What to do when my senior overweight dog is a very picky eater?

What Ozzy has done is train you to feed him what he wants when he wants. You can break this habit (and save money amd food) by choosing just one diet that he eats. Dogs thrive on routine, so if he isn't on a feeding schedule, start one. Prepare his food at the scheduled time and leave it down for 30 minutes before picking it up whether he has eaten or not. If he spills the food, clean it up without a word. Repeat this at the next mealtime. Do not offer any food or treats between meals. Don't worry, he will not starve. Once he realizes no other choices will be made available, he will begin to eat. Be patient and be firm.

Hi there. Yes, this is fine - since they are overweight, we know that they have been getting more calories than they need for quite some time. If they're not eating all of their food at one time, this means they aren't hungry for the rest, likely because it's more than they need. As long as food is available and you are offering an appropriate amount for their ideal body weight, they won't starve themselves.

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!

For a dog that is used to eating fresh food, it can be a challenge to get them to eat kibble or canned food. One of my dogs is very picky and LOVES The Honest Kitchen products. I currently feed her 1/2 kibble and 1/2 The Honest Kitchen Keen. She has not missed a meal since I started feeding The Honest Kitchen. It is more expensive than kibble, but is very good quality food. Since I see that you are in CA, another option would be Just Food for Dogs. That would be a fresh food diet that is premade. Both companies are excellent, so see if Pepper likes either of those options. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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.

Some dogs are simply picky eaters, but if you feel like Blue might be underweight it might be a good idea to check in with your vet. From your picture I feel like his body condition looks ideal, however a physical exam is the best way to determine body condition. If Blue is in good health and not underweight it is probably safe to go ahead and 'wait it out' by leaving food out and allowing him to eat when he's hungry. You could also try mixing in canned food to encourage him to eat, but this could encourage the picky eating a little.

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.