feeding dogs

[missmooncat]

I have 2 dogs (mum&son),i`ve tried every brand of dog food tinned and dry.They will not eat it and it ends up going bad and thrown away.At the moment i`m giving them corned beef,hotdogs,and burgers.

Any suggestions whats best for them to eat,they just will not eat dog food, THANKS

[scubadiver]

They will eat dog food, once they realise that they are getting nothing else.

We had similar problems with one of our dogs a while ago. Once we had him checked out to ensure that nothing was physically wrong, we decided on dry food.

We put some in his bowl, put it down to him for 10 minutes or so and then lifted it away, when he hadn't touched it. Did this twice a day for a  couple of days and then on the third day, the penny dropped and he started eating it. Never had a problem since. It is difficult as you feel guilty that they aren't eating, but you mustn't weaken and give in by putting burgers etc down.

I checked with a vet before doing this and he was happy enough that the dog would start eating before any harm came to him through lack of food.

(PS - our two prefer Bakers Complete dry food and I always think it looks more appetising than a plain brown dry food!)

[missmooncat]

I will try this but i`ve done something similar,and they rather go hungry.They used to eat it but last 6 months wont touch it.Thankyou for your reply

[woofgang]

We have had to change our dogs diet for health reasons. prob is, if she doesn't eat food, she then goes out and eats all manner of things (we live in the new forest where there is plenty of carrion and poo lying around) and then has the runs or throws up on the carpet.

What we did to solve it is mix a little bit of something she likes in with the new food, gradually reducing it. The best things to use are something mooshy that will mix with and stick to the dry food, and it should have a strong taste/ smell. Hannah likes tuna in oil or sardines. she has a small tin over about 7 days now with her dry diet and we are all happy!!

[lozzzz]

I'm no expert but I answered a similar question a while back,I dont know how to send you to it directly but it was 1/06/05 collie not eating,I assume they have cast iron stomachs because if I fed my dog burgers etc I'd dread to think of the end result.My dog hadn't eaten in 3 days then last night he realised it was dry food or nothing..if you give them a coice they'll chose.

[kkeggie]

My dog has dried food. Its good as you can leave it down all day and it wont go off. He just eats when he wants to. You will notice they will start to drink a lot more water too. normal meat dog food contains a lot of water.

[nfn]

We got my parent's dog eating tinned dog food by warming it slightly in the microwave first. It might sound daft but after a few weeks he'd quite happily eat the lot straight from the tin. He will only eat Tesco's own brand though, and he's not too keen on the ones in gravy, he prefers the jelly.

[Kimmiebear]

If they still are hesitant to eat even if it is an "Eat or Starve" situation, you could try giving a little bit of chicken broth on top of their food. (Make sure it is the low sodium stuff if you don't use homemade) I have an Aunt with a pair of corgies and that is the only way she can get them to eat their dry food. (But I have eaten her chicken soup and would hold out for it too!) Most dogs and cats are smell oriented eaters, the warmed up food, as mentioned previously, has a stronger smell and therefore the dog is more likely to eat it. I have the opposite feeding problem at home: I have 2 great dane x mastiffs and they like to try and eat me out of house and home!

[mrpet]

I am not surprised they will not eat the packaged dry foods or food in tins. Try feeding them with their natural foods e.g. chicken wings, liver, hearts, tripe, ground bones, raw yoke of egg, yougurt, and blended vegs (not onions) all uncooked. It also costs a lot less than corned beef, hotdogs, and burgers.