Proper nutrition in the life of a dog occupies an important place. A balanced feed helps to avoid many health problems that will bring a lot of trouble to dog breeders and their pets. For this reason, many of them prefer to feed the dog dry food that contains all the necessary nutrients, vitamins and trace elements. Why does the dog not eat dry food: what are the reasons and how to make it eat?
Health problems
If the question arose, “Why did the dog stop eating dry food, if such food had suited her before”, then the first thing you should pay attention to is your pet’s health. It is important to carefully monitor the activity of the animal - lethargy, inactivity, constipation, vomiting are possible. The dog may be affected by ticks, fleas, and helminths, which affect appetite.
In any of the above cases, you should show the dog to the veterinarian to find out the reason why the dog refuses to eat dry food. If a medical examination did not find anything, and the pet feels fine, other possible causes should be considered that are not related to health.
Changes in Pet's Life
Dogs react more acutely to any changes in their lifestyle than people. This may be one of the reasons why the dog does not eat dry food. The following factors influence taste preferences:
- Change in feed grade. When you try to transfer the animal to a more expensive feed, you can meet with a refusal. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that in cheap feeds the manufacturers mask the absence of natural ingredients by flavor enhancers and flavorings. If you try to give the dog a food class lower than usual, it can also respond with a refusal. In cheap feeds, there is a lot of bone meal or soy that the dog acutely feels.
- With regular pet treats from the general table, the dog's taste preferences may change. In addition, this bad habit can gain a foothold, and in this case, not a single meal can do without the petty eyes of a pet near the table.
- With a sedentary lifestyle, the dog needs less feed, so its consumption is significantly reduced.
- In hot weather, like in humans, the dog’s appetite is reduced.
- A large amount of food that is poured into a bowl. The dog simply eats up and does not feel hunger until the next meal.
Sometimes there is such a thing as manipulator dogs - they will not eat the offered dry food, asking for something tasty. You should not go on about the animal, because the diet should be balanced.
What you should not do
Why does the dog not eat dry food, if before it was such a diet suited? There are many answers to this question, as well as recommendations for what should not be done:
- Categorically, you can’t start to feel sorry for the dog and begin to feed it from the hands or the general table. In the future it will be very difficult to get rid of this bad habit.
- After feeding, food should not remain in the bowl, otherwise the dog will eat it during the day, and accordingly, the appetite will disappear by the next meal.
- Lack of diet can also negatively affect the regularity of food intake.
If you follow the recommendations of specialists, it is possible to train the dog to normal nutrition again.
How to make a dog eat
Pet's pitiful eyes and begging for goodies does not mean that he is hungry. A hungry dog will gladly eat the proposed dry food. Also, dog breeders do not recommend raising their voice on an animal and forcing it to eat by force, most likely nothing will work, and the dog will remember this and will keep clear of the owner. The following methods should be used:
- Mixing dry food with natural food, gradually reducing its amount. Thus, you can "trick" the dog and make it eat. Using this technique, you need to stop feeding the pet from the general table, if one was previously practiced.
- Hungry rations for 1-2 days. On such a forced "diet" the dog should leave only access to a bowl of water, completely removing all food. After that, a hungry dog will gladly pounce on the proposed dry food. This method is categorically not applicable to puppies and pregnant dogs.
- With tooth decay, the dog begins to experience pain and discomfort when chewing dry food. You should try adding a little water to soften the granules.
- Some dogs can be persuaded. Oddly enough, after soft persuasion, in a calm, quiet voice, some pets dutifully go to eat.
Why doesn't the dog eat dry food? What to do in such cases? It is important to focus on the nature of the pet, the owner who knows his dog well will definitely find an approach and make him eat food.
Avoidance of food
In order to prevent refusal of food and not think about the question: “Why does the dog not eat dry food”, the following rules should be followed:
- Feed manufacturers produce products in several price categories; the quality of feed is also different. It is not recommended to sharply transfer the pet from one feed to another. They should be mixed, gradually reducing the concentration of the old feed.
- When choosing a dog's diet, you need to focus on what category of dogs the food is intended for. There are feeds for different breeds of dogs, for pets with different mobility and different ages. All these points are important to consider when choosing feed.
- When dry-fed, the dog should have a bowl of water in order to drink solid food.
- It is important to walk the dog not only in order to meet its natural needs, but also in order to frolic and play. With this daily routine, the appetite increases, so the portion of food after a walk should be slightly larger.
- It is important that the dog eats all the food offered. If food remains in the bowl 15 minutes after feeding, it is worthwhile to remove it so that the dog does not have the opportunity to eat it in between feeding.
- Too frequent refusal of the dog to dry food may be the reason for the transition to natural food.
Experienced dog breeders carefully monitor the diet of their pet and try to prevent refusals from food, which can be harmful to the dog’s health.
Features of feeding puppies
It often happens that a puppy eats food from a breeder, and after moving to new owners it stops. What is the reason why a dog does not eat dry food at all? How to feed a puppy?
- Sometimes mixing dry and liquid feeds helps, but more often puppies just lick the liquid and spit the granules themselves.
- If the rejection of the feed is due to the large size of the granules, they should be crushed.
- It is necessary to individually select the food in accordance with the preferences of the dog. You can understand them by offering alternately different feeds.
- In rare cases, you can sprinkle dry food with bait food, such as crushed beef scar, which is sold in pet stores. Flavored food is much more popular with dogs. However, do not get carried away, as the puppy can eat more than necessary.
It is important to teach a puppy to feed immediately after the mother’s milk, experienced breeders know this, so the owner should also offer the puppy the usual brand of food for the first time after purchase.
Feeding errors
Some errors in pet feeding can lead to nutritional problems. Why doesn't the dog eat any dry food? A sharp failure can occur in several cases:
- alternating feed with natural food;
- frequent and abrupt changes in feed;
- lack of water in the public domain;
- feed mismatch for dog needs.
All possible options should be considered, as well as asking your veterinarian for advice.
Natural Causes of Food Refusal
Why does a dog eat poorly dry food? There are a number of natural reasons for this:
- teething in puppies;
- pregnancy and childbirth;
- teenage years;
- mating period;
- vaccinations or medications.
If there are suggestions that the dog does not eat food for the above reasons, then there is nothing to worry about, after a while the diet will be restored.
Dogs and cat food
Some dog owners mistakenly think that since dogs and cats are predators, then the diet is similar. The danger of misconception is that buying one food for two different animals can cause irreparable harm to health. A cat's diet should contain much more protein, and a cat should eat a little, but often. The dog, whose need for protein and glucose is much lower, receives an excess of these substances. Over time, improper feeding leads to problems with the kidneys, the gastrointestinal tract, and allergies. It is important that the food is suitable for the specific type of animal, then do not worry about the health of the pet.
Conclusion
Thinking about why the dog does not eat dry food, and how to train it, you should check all possible reasons for refusal. The reasons for refusing food are so diverse that it is not worthwhile to take the dog to the veterinarian for every reason, most often the problem is in the wrong feed.
Most often, a dog, in whose life there is minimal stress, rarely refuses any food offered by the owner. It is important to love your pets, and then they will not bring unnecessary problems.