Tips for Dog Owners with Picky Pups

Sometimes it can feel like there are either dogs who will eat just about anything you hand them and others who are absolute snobs when it comes to what they put in their mouth. If you have a pooch that sounds like the latter, you know that mealtime can sometimes be extremely frustrating. To help ensure your pup is getting all the nutrition they need, here are some tips for dealing with your picky eater.

Talk With Your Dog’s Vet

There’s always a possibility that your furry friend might not be eating due to an underlying health condition. If your canine companion has any dental issues, this could be a significant reason why they don’t want to eat – it hurts! There could also be other serious health issues, like allergies to certain ingredients or a problem with their digestive tract. Since your pup’s health could be the problem here, it’s best to rule that out first and foremost by taking them to their veterinarian. 

Try Different Dog Food

While it can be easy to get frustrated with your furry friend, try to remember that they have taste preferences just like you do. While there are many dogs that are pretty versatile when it comes to what they eat, there are also pups that aren’t. Try different base ingredients. For example, if you’re feeding them food with a primary ingredient of chicken, try feeding them food that is mainly pork, beef, turkey, salmon, or venison. You can try out both wet and dry food, but keep in mind that if you already have a picky pup, it can be pretty hard to switch them back to dry food after they’ve had a taste of wet food.

Something to consider to save some money is asking your pup’s vet for any dog food samples you could try out with Fido. Also, since you’ll already be at your dog’s vet to make sure their pickiness isn’t related to a health issue, you can get ask them for samples while you’re there!

Don’t Reward Them With Table Scraps

While it can be tough not to spoil our furry friends with table scraps, it’s for their own good. While the fact that dogs are smart and playful is what we love about them, it can also sometimes work against us. That intelligence can sometimes lead to dogs “playing” a game of protest to see how long they can go without eating their own food till you will give them some of yours. You also don’t want to reward other bad behavior like begging at the table, since this will only encourage them to continue doing so since they’ve found that it worked for them in the past.

Consider the Location and Position Relative to Your Dog

Something to consider is that the location of where your pup’s food is could be what is deterring them from eating. The food bowl could be in an awkward or uncomfortable position for them that’s too high or too low. Maybe their food is too close to a draft, another pet in the house, or a variety of other reasons. Consider trying out a different bowl, height, or room for your furry friend’s meals and see if this simple location change could make all the difference.

Increase Their Exercise Routine

Another possibility is that you have a big-time couch potato on your hands, making food less appealing for them since they don’t need as much of it. You can fix this by increasing your dog’s activity level. Take them on longer or more walks, add some extra playtime into your daily schedule, whatever you can do to help them burn off some extra calories that’ll make them want to devour some new ones.

A picky pooch can be incredibly frustrating, but as a pet parent, you just have to be patient and try to figure out what works best for Fido.