Im giving up...I cannot get my dogs to eat dog food

[cinnamonmon]

I should have never started people food. All 3 of mine were picky eaters prior to that but last year I made the mistake of switching them to home coooking after several problems with allergies and upset stomachs. It only lasted a few months and then I realized I couldnt keep it up. I was spending more time cooking for my dogs then I was for my family. Plus, when I am gone, I cant expect anyone else to cook for them. So I switched back to dog food....I have tried several good brands, Merrick, Innova, Canidae, Blue, Wellness,. I always added a little bit of people food thinking this would make the transition easier. Unfortunately all they do is pick out the people food. If I dont put people food in it, they dont touch it and then are up and restless a night, because, I guess they are hungry. I have wasted so much money...its pathetic. I have also tried different dry foods and finally seem to find one they tolerate. I give them the dry in the morning and they eat a little of it. I feel the wet food about 5 each day. The thing is when one of them is sick, I feed them boiled chicken, broth and rice and they completely clean their plates. I might as well switch back to people food. Its just that I made pertty simple food and dont think they were gettin all that they needed Im so frustrated.

[Nancy1999]

I hear your frustration. I guess it depends on what you would like to do. If you want to switch them to a certain food, just do it and don't give them anything else. I promise they will eat when they get hungry enough. Most people say it takes a couple of days, but they will eat when they get hungry. After that, they seem to love the new food. Is there a food that you would like to feed them, that they ate before, and you know doesn't cause upset?

[Charlie Roo]

I agree with the previous post, dogs are so smart and they know how to get what they want, especially when mom is changing their food everytime they turn their nose to it. "They will eat when they are hungry", they will hold out for what they want but if you don't give in they will have to eat what is put out for them. Charlie did this to me, he went 3 days without eating, but I didn't give in, I didn't even give treats, trust me he got hungry, and now he loves his food and eats it all up, he hasn't missed a meal since. I meet so many people that say their dogs won't eat, or they eat their food for a few days then seem to be tired of it, then they go and buy them something else, and the cycle repeats and never ends, they end up wasting food and money, you just have to put your foot down, because they are controlling the situation at this point. Just my opinion but it worked for me, I didn't want to start a bad habit, so I nipped it in the butt.

[lulababy]

im having a similar problem... and she also has to be handfed or she wont eat. she is just too spoiled! ive created a little monster!

the problem is i feel like i cant put my foot down/let her starve for three days until she eats the dog food, because she is so small.. i fear she will go into hypoglycemic shock

[buddysalley]

I have a nine week-old puppy named Paddington who is super picky! I worry myself do death about what he eats. He is only one and a half pounds and will only eat boiled chicken and rice. He eats very little of that. He seems healthy and energetic, but I worry that he will not get the nutrients he needs. The vet gave me neutrical but he hates that too. Any ideas? I cannot wait a day or two with a puppy that small. Is that normal? My other dogs have never had these problems.

[yorkie2luv]

Originally Posted by cinnamonmon

I should have never started people food. All 3 of mine were picky eaters prior to that but last year I made the mistake of switching them to home coooking after several problems with allergies and upset stomachs. It only lasted a few months and then I realized I couldnt keep it up. I was spending more time cooking for my dogs then I was for my family. Plus, when I am gone, I cant expect anyone else to cook for them. So I switched back to dog food....I have tried several good brands, Merrick, Innova, Canidae, Blue, Wellness,. I always added a little bit of people food thinking this would make the transition easier. Unfortunately all they do is pick out the people food. If I dont put people food in it, they dont touch it and then are up and restless a night, because, I guess they are hungry. I have wasted so much money...its pathetic. I have also tried different dry foods and finally seem to find one they tolerate. I give them the dry in the morning and they eat a little of it. I feel the wet food about 5 each day. The thing is when one of them is sick, I feed them boiled chicken, broth and rice and they completely clean their plates. I might as well switch back to people food. Its just that I made pretty simple food and don't think they were gettin all that they needed Im so frustrated.

I just watched something on this on "It's me or the Dog." I can't remember if it was on Online videos: From home videos to premium internet television content | Veoh Video Network (where I looked it up) or late one night last week on TV. Uhm...try looking there for the shows. If all else fails, you can do what my furbaby's Godmother does for her malteses. I should say her husband. He cooks a large amount one day a week. Freezes the rest to distribute throughout the week. Before they go out of town he makes a huge pot of chicken and rice...freezes it in little bags or containers; and leaves instructions for whoever to warm it in the microwave for 30-45secs. Just enough to warm it but not make it to hot.

Good Luck!

[YorkieChick1]

I think raw and homecooked is so much better for your dog anyway. When I was homecooking I just made enough for my 5 dogs for the whole week to 10 days. I'm a flight attendant so I am gone some of the time but it was easy for my husband to just grab the premade mix out of the tupperware. You might want to add a vitamin supplement to the homecooking. Good luck!

