Help! My Dog Won't Eat
In all our years as dog owners we had heard of some dogs being finicky but since we had never had a problem with our dogs eating, we really didn't understand it - Well all that changed when Maggie came along.
From the time she was young, Maggie (our labrador retriever) was a picky eater. In fact it was rare for her to eat more than a bite or 2 at a time. We tried everything we could think of - 20 different types of dog food, putting broth on her food, feeding her by hand, even getting on all fours and pretending to eat her food! I know this all sounds crazy - but if you have a finicky dog, I bet you understand!
Getting your Finicky Dog to Eat really is possible.
Well for the last 2 years Maggie has been eating very well. We simply put her food down and she eats it all up! So let's take a look at the 4 mistakes we made (I bet you make some of these mistakes too) and what we did to help turn our once finicky dog into a healthy eater.
Mistake 1: We were leaving food out continuously hoping she would decide to eat. Correction: We started a strict schedule of 2 feedings a day. This was difficult because at first she didn't eat it - even though it hard for us, we would put away the remaining food (even if it was a full bowl) until the next scheduled feeding time.
Mistake 2: We were literally begging our dog to eat! - Like I said above, we did the silliest things like hand feeding her and even pretending to eat her food ourselves. This just made being finicky a big game (and probably entertainment) to her. Correction: We stopped begging our dog to eat and we started expecting her to eat. Again, we accomplished this by feeding her on schedule with the message being: eat or be hungry until next time - no begging or entertainment involved.
Mistake 3: We were so worried over her not eating that we would often put broth on her food. We also had a couple of family members that were slipping food to her from the fridge or off their plates. Correction: We stopped allowing our dog to have any kind of human food - period.
Mistake 4: Maggie is such a smart dog, she was learning all kinds of tricks from about 2 months old. That was great except that for every trick Maggie got a treat - even if she hadn't eaten her food. This was like feeding a 3 year old cake and ice cream before supper and then expecting her to eat the green beans! Correction: We stopped playing 'tricks for treats' with Maggie until after she had eaten.
If you are dealing with a finicky dog I bet you are making at least some of the same mistakes we were. Instead of pulling out your hair and screaming "My dog won't eat!", go ahead and try out these simple corrections. It may take a couple of weeks but if you stick to it, your finicky dog will soon be a very healthy eater.
Quick Review:
- Do Not give your dog continuous access to food.
- Feed your dog on a schedule.
- Put remaining dog food away.
- Do Not beg your dog to eat; expect him to eat.
- Do Not give human food or scraps to your dog.
- Only give dog treats after your dog eats.
