[MrMightyPaws]

My dog is just over 2 years old and he has always been a picky eater when it comes to dry food. Sometimes he eats his food and sometimes he doesn't. I have tried mixing in the pouch toppers and he ends up either throwing up or getting sick. I have tried mixing in a small amount of canned food which works, but it ends up being expensive because I am buying both dry food and canned food.

I have tried Wellness core and Earth born Holistic Primitive Natural, but he has been pretty picky about both. Is there a dry food that anyone recommends? I would prefer it to be free of corn, soy and grains and I would rather get food from a food company that didn't have a recall history.

Thanks!!!

 

[LeoRose]

Assuming he is an otherwise healthy dog, you need to teach him to eat what he's given when he;s given it, more than you need a different food. Dish out his food (plain, no "goodies" added), put the bowl down, and walk away. Don't hover. Don't coax him to eat. Just put it down a leave. If he hasn't eaten everything in 15 minutes or so, pick up the bowl, and don't give him anything until his next meal time. Repeat at the next meal time.

I know someone who goes a step further, and if the dog hasn't finished two meals, for the next meal they only get half their regular portion. If that doesn't get eaten, that gets halved again. She says she's been known to get down to literally one kibble in the bowl. Once the dog eats what it is given, she reverses the process, until the dog is eating a full portion.

It is the very rare dog who will refuse to start eating within just a few days.

 

[Shell]

I'd actually suggest a quality grain inclusive food. Yeah, yeah, prefer no grains ... but think about what the foods without grains tend to have in common. Peas/legumes and / or potatoes.

If two foods with similar ingredients seem very unappealing, assuming the dog is not getting treats or human food in its place, then go for something that won't have similar main ingredients.

Consider Fromm Classic or Fromm Gold, Pro Pac (same manufacturer as Earthborn), Victor, or Dr. Tims

Instead of mixing anything in, if after a few days of the 15 minutes for eating routine is not working, try simply a little warm water

 

[MarieLovesChis]

Agree with Shell that you should try feeding something a bit different. If you are trying similar foods there may be something in them that he just down right doesn't like. And there's nothing wrong with that. I do not like catering to a dog if they are just being a brat and not eating anything in the hopes for some "people" food, but I prefer that my dog enjoy her food, not force her to eat something that is utterly disgusting to her.

Some of those pea heavy grain free foods stink like peas to MY nose. So I can see how some dogs may find that unappealing. My dog personally likes Farmina, the pumpkin kind. Smells very fresh/strong to me and the vegetable content is not very high. Most dogs I've met will take it as treats. They have a grain inclusive too and if you email them you can get samples before committing to a large bag. Another one my dog likes is Annamaet Ultra. They will also send samples if you ask. Agree with adding warm water also. My dog loves it that way, brings out the smell.

 

[Wakeamy1995]

My dog has been a picky eater too. She ate Wellness and Orijen dry food better than anything else. I was told to try switching proteins when she refused to eat her previous dry food brand. I did realize that the first food she was on as a puppy was chicken free and then I put her on a chicken one. So I switched to beef and she seems to do better on that. I ended up switching her to a freeze dried raw diet and that’s been the best so far, and she seems healthier on it too. But I’m by no means recommending it, you have to be ok personally with doing raw.
I do second what other people said about just making him/her learn that they need to eat what’s given in a specific time within a timeframe. I had issues doing that because my dog would throw up from an empty stomach because she refused to eat. I started giving her something in the morning she would definitely eat, and that keeps her from throwing up even if she refused meals throughout the day (so if that’s an issue, maybe try giving your dog a half portion of wet food in the morning but not rest of the day). It’s very tempting to try to do everything you can to get them to eat. But my vet told me that he’d never seen a dog starve with a full bowl of food sitting in front of them. If they get hungry enough, they will eat it.

 

[Wakeamy1995]

My dog has been a picky eater too. She ate Wellness and Orijen dry food better than anything else.

I meant Acana - not Wellness!!

 

[MrMightyPaws]

I am trying to switch him to Taste of the Wild and he seems to be eating it more- just mixing it with his current food right now. If he gets tired, I think that Victor has a brown rice option that I can try.