How to Get a Fussy Dog to Eat (top tips for picky dogs!)

Is your dog fussy and you're just asking yourself how do you get a fussy dog to eat? Well stick around and in this article I give you my top tips to get your fussy dog eating the food you want them to.

Are they actually hungry?
It's very easy to overestimate the amount of food that we think that our dogs should eat, especially if we're giving them a biscuit kibble. This is because many are actually really energy dense. We just put down how much we think they should be getting and often we are probably be putting a little bit too much. To make matters worse I also feel that the packaging actually does slightly overestimate the amount that we should be feeding.

They are not fussy, they are just full.

The next thing to ask with any fussy eater is "are they actually healthy".

If you're dog has always eaten really well and all of a sudden they've gone off their food, they're a little bit picky, they're not eating with their normal voracious appetite then that might suggest that they're not healthy.

Are they vomiting? Have they got diarrhea? Are they starting to drink a little bit more than normal? Do you see them urinating an awful lot more frequently? Again, these are all signs that there might be something wrong. Are they actually losing weight and are they losing weight quite quickly? Again this would be a real flag that something's wrong.

We can then move to the mouth as oral health can obviously play a role in your dog being fussy if there is pain or discomfort when eating. Have they got lots of yellow plaque and tartar over their teeth? Is the line of their teeth and gums really red and inflamed with marked gingivitis. The gums might even be bleeding in some cases! Has your dog got a broken tooth? Is their breath really smelly?

If you've noticed any of these things or have any other concerns then you should definitely be getting your dog checked out by your veterinarian.

Once we've established that our dog is not being overfed, that they're healthy and that they really are just fussy then we need to go about getting them onto the diet that we want.

To start with, you need to decide what diet you want to feed your dog. There's a lot of different things that go into this which is far too much to go into today. But once you've decided that and worked out how much you should be feeding then pop that down in the bowl and leave it down for 20 minutes. If your dog doesn't eat it, doesn't touch it then just take up that food bowl. A few hours later, pop your dogs bowl down again. They'll be that much hungrier and they'll likely start eating. You might though have to leave it down for another 20 minutes, take it up, put it away and again repeat the process.

What you really must never do though is take up an uneaten food bowl and immediately replace it with something else. What this does is actually teach your dog that by turning their nose up and refusing their normal food they're going to get something really tasty.

An alternative technique to get your fussy dog to eat, and one that can work well, is to actually find something that your dog likes. Any food that your dog enjoys eating although preferably of a similar type to what you ideally want to feed (e.g. wet or kibble). What you can then do is slowly transition them on to the diet that you actually want them to eat over 3-4 weeks.

Watch the whole video to get 7 more tips to get a fussy dog to eat. I'm sure that at least one of them will get your fussy dog eating whatever you want them to!

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The information provided on the Our Pets Health YouTube channel is not a substitute for the examination, assessment and advice given in person by a suitably qualified veterinary surgeon. The information is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute specific vet advice for any individual cat, dog or other animal of any species.

[OurPetsHealth]

Do you have any other things you do to get your fussy dog eating? I'd love to hear them!

[snc]

I kinda made the same mistake with my dog. He is a big boy but I realized around 6 months he was loosing weight. He has a diet of kibble, raw/cooked meat and leftovers. After looking into his food i gave him i realized he stopped eating his kibble and other types of food. He literally only ate the meat. He just smelled and gave one lick to the other foods and went on his way. I know he eats more as when he was a puppy he pretty much ate anything. After realising he was very picky after trying every single method to get him to eat. The last resort which i didnt want to resort to was to just no feed him. After about 3 days of no food. I gave him kibble and other types of cooked vegetable and of course he ate everything.

After doing this in intervals like 3 then 2 then 1 day, he must have realized this type of food was his only option. Now he eats any type of food pretty much everyday day. He got all his normal weight back and is now healthy as can be.

[edelalbazy]

I have tried every trick in the book. I tried many types of foods. He gets bored and quits maximum after 2 days. Even if I feed him a steak!
I got him to the vet twice and in both times they say he is perfectly healthy. So I know it is an acquired behaviour.
The more options I give him, the worse and more difficult he gets. He is killing me with frustration truly.

[GoogleUser-uigi]

My dog will choose to starve and vomit bile before he eats. After trying all kinds of well cooked meats without any seasoning (chicken/turkey/salmon/eggs) he will basically say yes or no to whatever is on the menu for the day

[kovacovaart]

Omg my chihuahua /8 months, he is a picky eater... In the morning, he doesn't eat anything, first time around lunch, even that is a little. At five o'clock he eats a little more granules, but in the evening he eats better, but even then some goodies and carrots must be mixed in there. I don't know how to teach him to eat pellets so that he eats them by himself, not one at a time from the hand, he often refuses pellets, I'm already changing four types. How much should a chihuahua eat per day and what do you recommend, if sometimes he doesn't want to eat anything all day, while I know he would eat treats, he also messes around in the kitchen... Any advice will help. Thanks! Hello from Slovakia.

