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My Shih Tzu won't eat dog food. What can I do for a picky eater?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Shih Tzu | Female | spayed | 102 years and 7 months old | 7.4 lbs

My shih tzu won’t eat dog food. I’m going crazy trying to find things for her to eat. I’ve tried can, I even bought the special shih tzu food. Any advice would be appreciated I don’t want her to starve

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2 Answers

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Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

Veterinary Technician

Published on October 11th, 2017

Most dogs will not starve themselves. It is best to remove any and all extras such as people food and treats that are more enticing, and only offer her the dog food for a few days. You can either set it down for a period of 15-20 minutes and pick it back up and try again in a few hours if she doesn't eat, or leave it out free-fed for a day or so to give her a chance to check it out and try it. Some dogs may not be comfortable with certain types of bowls as they may clink against a collar or feel weird on their faces/feet. Changing things up by trying a bowl of a different material or adding a placemat or rug under the bowl may help encourage Sunshine to try it out and start eating. If she is refusing to eat suddenly when she was eating fine before, or is showing any signs of illness in addition to this (vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, painful belly, etc), then there could be an underlying issue causing it which should be checked out by a vet.

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    Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on April 30th, 2020

    Is he getting bored with it or are you giving him too much other human foods so that he no longer is wanting to eat the puppy food? DO NOT get him used to eating human foods. If he is not too skinny where you can see his ribs then he is obviously eating enough food. To entice him to eat you can use some of this Royal Canin wet food mixed in with his dry. This EXIGENT wet food is made to entice picky eaters. https://www.petsworld.in/royal-canin-exigent-gravy-dog-food-1-02kg.html I suggest you start to meal feed him. The idea is to put the food down two times per day (three times per day for puppies). Leave the food down for 10-15 minutes and then pick it up. DO NOT talk to him or say anything to him when you put the food. Ignore him and just walk away. Do this at the same times each day. DO NOT give treats or any other foods during the day. Eventually he will learn that those feeding times are the only times he will be getting food and then he will probably start eating better. Also, DO NOT allow him to be around people when they are eating. That is an awful habit for him. Put him outside, in a dog crate/kennel or in another room while people are eating. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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