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Picky dog won't eat? Should I schedule meals or leave food out?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Havanese | Female | 1 year and 2 months old | 4 lbs

My year old Havanese is Not a good eater- I have tried different soft and hard foods but she doesn’t like any of it. I want to get her on a feeding schedule so she can be on a pooping schedule for less accidents but would it be better to just leave dry food out all the time and if she gets hungry she will eventually eat?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jessica Keay, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on September 11th, 2018

Some dogs are just picky eaters or are not very food driven. So we have some dogs, like your typical labrador, that will eat anything and everything within 30 seconds of it being put down, and others that are more picky and graze throughout the day. There are not necessarily medical drawbacks to leaving her food down throughout the day, or at least leaving it down for a few hours in the morning and a few in the evening. Sometimes unfortunately with dogs who are picky we just have to be tough and not offer them a different food every time they decide they aren't excited about their current one. We can predispose dogs to food allergies if we are changing their foods all the time and we do get allergies later in life it is much harder to find a good diet for them. I would choose one food and stick with it, and she will eventually get hungry and eat it. The exception is toy breed puppies which can develop hypoglycemia if they go too long without eating https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952329 , but adult dogs should be able to tolerate this. I am a fan of the purina pro plan line, which is available at most pet stores and is good quality, they also have dry diets, wet diets, and their Savor line has kibbles along with softer/chewy kibbles which my dogs love. If there is some treat that she is very fond of you can mix it in with the food that you want her to eat and slowly decrease the amount of the treat each day so she gets used to the other food. Some people find putting some low sodium chicken broth on the food can entice them to start eating a food and you can slowly decreas the amount placed on the food, or warming food up slightly makes it more appetizing.

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    Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on October 2nd, 2017

    If she otherwise seems healthy, then I don't worry too much about picky dogs. They will eventually eat, so I tell my clients to just feed a good balanced diet and she will start to eating it at some point. Dogs can go weeks before they actually starve, so it's not a concern if she is not eating much over a day or two. Wait it out and try not to feel too bad about it. Also, I find picky dogs to often be the ones in the best shape. They tend to maintain a lean body condition, which makes them less prone to certain diseases and they statistically live longer. I hope that helps. If Gina continues to not eat for more than two days, then I would take her to the vet for an exam to ensure that it's not a medical issue.

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