My dog only eats chicken legs. Is this diet healthy and balanced?

Your vet is correct that this is not a balanced diet for Chachi. Chicken and rice is fine as a short term diet when dogs have GI upset, but should not be given it as a daily diet. Your vet is also correct that you may have to starve her in order to get her to eat her dog food. I recommend offering her only a dog food. Put the food down in the morning and leave it from 15-20 minutes. It should be dog food only. Then after the 15-20 minutes, take the food away, and she gets no other food until dinner that night. This is extremely important! She needs to learn to eat what is offered to her, and giving her additional food during this time ruins that lesson. At dinner time, again put down dog food for 15-20 minutes, taking it away after that time even if she hasn't eaten it. Again, no food until breakfast the next morning. You have to be strict on this, and not give in. No more chicken and rice, dog food only. She will learn that the only food she gets is the dog food, and she will start eating it. Good luck, I hope this help!

Your dog has decided what her diet will be, but that's not her job . . . it's yours. Stop feeding her the chicken. Put regular dog food in a bowl on the floor without fuss and leave it for 15 minutes. After that time, pick it up whether she has eaten or not. Do not give her anything--no treats, snacks or human food--until her next scheduled mealtime. Then repeat the process. It may take several times for her to realize that there will be no more chicken, and that she must eat her food. Remember that you are not starving her–she is choosing not to eat. When she is hungry enough, she will. Do not give in or "feel sorry" for her. It will only make it harder to correct. She must have a nutritionally complete diet, and chicken is not sufficient.

That's not healthy! Not only does it not provide the nutrients California needs, that much fat can lead to pancreatitis. She should be eating dog food only. You are going to have to get touch with her. Put her dog food down in the morning, and leave it for 15-20 minutes. After that, pick up the food even if she hasn't eaten. This next part is very important: do NOT give her any other food. No human food, treats, nothing until her dinner time. At dinner time, put down her bowl of dog food, leave it for 15-20 minutes, then pick it up. Again, no more food until breakfast. This will teach her she has to eat when given dog food, and that she will only be given dog food. She will get hungry enough to eat it.

Yes, it is bad for his health because boiled chicken and rice is not a nutritionally complete food for dogs. He has decided what his diet will be, but that is not his job . . . it's yours. Stop feeding him the chicken and rice. Put regular dog food in a bowl on the floor without fuss and leave it for 15 minutes. After that time, pick it up whether he has eaten or not. Do not give him anything--no treats, snacks or human food--until his next scheduled mealtime. Then repeat the process. It may take several times for him to realize that there will be no more chicken and rice, and that he must eat his food. Remember that you are not starving him–he is choosing not to eat. When he is hungry enough, he will. Do not give in or "feel sorry" for him. It will only make it harder to correct. He must have a nutritionally complete diet, and chicken and rice is not sufficient.

Your instincts are right on this one. It sounds like she is just a [picky eater](https://www.petcoach.co/article/my-pet-is-a-finicky-eater). Small breed dogs tend to be picky eaters, and this is accentuated when the owner gives in and feeds people food. I know it is hard, but you have to try and slowly break this habit by refusing to give her the boiled chicken and only her dog food. Most dogs can go up to 3 days without eating and most will give in within a day or two when they realize nothing else is coming and their only option is the [dog food](https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food) that is available to them. It sounds cruel, but this is the only way to break this habit. You can also make sure that you are offering highly palatable, high quality [dog food](https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/category/dog/dog-food). Typically grocery store brands are generic and low quality. Try foods like Royal Canin, Blue Buffalo, Halo, or Evo to see if these appeal to her picky nature. You can add canned food to her dry kibble to entice her to want to eat it regularly.

Too much chicken is not a problem, but this diet would not be nutritionally balanced for long term feeding. If you want to continue to cook for your dogs I would recommend consulting a veterinary nutritionist to create a balanced recipe. This website has nutritionists on staff and you can create a recipe that uses their vitamin supplement: https://secure.balanceit.com

Hi there. No, this is not a nutritionally complete diet for long-term feeding. If Butter won't eat dog food and you prefer to feed him human food, you will need to make sure that his diet is still complete and balanced. You can use the website www.balanceit.com to put together recipes for him using ingredients of your choice, or use a commercial fresh food diet that is formulated to be complete and balanced, such as www.thefarmersdog.com