Picky eater

[Barb D]

I have a nine month old Bichon shih tzu & I have tried Orijen, Acana, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance both wet & dry & cannot get him to eat dog food. I have tried adding chicken broth & broiled chicken & salmon. He will pick out the dog food & will eat the chicken & salmon. The vet checked him out & there is nothing wrong with his health. I am at my wits end so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[pugmomsandy]

Will he eat just canned food?

[Barb D]

No, he won’t do that either. He will for a day or two & then turns up his nose.

[pugmomsandy]

Have you tried Weruva or Tiki Dog canned food? They look like human food. If he would eat just once a day, then I wouldn’t be too concerned. But there are premixes where you add in your own meat to make a somewhat homemade food. If homemade is something you’re considering. If not, there’s the dehydrated foods where you just add water, wait several minutes and serve.

[Susan]

He’s spoilt, LOL, when some dogs get a variety they become very picky, why eat yukky dog foods when mum can make me nice boiled chicken or salmon ur the boss not him, just put what u want him to eat in his bowl & walk away dont pick it up then give another food or add another food to the food that he wont eat, leave it then after 20mins put in fridge, if he seems hungry heat in micro wave & give him the same food that he turned down before, when he’s hungry he’ll eat it…or cook & freeze all his meals now that he’s tasted chicken & salmon he knows that there’s better foods then tin or kibble..he has u wraped around his little paw, maybe some tough love may help especially that he’s still a pup, it wont get any better, maybe talk to a dog behavourist they may be able to give you some ideas before he gets older & more picky with certain foods..

[Shasta220]

I would probably agree with Sue. Picky eaters are easy to form, hard to UNform! Skipping a meal or two will not hurt him (I know some dog owners who fast their dogs for a day once every week or two even.). Is he overweight or are you concerned about keeping weight on him?

I’ve not dealt with picky dogs before, since I try to keep my food fairly consistent with my dogs. Only one guy was picky, so I just offered him the same food. He ended up going hungry for about 2 days, then finally ate and hasn’t had a problem since.

I do have a picky cat, so I totally feel you – she refuses ANY cat food, so she has to be on a raw diet. Have you considered doing your own homemade diet for your guy, or are you going to give commercial foods one more shot?

[Barb D]

Thanks everyone for your advise! He is spoiled & he does have me wrapped around his paws. I am going to give commercial one more try. He isn’t a big dog & can’t afford to lose any weight.

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