I hate to admit it, but I still have cravings for the yummy animal digest and rancid fats in processed foods. Make the transition slowly, mixing old with new and use lots of tricks to ease the transition. WeвЂ™ll love the new food eventually вЂ“ itвЂ™s so good for us - but it isnвЂ™t quite as familiar, or flavorful, as the processed stuff. Is your dog finicky because youвЂ™re switching from processed food to raw or home cooked? DonвЂ™t worry. Find more information by searching for inappetence and dogs. If your dogвЂ™s being finicky because of a long-term illness like cancer, read вЂњHow to Help Your Dog with Cancer When He WonвЂ™t Eat.вЂќ Put quotes around the title and do a web search. Anything we have to earn seems more special.Д«ecause toy dogs can suffer from hypoglycemia, offer food again an hour or two after refusal if your dog wonвЂ™t eat. Alternate bits of regular food with treats to use as rewards for tricks.As a bonus, itвЂ™s high in fiber and good for treating both diarrhea and constipation. Offer a few small bites of yummy sweet potato (cooked but not hot) to start her mouth watering.After we developed a taste for leftovers, Mom mixed them with fresh lightly-steamed bits of veggies. Just wash off heavy spices and sauces first. If your dog turns her nose up at veggies, try well-flavored leftover restaurant veggies.Crumble small bits of dry treats over the meal and mash them in a little.Lightly salt the food but donвЂ™t use onion salt.For variety, flavor with a touch of sardine or sesame oil.The more something stinks, the more we like it! The jarred garlic keeps her hands from getting stinky from cutting fresh garlic - which makes no sense to me. Mom drizzles a few drops of garlicky liquid from a jar of organic roasted garlic into some coconut oil then she whooshes cold and/or raw foods around in it. Flavor the food with a wee bit of garlic warmed in oil (or use a tasty garlic-flavored oil).Her being finicky may really be a clever ploy to train you. Hand-feed a few bites but do NOT let your little darling trick you into making this a habit.Off-floor dining makes us feel like weвЂ™re getting away with murder. вЂњAccidentally вЂќ drop a few bites of food on the floor near her dish. Sometimes just swallowing a bite or two will jumpstart the appetite.Liquefy them then squirt them into your dogвЂ™s mouth using a hypodermic (with no needle) Your dog doesnвЂ™t like cold, hard food any more than you do. One icky ingredient can spoil the whole meal. If the meal is a stew or other mixture of foods, make sure your dog likes all the ingredients.Feeding tainted food is not habit forming. But does the food smell like the same corpse as usual? Throw out any kibble with an вЂњoffвЂќ smell and check the Internet for recalls on the brand. Yes, I know, most processed foods smell like a decaying corpse. Make sure the food isnвЂ™t spoiled or tainted.Or maybe you changed foods too abruptly and she has a tummy ache. Consider if a new medicine, housemate, bed or whatever could be affecting her appetite.If your dog considers her crate (or laundry room or garage) a penalty box, donвЂ™t feed her there. Feed your dog in a quiet, happy place.Segregate your finicky dog from pushy chow hounds, strangers and boisterous kids.We donвЂ™t want to be ambushed from behind. DonвЂ™t ever let us feel we might be ambushed from behind. Dogs like to look out into a room, not stare into a corner.

Make sure your dogвЂ™s dining area has a good view.How would you like being forced to eat the same darn food day after day вЂ“ especially if you donвЂ™t like it? Talk about animal cruelty! Alternating foods or giving just a few bites of something different can whet the appetite. If you love your dog, feed her food she loves. News flash: dogs like some foods and not others.SheвЂ™ll quickly learn the value of eating promptly or will suffer the dreaded growling tummy. Give your dog 20-30 minutes to eat, then remove the food. YouвЂ™d think this would be obvious, but my friends say it isnвЂ™t. Here are some of her general tips, followed by some of her patented tricks: Is your dog a delicate creature like myself, possessed of an ultra-discriminating palate? Does she seek perfection in every morsel, but find all too often that even perfection isnвЂ™t good enough? Is she fickle like moi, lovingВ chicken one day and hating it another?ДЇortunately, my Mom convinces me to eat enough to sustain life, and even build health.

Dog food for finicky eaters