[Grace D]

I have 2 4-month old Chiweenies (Chihuahua/Dachshund mixes). We have been giving them the Royal Canin Chihuahua Puppy food and we never had a problem with them eating it. We decided that we should change them to a better quality food after doing research on this site, and bought some Wellness Core Puppy food. We mixed in just a bit, and they wouldn’t eat it. We were able to hand-feed them a little bit, but they still didn’t really eat. This went on for 4 meals, and we gave in and tried giving them just their old food again. Now they will not eat that either. Any suggestions on what to do? We already add water to the food to soften it some because they are teething, and we add some small pieces of chicken as well. Advice is much appreciated!

[Naturella]

A lot of lower-quality foods add a lot of sugars and chemicals to make the food more palatable for dogs, so switching to a new, better, more natural food may be harder because the dog likes the taste and aroma of the not-so-good food. Maybe try getting a couple of cans of Wellness Core and topping a mix of RC and Wellness Core (the kibble) with it, and see if that helps. If so, slowly eliminate the RC, and then slowly eliminate the canned topper (unless you want to keep it – it is even better for dogs anyway).

I often make my Rat Terrier mix a “soup” of canned and kibble, and you can add as little as 1/2 teaspoon (or more, if you want) of canned and mush it up with the kibble and a bit of water until it is flavorful and soupy.

Also, another posted had asked a similar question about picky yorkies, and in the end, if all else fails, you could always just let them eat it when they’re really hungry – just leave it out, and if they haven’t eaten it in 2 full days (or so), then you can add a topper. But dogs usually figure out that if they want to eat, they’ll have to eat what’s available.

[Susan]

Well Pet makes Wellness & Holistic Select, I found that my boy preferred the Holistic Select, I dont know why, the Holistic Select has a Puppy Grain free, Like Naturella said the R/C would of had sugars & grains & you’ve gone straight to a grain free kibble, maybe try another kibble that has some grounded rice not fully grain free yet or try another brand with a different flavour that has different ingredients to the puppy core, I noticed the Wellness Puppy Core has potatos, I find kibbles with potatos are harder & harder to digest, thats why I like a kibble with grounded rice instead of potatos..

[Shasta220]

I’ll agree with both posts above – trying some canned + water to make a mushy soup would be a good suggestion. Also, it might not be good for them to go from super junky food to super quality. I’ve actually heard of cases where the dog got very very I’ll from going to a 1 star to a 4-5 star food (even with a transition) right away. Try finding one that still has grain….maybe 3-4 stars, then give a week or two (at least) of transition time, then try to transition to the grain free food.

Yes, I looked over ingredient list on a cheap food (Purina pro plan. It’s because I’m stuck feeding it to a pup that I watch). What is it that adds flavor? Disgustingly processed animal digest!!! Ewwwwwwww!!!

[Author]

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