My dogs simply will not eat dry dog food?

[Daerio]

All the appropriate responses have already been made, but I want to go over them again: Putting water in the dog food does tend to make it more desirable for them. It softens the food, which can also prevent digestion issues, so they can't overeat and have their stomachs swell. It will make the dog food start to decompose faster though, so don't waste all your food.

Adding in a small amount of grease, broth, wet food, or whatever else and mixing it in with the dry food is another good method.

And once again, if they do get hungry enough, they will eat it. They gotta know who's in charge to a point.

[Drutt]

Don't feed them anything else and they'll eat it eventually. Once they cave, they'll continue to eat it. They're refusing to eat the food you give them because you've trained them that better food will come if they don't. Dogs aren't like cats in that they won't starve themselves to the point of being unhealthy.

Human food is not a good idea for dogs. Depending on what you feed them, you could be doing them harm.

Take a look into raw feeding. There are many communities around detailing how to do this now, and numerous books detailing how to begin. We have been feeding our dogs raw for years now, and the difference in their health, coat, eyes and outlook is incredible. One of our dogs hated food time and kibble (partially because it turns out he has mild allergies to most cooked proteins - he hated how the food made him feel), but on raw he is so happy when it's feeding time.

[Belize]

My dog is like that, so I put stuff on her food to make her eat it.

Usually a really cheap treat that I just granulate on top. It works so eh.

[Airlick]

I had to feed my dog with rice or pasta mixed with wet food and some vegetables (carrots, mostly, it used to steal cooked carrots from the table given a chance ^^). Would only touch dry food every couple of weeks as a snack.

[Deleted]

Your dog will eat when hes hungry enough, mix your leftovers from your own dinner with the dry food. Stop spoiling them.

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Don't feed them anything else and they'll eat it eventually. Once they cave, they'll continue to eat it. They're refusing to eat the food you give them because you've trained them that better food will come if they don't. Dogs aren't like cats in that they won't starve themselves to the point of being unhealthy.

Human food is not a good idea for dogs. Depending on what you feed them, you could be doing them harm.

Take a look into raw feeding. There are many communities around detailing how to do this now, and numerous books detailing how to begin. We have been feeding our dogs raw for years now, and the difference in their health, coat, eyes and outlook is incredible. One of our dogs hated food time and kibble (partially because it turns out he has mild allergies to most cooked proteins - he hated how the food made him feel), but on raw he is so happy when it's feeding time.

Human food is fine in terms of mixing a bit of leftovers for change in taste an a variety in diet mixing with normal dog food. Making a steak for your dog is stupid and extremely unhealthy though.

[RenegadeXan]

Give them real food.

[Drutt]

Human food is fine in terms of mixing a bit of leftovers for change in taste an a variety in diet mixing with normal dog food. Making a steak for your dog is stupid and extremely unhealthy though.

It really isn't "fine". Canine digestive tracts aren't designed to deal with our food. The fact that something might not immediately kill them doesn't make it good for them. I can live on McDonalds every day, but the fact I'm staying alive doesn't make it healthy. Even most pet food brands are full of stuff dogs don't need, because they're designed to appeal to the owners rather than the dogs. Many of the ingredients in canine pet food have zero nutritional value to dogs. Finding a good quality pet food is difficult.

Switching to raw for my dogs was the best thing I ever did, even know the idea initially concerned me greatly. The benefits are clear and visible in weeks. I would never feed one of my dogs pet food or human food ever again.

[Medusa Cascade]

I mix it with raw meat

[jellmoo]

I agree with the idea of using stock. Two things to note:

1) Check the sodium content before hand. Many stocks and/or boullion cubes come full of salt for flavour. You want to try and avoid too much salt in their diet. Look for either low sodium cubes or just shop carefully. Don't use too much. Alternately, make your own stock from your own leftovers.

2) The food you're currently buying may be, for lack of a better term, shit. Cheap dog food is often mostly made with "filler" and may not have all the vitamins and nutrients your dogs need. You don't need to buy the most expensive food out there, but a small upgrade in quality may be exactly what your dogs need.

[Deleted]

I normally add a raw egg into the dry dog food and mix it up. Normally gets eaten fast. Other times it backfire and the dog is just licking the egg and spitting out the food.

[Orange Joe]

Ok iam at my wits end with my dogs

I feed them a huge bag of dry dog food but they simply will not touch it and i end up caving and giving them scraps from what i eat.

I know iam enabling them by doing that but i cant see them starve but i would love suggestions on how to make them eat dry dog food cause i own 3 dogs and i cant afford wet dog food.

I am very generous with the amount of dry dog food i give but they simply will not touch it and iam sick to death of the guilt trip i get from just eating my regular meals and i would really appreciate any suggestions.

