My dog won't eat her dog food, but she'll eat any treat. Why?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | spayed | 1 year old | 50 lbs
My one year old has stopped eating her breakfast and now only picks at her dinner. She'll eat any treat you put in front of her though. She's pooping and it appears normal. Her behavior seems normal too. Is it possible she just doesn't like her food anymore?
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on July 11th, 2017
If you are giving Brogan treats and other food (table scraps etc) when she doesn't eat her food it is likely she is just not eating and trying to get something better. I would recomend feeding her dry food only and no treats for a few days. A young healthy dog will not starve themselves. If she is still not eating she may need an exam to make sure she isn't painful. But I suspect she's trying to "train" you into giving her other foods. Dry dog food is what she needs to be healthy with little to no treats.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
-
Published on September 12th, 2019
If she has checked out healthy you may want to stop all the "extras" such as people food and treats to encourage Mini to eat her actual food. Dogs, just like people, can become picky eaters and if given the option of snacks and people food instead of healthy balanced meals, they will choose that. Giving her a few days where you set down only her food for 15 minutes, then pick it up and trying again a few hours later will encourage her to start trying her food again. If she truly does not want to eat anything, or become more lethargic, and has obvious signs of illness such as vomiting, diarrhea, etc, then a more thorough workup from your vet is a good idea.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
My dog has lost her appetite for her food but eats her treats fine
My dog wont eat, she sniffs her food and walks away. She ate yesterday morning and this morning she only a just a little. She ate an egg and then her food yesterday morning, and today she ate 3 tiny milk bone treats and just some of her food. I think
My dog is healthy and playful will eat everything we give him, for some strange reason though he has stopped eating his wet food. Tried different premium dog food brands in wet food and still the same.
Hi, hope u r doing well.. Mini has reduced her food intake drastically.. I had took her to my vet and he told me that she is fine, we are just overfeeding her. We actually give her chicken mixed with dry food. She is active but kind of sloppy, lazy k
My dog seems disinterested in her food. She is acting normal and eats treats but she’ll sniff her food and walk away. We give her some dry mixed with some wet. Any advice?
I have been feeding my puppy, Royal Canin maxi junior for the last 1 month. Currently she weighs 7.5kgs. For the last 2-3 few days she has not been eating her food with the same excitment as she used to eat before. Instead, she now likes eating carro
Hi. My dog is a dalmador (cross between dalmatian and labrador). She isn't eating traditional food (rice). She is used to rice for over an year now. Another piece of information is that she is enthusiastically eating only special foods like sweet bre
My dog has started being fussy with his dry food, he gets meat for his last meal and two sets of dry food during the day and has been getting fed snacks/treats/bones/chicken throughout the day. Lately he will leave the dry food in his bowl for hours
Hey !! I have female shih tzu (1year ) , she doesn’t eat her food properly , when I give her dey food /wet food she just smell it and went , and rather then eating her good she eat treats /meat sticks , like what shall I do to make her eat food ?????
Should I wait for my dog to eat his healthy food? He eats all kinds of treats but now won't eat his healthy drive food
Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.
