Why does a dog not eat dry food and how to teach it to him?

With the appearance of a puppy in the house, the owner has to face various problems. One of them is the refusal of the pet from dry food. This phenomenon also extends to adult dogs that have previously eaten such food. What can this be connected with and how to accustom a pet to industrial feed? Our article will tell about this.

Dry food that is convenient for feeding your dog may not be to your pet's liking for several reasons. For example, for some animals, this may be due to finicky taste preferences... Others may not like the proposed feed due to its poor quality. Dogs, like humans, do not eat all their food.

Besides, refusal to feed can be associated with other reasons: age and health... In most cases, to solve problems, the breeder has to contact the veterinarian, taking a pet with him to the appointment. Let's take a look at a few of the most likely reasons.

An inexperienced breeder may overlook the importance of a smooth transition from natural food to industrial food. For example, if a puppy in the nursery ate natural food before the purchase, it should not be abruptly switched to dry food. This can lead to refusal to eat, and sometimes even stress. Granular solid food is unusual for these dogs, and therefore may not be appetite-hungry.

Forcing an animal accustomed to soft food to gnaw hard granules is very problematic. This situation is typical for adult dogs, which are abruptly transferred to "drying".The breeder does not think that the dog's digestive system is not ready for such food. In some cases, the reaction to a sudden transition can be the rejection of new food by the body, which leads to vomiting.

If a dog, having sniffed a bowl of food, refuses to eat, this may indicate its staleness and poor quality.

Few inexperienced breeders pay attention to feed composition, but it is he who gives full information about the ingredients and their quantity. As a rule, they are listed in descending order in the list, and it is important to ensure that the composition contains just meat, and not meat flour, which is made by chopping hooves and offal.

The taste of this food leaves much to be desired, the pellets do not attract the dog. In addition, you should not buy opened packs or a product by weight. The longer it stays on the counter, the faster it loses its freshness and deteriorates. If you take loose pet food, then only in stores where it does not lie on the shelves.

Sometimes it happens that the dog ate food before, but abruptly stopped eating altogether. Here the owner needs to be extremely careful. Perhaps, the reason lies in the discomfort that the pet is experiencing at the moment... This may be due to the fact that during a walk a dog or a puppy picked up something from the ground and accidentally swallowed it, which caused poor health.

The specialist will establish an accurate diagnosis and prescribe treatment. If the dog is not feeling well, it is useless to force him to eat dry food. During a period of unwell, this will not give a positive result, but it will provide vomiting.

You can not force a dog to eat dry granular food if it has bad teeth, diseases of the upper respiratory tract and oral cavity. In these cases, the dog refuses dry food due to pain and irritation. At the same time, attempts to eat at least a few pellets are accompanied by whining, the animal is lethargic and depressed. With these symptoms, the pet must be urgently taken to the doctor.

A dog that moves a little does not use up a lot of energy. At first, she simply reduces the amount of food consumed, and later she can eat through feeding, without a special appetite. In some cases, with a lack of movement, she gains weight, becomes clumsy and lazy. This problem is easier to solve than the rest: regular physical activity is necessary to regain appetite. These are walks, games, training and frequent jogging.

It is no secret that dry food has certain flavor characteristics. Surely breeders are faced with the fact that the pet prefers some kind of food and may even refuse anotherwaiting for his favorite food to be bought. While some owners find this fussy, others understand that the dog does not like the taste of the proposed granular product.

As a rule, this can be observed when switching from an expensive feed to a budget one. Do not oppose feed to feed. Often this is what causes the stubbornness of an animal that refuses to eat food, the taste of which is far from its favorite delicacy. If such a need arises, you need to gradually accustom your pet to new food. This will allow the animal to accept new food, orient itself by the hardness and size of the granules, and get used to their taste.

Like humans, animals are subject to various types of stressful situations. And if people in such cases often seize stress with food, then dogs, on the contrary, prefer to refuse food. This phenomenon is quite common, and it is especially understandable if on the eve the dog could be frightened of something or had the imprudence not to please the noisy and rude owner.

In addition to the above reasons, a dog may refuse dry food due to pampering, during estrus, in the presence of age characteristics and if the dosage is not followed. Each case has its own rationale. For example, loss of appetite may be associated with a period of high sexual activity... As a rule, in such cases, the owner does not need to resort to drastic measures, since after the end of the period of the surge of hormones, the animal's appetite returns to the animal.

