My dog won’t eat any kibble

[helloimjacob7]

We adopted her at 11 months from a shelter and have had her for almost two years now. She’s a Pyrenees/cattle/Shepard/husky mix.

After going through every brand, she finally settled with A Pup Above fresh food. Since it is so expensive, I decided to find a kibble and mix it for her to eat…… but she won’t eat any of the kibble. I’ve tried Open Farm, Fromm, Blue Buffalo, and others. Toppers only work so much, but I am getting frustrated and worried why she won’t eat.
There are days I will just leave the food out and she won’t eat until dinner time. Is this normal?

 

[reality777]

@helloimjacob7 You have to teach the dog to eat. By giving multiple options when the dog doesn't eat- the animal has essentially trained you. Put the dog on a feeding schedule, two or three times a day. Pull the food after 30 minutes. After a day or two of not eating eventually the dog learns to eat when they are fed.

 

[elarpa]

@helloimjacob7 It's the nth time I say this, no pet or kid has ever starved themselves to death sitting by a bowl of suitable food. They'll try, but if you're more insistent (as you should be, you're the adult hooman), than them, they'll budge. They'll b*tch and moan first, but they'll budge.

 

[kevint]

@elarpa Correct, Dogs won't starve selves to death, but cats WILL -- yes, cats can decide to not eat and cause their liver to fail if the refusal goes long enough.

 

[josephhsiao34]

@helloimjacob7 Put the bowl down for 10 minutes. If the dogs doesn’t eat then pick it up. No snacks nothing until meal #2. Repeat. Trust me your dog will eat kibble. The reason your dog won’t eat is because it has a smorgasbordand it has YOU trained!

 

[dananglingson]

@helloimjacob7 Get her teeth checked if it’s only kibble she won’t eat. Look at the ingredients of the foods she has refused for a common element. Peas/pea fiber/pea protein are very common- my dog has issues with peas.

 

[helloimjacob7]

@dananglingson She chews bones and toys just fine and she has shown no discomfort in her mouth, i think she is just being picky and refusing the kibble.

 

[joelsouza]

@helloimjacob7 You are describing my life

 

[rjacob97]

@helloimjacob7 Have you tried canned foods? If she likes fresh foods she may take better to a wet food than kibble, just make sure she's got other stuff to chew on to keep her teeth in good shape and she shouldn't need dry food. Just make sure there's grain (oats, barley, corn etc.) of some kind in it, I've been told by several vets that dogs will develop heart disease if they don't have grains in their diet

 

[sevilodorf]

@rjacob97 Wet diets from a science-backed brand don’t need grain to be safe.

Dilated cardiomyopathy, the heart disease disproportionately but not exclusively associated with grain free diets, is likely due to poor formulation and overuse of peas, potatoes, and legumes — those starches are used in place of grains in grain free kibble/extruded diets to bind the ingredients. There’s really no evidence at this point that it’s the absence of grain so much as the heavy use of peas, potatoes, and legumes causing the issue.

wet food doesn’t require a binder so they’re less likely to be included. And science backed diets like hills or Royal Canin etc. will formulate those wet diets properly whether those ingredients are included or not

https://www.reddit.com/r/DogFood/wiki/index/dcm

 

[roundtown98]

@helloimjacob7 I have a picky pup that needs to be on a prescription diet so options are limited. To get her to eat the kibble, I mix in the wet version of the prescription food. She eats 1/4 can of the wet food per day, so it’s barely more expensive.

This combined is still less expensive than A Pup Above.

Also, for what it’s worth, A Pup Above, and companies like it, are marketing gimmicks.

Check out the wiki.

 

[bryanclendenning]

@helloimjacob7 We had a Dane we rescued (he was 6)that would not touch any of expensive varieties offered. A friend gave us some of the brand “kibbles n bits” to try and he ate it right up. Then we slowly changed him over to a better quality food. Have you tried making bone broth to pour in with kibble?

Also what someone said above:A dog will not starve. The breeds you list above are also not easy breeds for the novice handler as well, you don’t quite know what genetics you’ll dealing with since past is unknown. I’d be curious if you have any other behavior quirks you’re dealing with?

 

[bryanclendenning]

@helloimjacob7 I was going to ask if you leave the food out? But I think you just made it sound like you do. Another thing that can be done is limited time with food down. Which means you’d put breakfast down. If it’s not touched within 10 minutes you pick it up. Then give them one more chance after a short period. Then it’s gone until dinner. At this point you guys have a routine, albeit a frustrating and expensive one for you, so you need to figure out what you want to do and then stick with it.

 

[dollfaceme23]

@helloimjacob7 we have a picky dog like yours, after spending thousand over the years trying to find a suitable kibble she likes for AM meal, turned out she will eat kibbles if i add water and make it soupy first.. now she is even more picky and will only eat one kibble brand (annamet senior gray bag) this way.. try mixing in some warm water to the kibbles, maybe it will work for you too (can’t leave it out all day though if don’t eat)

 

[heatherfaith]

@helloimjacob7 Try mixing in a little Greek yogurt

 

[helloimjacob7]

@heatherfaith I’ve heard this! Someone else also told me dairy is not good for dogs so I’ve been on the fence.

 

[lecraefan116]

@helloimjacob7 Try some cat treats

 

[kathyjesus10]

@helloimjacob7 She will eat when she is hungry enough

 

[turtledove13]

@helloimjacob7 Toppers won’t work for this behavior—put crumbs of something she likes in first, under the kibble

 

[jakubb]

@helloimjacob7 Your dog won't starve itself on a hunger strike. Feed them good food and they'll eventually eat it. Prioritize nutrition over pickiness.