# Dog wont Eat dry food please help



## kev7554 (Apr 13, 2011)

Ok my dog capone is almost 8 years old he has been given pedigree all his life up to about 4 months ago when I came across a site that said that pedigree was horrible. I switched capone to Blue Buffalo dry food because i thought it was better for him. He didn't seem to care for it much and wasn't eating very much so one day while at the pet store the lady there suggested alpo wet food. against my better judgement i started feeding him the alpo one can a day but also leaving the dry food so he could eat. Guess we did this for about 2 months or so. I noticed lately that he is only eating the wet food and not even touching the dry food. This would not bother me but according to the can for a 60 lbs dog he should eat about 3 cans a day which is quite costly. So I figured I have fed him pedigree this long I would go back to it. I put a bowl of it out monday and he hasn't touched it and He has had no canned food. How long should I give him to start eating his pedigree or should I just feed him canned food? Starting to get worried about him.


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## Tavi (May 21, 2010)

First I just want to make sure that you've checked his teeth and that eating dry food doesn't cause him pain. If it does then no surprise he wants the wet food which of course tastes so much better to him at this point as well. Don't be too concerned if he refuses to eat for a few days as long as he's drinking lots and still active. Pedigree's not the best food out there, but honestly not the worst either. One thing you can try to do to entice him to eat the dry food though is mix in a bit of the moist food in with it and add water to the dish to make it slurry like. Most dogs will happily devour even dry food they don't like if its soaked in moist food gravy as we refer to it around our house. ^^


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

He's learnt to be picky. I would just wait him out if you know he's healthy.

Some dogs can go 2-3 days (mine has) without eating anything just to be stubborn and hope you give them canned or table scraps or cook for him. I wouldn't give any treats or any canned food until he starts eating his kibble.


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## Yvonne (Aug 6, 2010)

A healthy dog will not starve itself. He will give you looks that may make you melt and give in if you are not careful though. Stick to it with the blue buffalo. Put it down wait twenty mins take it away. DO NOT give him anything no treats nothing. Next feeding time put it down 20 mins again then take it away again nothing else even if he looks hungry. Keep doing this he will learn to jump in an eat what is put down. You are not hurting him at all doing this. He of course wants the alpo which is horrible for him and you cant feed him just can anyhow because then he would have dental problems not to mention it is a terrible brand.


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## eeloheel (Dec 28, 2010)

We switched Barsky from Science Diet (what they feed at the shelter. Don't knock 'em, it's a NPO and they get it for free.) to blue buffalo, and he HATED it at first. When we started mixing it with the science diet, he'd actually eat it PEICE BY PEICE to avoid the blue buffalo. It was actually very impressive. I started mixing it with wet food and water so he couldn't pick through it, and then he starved himself for a few days. But then one day, he sucked in his pride and ate the whole bowl, and hasn't looked back since. (We had the vet look at him, he confirmed that his mouth is fine and he's just stubborn.)

We recently switched from Blue Buffalo to EVO, and that went much easier. I guess BB just doesn't taste too good! I can use the evo like training treats


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

eeloheel said:


> We switched Barsky from Science Diet (what they feed at the shelter. Don't knock 'em, it's a NPO and they get it for free.) to blue buffalo, and he HATED it at first. When we started mixing it with the science diet, he'd actually eat it PEICE BY PEICE to avoid the blue buffalo. It was actually very impressive. I started mixing it with wet food and water so he couldn't pick through it, and then he starved himself for a few days. But then one day, he sucked in his pride and ate the whole bowl, and hasn't looked back since. (We had the vet look at him, he confirmed that his mouth is fine and he's just stubborn.)
> 
> We recently switched from Blue Buffalo to EVO, and that went much easier. I guess BB just doesn't taste too good! I can use the evo like training treats


Welcome to cattle dogs lol, must be a breed thing. Because mine do this often. Izze would go for days without eating when she was younger, but nowdays she most she goes is a day or two at the most, cuz she knows lol. The puppy is learning that lesson as well, in the morning she never wants to eat lately, don't know why but she is learning because I put it down for 15 min & then take it up esp if she is fiddling around instead of eating.


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## kev7554 (Apr 13, 2011)

Don't think anythings wrong with his teeth or mouth he eats his hard bones all the time, just wont eat his hard food. When I do mix it with wet food he picks most of the wet chunks and then leaves it. Guess I will give it a few more days. Wife dropped her whole plate of food today by accident and he destroyed that while I was tending to her so I guess I will restart the days today with he dry food lol. How many days would you guys give it before seeing a vet? It has been 3 up until he ate the food my wife dropped.


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## Yvonne (Aug 6, 2010)

A stubborn dog normally breaks by the fourth or fith day if they are good at holding out. The main part of this is do not leave it down take it away after 20 mins. If you leave food down all the time hoping they will eat just a lil more munching it actually makes them eat less.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

You could try this as well.

http://www.dragonflyllama.com/%20DOGS/Writing/TeachEat.html

Most of the picky dogs I've known hasn't had a problem starving themselves until they were sick. The problem is we always feel so bad and give in before they do. The above link is a method for extremely picky eaters, try it and see what happens.


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