My dog won't eat homemade food. Can I add seasoning for appeal?

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach! In my experience, small breed dogs can be notoriously picky with their food choices. I would offer a variety and not only is flavor important but texture is as well. If you are offering dry food, make sure to dry various kibble sizes. Small bites would be most appropriate for Codi. If you are feeding too large of kibble, than it may be too difficult for Codi to chew. I would also try wet versus dry food as wet food may be more enticing for Codi. If changing textures does nothing for the appetite, I would recommend switching flavors / formulas of dog food to see if this makes a difference. If this does not change the appetite, then you can always try home cooked meals with vitamin / mineral supplementation. I would recommend going to (www.balanceit.com) to have a homemade diet formulated for Codi. On this site, you can also purchase a bottle of vitamin / mineral supplement powder to add to the cooked food. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available via phone or text based consultation if needed.

Boiled skinless chicken breast or cooked eggs could be added as toppers - just be sure that these foods along with other treats make up less than 10% of the total diet so there aren't any nutritional deficiencies.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am sorry about your little girl. Any food is better than no food, so if you can get any food into her, keep going. Low protein diets are best, so see if you can increase the rice portion, and also try to get some fibre (pumpkin/squash) into her. You can talk to your vet about prescription diets, as these are often designed to be yummy, so trial that out. Best of luck with your little girl, I hope she feels better soon!

I would give it a bit more time to see if he goes back to eating normally. In the meantime you may want to try giving him a probiotic just in case his stomach/intestines are bit uneasy. I recommend Fortiflora - it is by far the best probiotic. I would give him this for two weeks minimum even if he goes back to eating all his food in a day or two. https://www.chewy.com/purina-pro-plan-veterinary-diets/dp/50029 If no improvement in about a week I would say to take him to the vet. As a side note, I have no issue with people making home-cooked food but it is not balanced for a dog (ie: minerals and nutrients that a dog needs). You really need to get that sorted out. I recommend you contact this website: https://secure.balanceit.com/ They will help you formulate a good home-cooked diet and you will need to get their supplements (which are very good) to balance the diet. This website is made by a veterinary nutritionist. Vitamin and mineral deficiency can cause GI issues as well as many other problems. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hi, and thanks for your question. This is a quite generic but concerning presentation. Differentials are many, from gastrointestinal diseases (infection/inflammations often dietary related) to any disease that can spread systemically (causing lethargy for example) like infection, and anything that can cause pain/discomfort. The approach must be logic, starting from offering different kind of food. A check up is needed if inappetence lasts for more than 24hours. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. Please find the time to give us a feedback about the consultation as that will be used to improve our service.

Even with the vitamin supplements, this is not likely a complete and balanced diet. There is not anything you can give him to improve his appetite. This is likely behavioral and nature. It’s hard to get a pet adjusted to eating pet food once they are used to eating something like human food or jerky treats. You may try cooking his food or try different commercial diets to find one he likes. If you want to cook his food, you will need to contact a veterinary nutritionist to make sure that the diet is complete and balanced. A recent survey found that the vast majority of the homemade diets found online were unbalanced. Any food you choose needs to be AAFCO tested and certified. This information will be on the packaging. You will also need to decrease the amount of jerky you are giving him. Best of luck.

Oh no, that's not good that Mimi has stopped eating her food. It could be that she isn't feeling well or that she has a dental problem. A check up with the vet would be a good idea. Homemade diets are difficult to make to ensure that the dog's nutritional needs are met. I can give you links to two websites that provide homemade diet recipes for dogs. They are formulated by veterinary nutritionists so that you know they will be correctly formulated for her. I hope these help! https://secure.balanceit.com https://www.petdiets.com