# dog doesn't like dry food



## keljai (Nov 24, 2008)

my dog seems to started hating dry food nowadays dunno why. He only seems to gobble them down if hes extremely hungry or if there is wet food in the bowl mixed in together. Anyone know a way to rekindle his love for dry food?


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## paux (Jul 26, 2009)

You should try switching formulas or mixing a few different types together in his bowl to make it more interesting.


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## Pepper (Jan 27, 2008)

> You should try switching formulas or mixing a few different types together in his bowl to make it more interesting.


No, the dogs not bored, just being picky, you've made him picky by doing this...


> or if there is wet food in the bowl mixed in together


Dogs know how to be smart


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

maybe the kibble's stale


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Or maybe he is getting too much food and isn't hungry.

But I am with the dog. Adding something would improve the food quality and make mealtime fun for all of you. A couple times a week scramble an egg and mix in or just drop it in raw. Cook some hamburger and put a spoonful in. Add a spoonful of yogurt or a 1/4 cup of salt free broth. Buy some canned mackerel or sardines [unsalted is best but probably not easy to find] and put a spoonful in. The ultimate would be getting a small amount of liver mixed in. Dogs love liver and humans hate the smell of it cooking! Save some plain veggies from dinner and mix in to any of these suggestions. Since kilbble is high in carbohydrates don't use pasta, bread, potato or rice as a topper.

Feed a little less kibble if you use a topper. And you are stuck if you start this, never will he want to eat plain kibble again. Moistened food cannot be saved so uneaten must be thrown out. Be certain you want to do this! It doesn't have to be much added and you could try watering it down if the budget is tight as in scramble one egg and save half for the following day.


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## paux (Jul 26, 2009)

Pepper said:


> No, the dogs not bored, just being picky, you've made him picky by doing this...
> 
> Dogs know how to be smart


I've never had a problem with the fact that my dog is picky. I want her to enjoy eating because she doesn't eat very much. I think it's important for her food to be interesting. I feel that my dog is like my kid and I would never force my kid to eat the same thing days straight, especially if she doesn't like the food I am giving her. I am very firm with her when it comes to obedience and behavior, but I still allow her to make choices when it comes to food. Before I switched to raw, I had 5 bags of different premium dog foods. I mixed different types in and out of her mixture as I learned which she preferred. I didn't get rid of any bags until she finished them, but I tried to be perceptive to her likes and dislikes. If she doesn't like a food, I'm not going to MAKE her eat it again.


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## Pepper (Jan 27, 2008)

I'm not saying you can't add things, I frequently add plain yogurt, cooked salmon, and whale meat to my dogs food, but picky dogs are made by the owners, its the same way if you were to put chocolate in with a kids veggies(ew) if you stopped putting in the chocolate, there not going to eat those veggies!

Instead of switching kibble brands, you should switch protein sources sticking to the same brand. Many brands, like wellness have fish formula, duck, chicken, etc..to give the dogs variety and to make them healthier.


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## paux (Jul 26, 2009)

Switching brands or formulas when it comes to premium dog food are both fine. As long as the brand you're using is of good quality. I used Wellness small dog formula but switched to Wellness CORE because it had a higher protein content and my dog liked Wellness CORE more. Some people prefer sticking to one brand, but for me it is not an inconvenience to explore new brands and formulas with my dog. Perhaps it makes a dog picky, but I'm not trying to discourage her from being picky.


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## andreangil (Apr 4, 2009)

Petsmart has dog gravy--its called vita-gravy, anyways its in a pouch and you can just pour some in the bowl and mix it with the kibble. They have it in a few different flavors. I use it to top my dogs food sometimes or to freeze in his kong. He enjoys it!


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## keljai (Nov 24, 2008)

yeah its very ironic. l have like 3-5 different type of dry food like wellness, merrick, totw, chicken soup, but nothing he likes except pedigree . lol


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## paux (Jul 26, 2009)

keljai said:


> yeah its very ironic. l have like 3-5 different type of dry food like wellness, merrick, totw, chicken soup, but nothing he likes except pedigree . lol


With lower quality brands like Pedigree, the kibble is sprayed with fat to give it a more palatable flavor. Which is why some dogs really like grocery store brands. I don't think dogs would really find the high grain content to taste very good otherwise.