[YorkieLvr]

I feel your pain!LOL! My furbabies are picky too but I have to agree that homecooking for us is the only way to go. However, having said that, they still go on strike every once and awhile and want the hand fed treatment, and like the good servant that I am, I oblige . They have me wrapped tightly around their little paws!

[Karrie]

Originally Posted by YorkieChick1

I think raw and homecooked is so much better for your dog anyway. When I was homecooking I just made enough for my 5 dogs for the whole week to 10 days. I'm a flight attendant so I am gone some of the time but it was easy for my husband to just grab the premade mix out of the tupperware. You might want to add a vitamin supplement to the homecooking. Good luck!

Well said. Ditto! I add a vitamin supplement, bone meal, potassium and fish oil for omega 3 to a well balanced rice/raw diet. I cook up 2-4 batches at a time and freeze in small tupperware containers. Good luck!

[tjdmom]

My dogs were always picky eaters when they were fed kibble. I switched to raw and they enjoy eating so much now! It makes me happy just because of that aspect. Not to mention how much better my 11 year old collies teeth look now after only about a month and a half. Feeding raw is much easier than home cooking. Maybe it would be worth it to research that?

[hviola]

Just out of curiosity, what constitutes a raw meal?

My baby was picky and wouldn't eat. I took her to the vet for a check up just to make sure nothing was wrong. He said I was giving her too many different things to eat. He told me to just stick with her dry kibble, one type of treat, and nutrical. Three times a day, I put a pea sized dab of nutrical in about 1/8 cup of kibble in her crate. She eats most of it every time. I didn't like what he told me, but it seems to be working a little. She is eating more than she was. Still not what they recommend but she gained 3.5 ounces in 10 days, which is good for a 9 week old. I also think before I was filling her up on treats too much too.

[YorkieRose]

What I know...if you decide on dry..put out the food, give them the option to eat or starve. I have never had a Yorkie starve to death..look them in the eye and tell them eating or not eating is their decision...and forget about it. Of course, they do not understand your words, but they know when you do not care if they eat or not...and since they are not going to starve, you do not care.

Mine eat lots of people food mixed with dry...you can cook up large batches of human food and freeze in small packs...a friend makes enough for a month for her Yorkies...if you mince chicken and veggies, mix with a bit of water and dry, they can not pick out the people food..add some cottage cheese to dry and a few spoons of beef buillion if you are in a hurry..mine eat alll the dry if I do that...best wishes

[TLC]

I know how you feel. I thought dog food what the way to go in beginning. Quick, Simple, Easy.....

Well, I guess Roxy and TJ didn't get that memo

So like you, I tried numerus different brand, dry and wet, had to sprinkle cheese on top or a liver treat and it was still like pulling teeth to get them to eat. Then I start to mix home cooked with smashed up kibble, this worked better than just plain kibble, but it was still work and there were many times that I still had to add a *topper* to get them to eat.

After a little research in the RAW feeding, I decided to give it a try. I bought the Nature's Variety Frozen Medallions. WOW - it was gone so fast I wasn't sure if they ate it or if it magically vanished (Mine liked them still a bit frozen, so I would place the portions on a piece of clear wrap on the granite counter top for about 7 mins. just thawed enough for me to cut them up into little bit size pieces. This also was good b/c they had to chew it and it was kinda cleaning their teeth)

Anyway, I honestly do believe that RAW is the BEST for them, however, if your dogs has liver issues (like mine, that's why I am back to home cooking) than it's not good for their livers to digest that type of protein and organs.

Best of Luck.

You can go to the Nature's Variety website and read about the RAW frozen food

[sullysmum]

Originally Posted by cinnamonmon

I should have never started people food. All 3 of mine were picky eaters prior to that but last year I made the mistake of switching them to home coooking after several problems with allergies and upset stomachs. It only lasted a few months and then I realized I couldnt keep it up. I was spending more time cooking for my dogs then I was for my family. Plus, when I am gone, I cant expect anyone else to cook for them. So I switched back to dog food....I have tried several good brands, Merrick, Innova, Canidae, Blue, Wellness,. I always added a little bit of people food thinking this would make the transition easier. Unfortunately all they do is pick out the people food. If I dont put people food in it, they dont touch it and then are up and restless a night, because, I guess they are hungry. I have wasted so much money...its pathetic. I have also tried different dry foods and finally seem to find one they tolerate. I give them the dry in the morning and they eat a little of it. I feel the wet food about 5 each day. The thing is when one of them is sick, I feed them boiled chicken, broth and rice and they completely clean their plates. I might as well switch back to people food. Its just that I made pertty simple food and dont think they were gettin all that they needed Im so frustrated.

I made the same mistake last year with my chihuahuas, in the end i stopped cooking their food and just left kibble down, they left it for a short while but when they realsied they wernt getting anything else they finally ate the kibble and its back to normal now.

[Yorkieluv]

If you homecook, then just do it once every two weeks or once a month...Make a large batch of it and freeze in two day portions. I only cook once a month for my dogs