There are several reasons as to why your dog has become a fussy eater. This could be due to overfeeding, a health condition or potentially a very common mistake that a lot of dog owners make…
To try and rule out overfeeding, check out our calculator (insert link) to check your dog’s daily recommended food allowance. This is a common reason as to why dogs may be going off their dinner.
Often, when our dog’s turn their nose up at their food, we are quick to panic about them missing their meals and switch to an alternative that we think they will prefer. The worry of our dog not eating for 2 days is more damaging than the harm this will cause to them. By regularly switching what we feed our dogs, this can create fussy eating habits.
Another common mistake when dealing with a fussy dog, is leaving out a bowl of food (generally dry kibble) during the day, allowing your dog to pick and choose when they eat, creating a “grazer”. This devalues their dinner times, and therefore they are more likely to not eat their main meals.
We recommend introducing a 15-minute feeding window and breakfast and dinner time, if they don’t eat their food within this time then wrap it up and pop it in the fridge until their next feed. For most dogs, this should help introduce a stricter routine and will help develop good eating habits going forward.
If you think that your dogs fussiness could be due to a health condition, then please seek veterinary advice.
