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My puppy only eats chicken. How do I get him to eat his dog food?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Yorkipoo | Male | unneutered | 7 months and 2 days old | 8 lbs

My puppy will not eat any type of dog food he will only eat chicken breast and biljac training treats any suggestions on how to get him back on dog food

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Linda G, MS, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on January 22nd, 2018

Hello. The only way to get Shooter is to give him some tough love. You want to decrease the table food by 5-10% each day while providing the highest quality dry food you can afford ( do not use canned as you will initially be throwing this away ). Put out the table & dog food & slowly transition over a 2 week period. This allows Shooter to get a little hungrier each day until he hopefully begins to nibble on the dry food. At some point, he may have to go with only the dry food for 3-4 days, BUT HE WILL NOT STARVE! If he absolutely refuses to touch the dog food, consider going to www.Balanceit.com & you can properly supplement his diet so he does not wind up with any nutritional imbalances. Thank you for using Petcoach.

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    Answered By Jenny, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on September 16th, 2017

    I would switch his treats to cheerios or animal crackers so he still has something special. You may want to try a different flavor or brand if dry dog food and maybe try a small amount of canned food with it instead of the chicken. He may have gotten a little spoiled and it may take tough love ( holding out for him to eat dog food when he gets hungry and realizes you are not giving in) to get him back in track

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