[angelgoldie]

My dog is clearly hungry. Her stomach is rumbling, she’s lost a little weight. But she refuses to eat anything but cooked chicken. She won’t eat anything else and I mean anything. I checked her mouth and there’s nothing wrong with her. But she will not eat. I even got her all kinds of different treats but she won’t touch them. I don’t know what’s wrong with her.

[eermable]

Hi Doc, your tips would help me a lot to train my 3 month old pup. Since that this is my first time to have a pet, I can't resist that my dog doesn't eat every meal because she's picky yet i'm giving her another food immediately. Now i know what to do. Thank you.

[samanthaperez]

My parents feed my dog table scraps, so I’m having trouble getting him to eat his “blue” food.

[jamescrook]

This worked for us, our dog turned her nose up but we stuck to our guns and she got hungry and now she eats what ever we put down 👍👍

[userone]

Hello, my dog only eats rice and chicken he won’t eat anything new, he would never eat dog food or dog treats, I made him many homemade foods but he just doesn’t like them, my cousins dog would eat anything. How could I get him to do the same?

[paolitachilli]

Thank you so much ...Excellent advice it has helped me so much with my 6 month old puppy 👍👍😘

[sherrysunshine]

Thank you . I will give it a go. I love my little shitzu and hope to keep her happy and healthy for a long, long time.

[haleigh]

I have a corgi/chihuahua and he is 2 years old. He just recently had his teeth cleaned because ever since he was 6 weeks old he would only eat small portions of his dry dog food either soft from soaking it in water or with table scraps in it like chicken or other various meats. I’ve always had to entice him to eat his dry dog food by putting something in it. He obviously has learned to manipulate me at a very young age and I’ve been trying to stop it. About a year ago he started not eating his dry food at all no matter how many times I would switch his dry dog food or what I would put in it to entice him, nothing worked and he started vomiting bile almost everyday from not having anything on his stomach. It got so bad I had to put him on and appetite stimulation medicine for a while it worked but then was not a fan of the side effects so I was back to square one. I am currently soaking his food in hot water until completely soft everyday two times a day and hand feeding it (sometimes force feeding) it to him just so he will have something on his belly and not throw up bile. I have asked every vet he’s been to and trainers and he is a healthy dog, he has been checked out several times has a clean bill of health, they just call him a bilious vomiter. I have even tried the starvation method a few times and attempted to follow some of these same tips and nothing seems to work. The last time I tried to do something like this he held out for 5 days. He was only being introduced to the dry food I wanted him on I wasn’t giving him scraps or treats. I just want him to eat his dry dog food like a normal dog and am at a complete loss of what to do and it is driving me crazy. Please help.

[weatherexpress]

I found that mixing his food with warm water and maybe a dash of peanut butter made my dog lick the bowl clean.

Edit: dry food

[napnaps]

My chihuahua is a nightmare, I’m super strict with her and she’s perfect in every other way, fantastic with people, kids and dogs but her picky eating is driving me nuts!
My mum spoils her with chicken when I’m at work and no matter what I say my mum just can not resist. Urgh!
Then Evie will refuse meals sometimes upto 2days typical stubborn chi stand off.
Any tips on managing my mum as well as my chi 🤣

[GermanShepherdDaphne]

My 9 month old German Shepherd just started this shit last week. She will not eat her dry first thing in the morning. I have to scramble eggs for her so she will eat something. She will eat wet food though. Now my cat is the opposite. I try to feed my cat wet food because it's better for her and she will not touch it. 😫 I give up!

[ShigekiHizashi]

I often share this in my dog groups when people post about picky eaters!

[malinhollekim]

My dog is 5 years old and we have been struggling everyday to feed him. He loves his food because if we feed him in a fun way he will eat the amount that he needs, but also wants more. We have to be really exited and we have to throw the food around the house for him to eat. One kibble at a time. If we put it in a bowl or put too much in front of him, (3 kibbles at a time) he refuses to eat. The same with wet food. We have tried many techniques, but none of them have been successful. I can’t feed him the way we are right now, it’s taking up too much time. One feeding takes about an hour. Our veterinarian told us it was nothing wrong with him and that he would eventually give in and eat, but he will go days without eating. It’s been like this since he was a puppy. What should I do? Just a side note, a family member is a qualified dog trainer, and even he struggles to see a solution. We tried having him over for three months to help us feed the dog, but it just never worked.

[stephanielee]

Goodjob on this video! It was very informative and I subscribed to your channel and newsletter! But I have a question concerning the program. I've tried leaving the food out for 20min and taking it away later, but I noticed that my dog throws up bile. I assume this is from not eating. I took her to the vet a couple days ago and the vet said she was healthy. Should I still stick with the program or start on a new food? I usually give new wet food if she doesn't eat her old wet food. When I give her new food she eats it voraciously but then begins to slow down after eating it for a couple of days. Thanks again and keep up the good work!

[paramitabose]

Thank you so much for sharing the useful information with us doctor. My 8 months golden retriever is also very picky in terms of food. I tried the method you told in the video but still he is skipping his meals. As of now he skips 4 meals means a whole day and 1/2 he didn’t eat anything. We didn’t give him any treats as well.
My concern is can we continue or we need to feed him something by hand feeding to keep him healthy?
Please help me doctor.
Thank you!