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## StellaKin (Jul 15, 2009)

try adding a little water to the dry food. My puppy was being VERY picky... didn't really want to eat the food at all (but her stomach was growling audibly, so I knew she was hungry). I added a touch of water to the bowl of food, mixed it around and she seriously eats it within 5 minutes (sometimes less). I don't really know what made the food that much more yummy, but she sure seems to like it better with some water than just dry.


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

a touch of water make's the food smell better. If you then warm it up for a few seconds in a microwave, it smells even more appealing .

However, better food does help. My dog did not like the hills science diet that came from his shelter so I needed to entice him. When I was switching to Kirkland, he would pick out the kirkland kibble and left the rest.


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## luvntzus (Mar 16, 2007)

I want my dogs to enjoy their food also, so I always add something in like broth or canned dog food.


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## Lexi Palm (Aug 4, 2009)

My dogs are REAL PICKY. They don't like dog food (only like some treats). I don't understand why they don't like neither dry & canned. I stock different brands and they only eat new ones for ONE time only. I tried to mix them up, they don't even bother; mix with canned - don't care; wet with a little water - yuck. I also try to mix with egg, they walk away. They only eat egg alone. I even buy them beef steak, pork lung, chicken, ground beef and they eat a couple times only. They tend to fed up everything if I feed them more than 2-3 times. However, my dogs love fruits. They eat tomato, carrot, orange, grapes, tamarine (sour like lemon), mango, bitter gourd and all kind of fruits. So weird  
I don't know how to make them eat everytime I feed now. I'm tired now. I just leave meat, chicken in the bowl until (the day after) they get super hungry then they eat dry meat.


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## Pepper (Jan 27, 2008)

Your making your dogs picky Lexi Palm, but giving them what they want. Put their dry kibble down for 15 minutes in the morning, if they don't eat it, pick it up. Put it down for 15 minutes in the evening, if they don't eat it, pick it up and try again tomorrow. Dogs won't starve themselves, and once they are consistently eating their dry food, then you can add things every now and then.

Also, dogs shouldn't have grapes.


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## Lexi Palm (Aug 4, 2009)

_Also, dogs shouldn't have grapes._

Why is that?

I guess I love them so much that I can't let them starve for 2 days. Whenever I see them walk up to the bowl and sniff it, I know they're hungry then I find them something to eat. I give them bones whenever I have drumsticks or ribs. You think it's too much? I want them to get a little "chubby" but they never seem to get to the look I want them to be. I don't think they drink enough either (compare to other dogs). They don't eat and drink a lot but they still have much energy to run around like little cheetahs. I wonder how 
OK, I'll try your method again, Pepper. I tried it before, didn't work.

Again, thanks a lot.


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

Never give cooked bones. Especially drumsticks. they can splinter and damage your dog's stomach and intestines or cause obstructions.

As for grapes and raisins they're poisonous to dogs. Dogs have died from it. And it seems to be a toxin that stays in the system so a dog that's had grapes before can be poisoned by less.

here's a general list.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Dogs are supposed to have iron stomachs but leaving wet food down until the dog eats it scares me. I don't want to starve my dogs either. If they don't eat I pick up the food until the next meal is all. No starving for 2 days. You could pretend they get 10 meals a day if you like to give lots of chances to eat but leaving wet food down, ugh. Dogs checking out the bowl can just be a bored dog looking around. My hungry dogs lead me to the kitchen, start playing with one another, bark, all sorts of stuff.

Nobody knows why grapes are trouble. Some dogs can eat buckets full and be fine and others get deadly ill from only a couple. Bought grapes or home grown can cause trouble. Guess it is good to know this.


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## Lexi Palm (Aug 4, 2009)

In my country, dogs eat whatever bone they can find. I guess my dogs are ok with cooked bones. Dogs love bones, except their own kind's bones. They (most of them) walk away when given dog's bone.

I guess my dogs are fruit lovers so they're ok with grapes.

Thanks Pepper, zhaor and Kathyy for the info.
I'll limit the bones now.


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## Pepper (Jan 27, 2008)

Dogs shouldn't have cooked bones, and you shouldn't want your dogs to be chunky, that's not healthy. Over weight/obesity is a person problem, not an animal problem.



> I guess my dogs are fruit lovers so they're ok with grapes.


Just because dogs like grape doesn't make grapes safe.


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