My dog is a picky eater. Is my method to get him to eat working?

Question

My bongo is pampered a lot which made him a picky eater .I would say picky at its peak . We have seen that after his neutering sergery he wasn’t able to eat for a couple of days and was eating dog food which he never came close to like a hungry monkey. now we are working on his pickyness to go away for good . We’re taking him out after every 3 hours and showing the same bowl with same dog food until he’s extremely hungry and eat . My question is ; is this a good method I’m doing ? Can u advise. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 8 months and 13 days old | 26 lbs

Dr. Kristin DVM · Accepted Answer

Thank you for your question. There are some dogs that are very picky eaters, including mine. You can approach this a couple of different ways. You can decide to stick to one food and take the approach that Bongo will eat it when he is hungry. If you choose to do this, you need to avoid adding anything to the food, or he will simply wait until you add something to eat it. At his age, I would be comfortable letting him go 48 hours without eating before giving in and adding something to encourage him to eat. There is nothing wrong with offering food every 3 hours, but you probably don't need to do it that often. Putting the bowl down at mealtimes and giving him 30 minutes to decide if he is going to eat it should be adequate. The second approach would be to recognize that he gets bored with his food and rotate through foods. You can find a brand with multiple flavors. Or you can change between brands. If you change between brands, I recommend adding some of the new food to the old food for a few days. Lastly, there are some dogs that only eat once a day, and if that is all he is interested in, that is okay too. He will eat when he is hungry, and as long as his weight is stable, and there are no other symptoms (such as vomiting or diarrhea), I wouldn't be concerned. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

My dog is a picky eater. Is my method to get him to eat working?

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