Found your problem. Stop giving in and they will eat when they get hungry enough.

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I know but iam a sucker for a dog with a oh iam hungry look

Stop allowing them to be around you when you eat then.

[Ciddy]

Stop caving. If they're hungry long enough, they'll eat the damned dry food.

Pretty much this. What I do for my dogs is give them dry dog food as their "main" food but then small cans of wet stuff occasionally as a sort of treat. My Scottie absolutely loves this stuff, and it's really cheap:

[Altariaz]

Ok iam at my wits end with my dogs

I feed them a huge bag of dry dog food but they simply will not touch it and i end up caving and giving them scraps from what i eat.

I know iam enabling them by doing that but i cant see them starve but i would love suggestions on how to make them eat dry dog food cause i own 3 dogs and i cant afford wet dog food.

I am very generous with the amount of dry dog food i give but they simply will not touch it and iam sick to death of the guilt trip i get from just eating my regular meals and i would really appreciate any suggestions.

Your dogs have taste. Feed them some proper red meat. Mine love a good side.

[Cerus]

If you're buying cheap food you haven't tried them all. A good, grain free kibble is going to cost you around $1.50-2.00 per lb. But even that might not work.

First thing you need to do is stop giving in. A healthy dog will NOT starve itself. A day or two is not long enough either. A dog can go a week or more without food. Do not leave food down all day for grazing - for adult dogs you can do one or two meals per day. Put the food down and give them 15 minutes to eat. If they don't eat, pick it up and try again next meal. Do not add water (can cause bloat with certain foods) or any other toppers/mixins like canned food or you'll be doing it forever. Picky dogs are not born, they're created.

If any medical issues have ruled out and they still won't eat a good quality kibble then I would suggest a raw diet. You can get it down to as low as .50 per lb if you shop around, join a co-op etc.

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Making a steak for your dog is stupid and extremely unhealthy though.

And you came to that conclusion how? Meat, bones (uncooked) and organs are perfectly healthy and natural for a dog to eat. They are carnivores after all. Beef is extremely healthy for dogs although cooking it will destroy its nutrional value and is a waste of time.

And before the "but salmonella and <insert bacteria here>" crowd jump in - you should know that kibble has had a crapload of recalls over salmonella. That's why it's advised that you wash your hands after handling kibble and to not let children touch it. Practice safe handling and raw, human grade meat is just as safe, if not safer than commercial kibble.

[Gheld]

Don't give in. They are only refusing to eat it because there's an alternative, because you always cave in to their begging. When they get good and hungry they'll learn to appreciate their kibbles.

[Krisshaman]

I house sit for 3 different family members when they go on vacation, all of them have started giving their dogs dry food mixed with 1-2 large spoons of white rice each. They cook the rice at the start of each week and refrigerate it to use the whole week long. Vets have told them that dog stomachs are rather sensitive to dry food as they get older, and if one of the dogs is getting special food, they all want the same. Each set of dogs that I watch will sit there and stare at their food bowls and do puppy-dog eyes until i drop the rice in.

Also, assuming you have large dogs, make sure their bowls are on some sort of small footstool or something similar to raise it up higher to the dogs mouth. Having to bend down to eat can make it harder for them so swallow their food, especially dry food. And stop giving them table scraps....if you are giving them alternatives to their food, they are gonna take what you are eating everytime.

[Celista]

Your concern should be nutritional value and overall health, the dog will eat dry food when s/he is hungry. Consider a doggie multivitamin. Familiarize yourself with the vitamins and minerals a dog needs in their daily diet. As others mentioned, consider adding a broth (particularly, a bone broth) or mixing the dog food with table scraps.

My dog gets a super high end dog food + human food on a regular basis. People complaining about "spoiling the dog": my dog not yours, I feel sorry for your dogs. That apparently have to eat the canine equivalent of Cheerios each day.

[Nanaboostme]

Small amount of steamed white rice, chicken soup, or white chicken mixed into their dried food did the trick for my dogs

[TirielWoW]

I could afford wet dog food if i like but i live in the US where a huge bag of dry dog food costs next to nothing.

If a huge bag of dry dog food is no big deal for you, try them on Blue Buffalo. They'll eat it.

Here you go: http://bluebuffalo.com/product-finde...lt,Dog_DryFood

[kail]

I mix it with raw meat

I do this as well, with unused meat from a friendly butcher. A $5 "tip" gives me between 50-90 lbs of unsellable cuts and scraps. You can also buy super cheap chucks at a grocery store, which ironically costs less per lb than most dry dogfoods. I mix it with Nature Balance, as I figured it would balance the diet better than straight up meat.

W/e you do watch what brands of dog food you buy. The Blue Buffalo commercials are right about brands like Iam's and Purina.