Some representatives of the canine world are prone to begging. Possessing excellent acting skills, by hook or by crook they can lure something tasty from their owners. And if the owner often ignores the rules of feeding, treating the pet with food from his table, it is not worth relying on the fact that the animal will eat granulated food.

When it comes to food dosage, this aspect is of particular importance when raising a healthy pet. In a fit of excessive care, the owner may think that the more the pet eats, the better.

The puppy cannot eat rough food due to the change of milk teeth, which are still weak. In older dogs, teeth are sick and characterized by thinning of the enamel.

After the breeder is able to identify the reason for the pet's refusal from dry food, you can start to eliminate it.

• If the dog does not eat pelleted food due to illness, it is shown to the veterinarian. In this case, a specialist examines the animal, makes a diagnosis, prescribes treatment and carries out a set of necessary procedures.
• If the dog has stopped eating pellets due to dental disease, it should not be taught to solid food. For an old dog with aching teeth, this food will cause pain, and therefore the owner must reconsider the diet of his pet.
• If the dog does not want to eat due to the stress it has endured, it is worth reconsidering your views on his upbringing, training and communication with him. There should not be any screaming in the house. You cannot humiliate an animal by beating, you cannot emotionally pressure him.
• A separate category of dogs cannot stay alone for a long time. If the owner often leaves home, you need to provide the pet with a company in which he will not feel lonely.
• If the reason for the refusal is the low quality of the product, you should look closely at the products of proven brands. For example, the manufacturers of dog food Puppy, Acana, Orijen have proven themselves quite well.
• When buying, you need to take into account the volume of the product, since the pet's food must be fresh. Small dogs of decorative breeds, and puppies do not need huge packs of food. It is advisable to store the product in a vacuum container.

You can train your puppy to dry food by soaking the pellets before feeding. This will reduce the stress on weak milk teeth. Someone soaks the granules in natural yogurt or kefir for more effective attraction.

You need to feed your pet correctly.

For example, food for puppies and old dogs is different, they have a different composition... If the dog is reluctant to eat due to ticks, worms, or a large number of fleas, the appetite can be restored with simple treatment. Sometimes she does not eat after vaccinations and also after taking medication.

Getting an animal to eat purchased food is a difficult and sometimes impossible task. Some breeders believe that you can break your pet by hunger, and therefore sooner or later he will have to eat the purchased food. However, this practice is inappropriate for experienced breeders, and even more so it should not be used with puppies, pregnant females and sick dogs. Sick animals need to initially stop the pain: they will not eat through it.

In order for the dog not to refuse food, owners must monitor its variety. The pet should not be allowed to eat the same food every year. This can lead to complications such as kidney or liver failure.

If the breeder has the opportunity to buy good food, it is better to go past the weighed feed. It tends to oxidize when in an open package. By following the dog's behavior and lifestyle, you can buy a specific product variant, for example, which is suitable for spayed animals, puppies, lactating and pregnant dogs. You can also find products for animals with sensitive digestion and long hair on the shelves of specialized stores.

As for the latter type of food, it is relevant for dogs, which, like cats, take care of their own hygiene, gnawing off dead hair. This food allows them to cleanse the digestive system of hairs. You also need to look at the calorie content, breed type, product class.

Analogs of premium class have flavoring additives, they are made from meat, poultry, fish, vegetables. They are absorbed by the body up to 75%.

In addition to meat, the best products include cereals (oats, rice), whole eggs, vegetables, fruits, berries, herbs and even algae. In addition, ingredients should include yeast, glucosamine, chondroitin, probiotics, minerals, and vitamins.

A good appetite is the key to your pet's health, as well as proper handling. Experts note that it is not difficult to accustom an animal to dry food, but for this it is necessary to take into account several nuances.

• You need to feed a puppy or an adult dog at the same time.
• Treats it can be treated only as a reward in the classroom and training.
• Portions of food should not be left behind after eating, food should be selected according to the age and weight of the animal.
• The dog will willingly eat premium or holistic food.
• The bowl of water should be next to the bowl of pellets.
• Sick pets, puppies and dogs of retirement age need to mix dry food with wet food, and it can be soaked in water.
• If a puppy or a weak dog cannot cope with large granules of the purchased product, it is worth buying an analogue for the pet with a smaller fraction of the meat product.
• If the animal does not eat a dry product for a long time, it must be transferred to natural food.

In this video, you will learn all the nuances of transferring a dog from natural nutrition to dry food.