooked food over canned or dry dog food. Flavor can also be a factor and size of the kibble. I would suggest by switching to a different sized kibble and see how she does. If she still won't eat, then I would recommend switching to a different flavored kibble. If you are still unable to get her to eat the dry food, then I would recommend you switch to a canned diet and see if Luna will eat the canned food. If you are still not able to get her to eat her food, I would recommend adding a probiotic such as Purina Fortiflora to the food as this makes food more palatable in addition to providing good bacteria to help aid in digestion. If you are still unable to get her to eat dog food, then I would recommend home cooked meals. I recommend using the following website: www . balanceit.com and use the free autobalancer along with purchasing a vitamin and mineral supplement through the website. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

For picky eaters like this I usually recommend picking one high-quality dog food brand and sticking with it. This means when you feed Kacey you should put the food down for 15 minutes or so and give her the opportunity to eat it. If she does not eat in this period of time pick up the food and do not offer her any food or treats until the next meal time. If at the next meal she doesn’t eat again within 15 minutes pick up the bowl and continue this for two or three days. Eventually she will learn that she needs to eat the food you put down for her or she will go hungry. Most dogs respond to this very well and don’t let themselves go hungry. Some of the brands I recommend for high-quality dog foods are Royal Canin, Hills, Purina, Iams, and Eukanuba. I hope this helps. Best of luck. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Riley. It sounds like he may be acting picky. I would put his food down in the morning for breakfast and leave it there for 15-20 minutes. After this time, pick up the food even if he hasn't eaten it. Do NOT give him any other food. This is very important. No treats, human food, nothing. He needs to learn that he has to eat when you give him food, and he won't get anything else. At dinnertime, put his food down again for 15-20 minutes, picking it up after that time. No more food until breakfast the next morning. He will get hungry enough to eat. 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 !

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Causes of a decrease in appetite are: intestinal parasites, viral or bacterial infection, he ate something gross that is upsetting his stomach, he ate something that is stuck, food allergy/intolerance, Inflammatory Bowel disease, Addison's disease, new treat/food/table food. Sometimes this can be behavioral as well, he is waiting for something better like the Pedigree. If there is not other symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, or lethargy then that is likely the problem. If you recently got a new bag of his food the company may have changed the formula or there is a issue with that bag of food. If you really don't want to feed him Pedigree then hold your ground. Offer his normal food, you can add water to it to make it more tempting, and if he doesn't eat it then pick it up. Do not offer treats or any other food and then he is not fed again until his next meal time. You can also consider feeding him once daily. If he is otherwise sick, please repost with his symptoms and we will provide advice. I hope this helps and I wish you and Puku the best!

The good thing about dogs is that they can go for a few days without eating and they'll just get hungry, whereas it can harm cats to not eat for a few days. It sounds like Ginger is trying to train you instead of the other way around. First of all, no more people food! Until she will eat her own food reliably, giving her people food will only reinforce her efforts. If you leave her kibble out all the time, stop doing that. Figure out how much dry food she should have per day (the label on the bag should give you feeding recommendations) and divide that into however many meals you want to feed her. I usually feed my dogs in the morning and evening. When it's time for her breakfast, put her bowl down and give her 15-20 minutes to eat. Whatever is left at the end of this time gets taken up and put away until the next meal. Don't give her treats unless it is for training rewards. When it's time for her evening meal, put that down and again, give her 15-20 minutes to eat. She may try to make you feel guilty by begging, don't fall for it. Don't feed her any people food and especially don't feed her off the table while you'ree eating. Make sure any family members or other residents in your home are aware of and are participating in the training, otherwise you're wasting your time. After a few days, she'll get the idea that her food it out at specific times and if she wants to eat, that's the time to do it. Good luck!

These can both be very normal behaviors for a young puppy. Your puppy is just starting to bond with you and probably feels safest when you are around. This may change overtime as she gets more independent so enjoy the extra puppy snuggles now! I would recommend continuing to feed your puppy the same dry food you have been giving her and cutting out all treats. It is very common for a puppy to become picky and refuse a certain food in the hopes of getting something better. If you give in to this behavior now it will encourage her to be a picky eater later in life. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck!