My dog won't eat his food but wants table scraps. Picky or vet?

Question

Our 11 month male bulldog stopped eating his food. He’s very playful and happy and more than willing to try and get table scraps but he won’t touch his own food. Is this something I should see our vet about or do you think this just might be a case of a picky eater. Pet's info: Dog | English Bulldog | Male | neutered | 11 months and 3 days old | 50 lbs

Lauren Kennedy, DVM · Accepted Answer

Usually this is just a case of your dog being picky. He is hoping that by not eating his food, you will give him some of yours! Try to strictly meal feed him, giving him only 10-15 minutes to eat. If he doesn’t eat in that time he doesn’t get anything else until his next meal. If you do this a few times in a row he will start to understand that he needs to eat when fed. Also, keep in mind that your dog is almost a year old now so he caloric requirements will be less than they see when he was a growing puppy. This may be playing into his behavior as well. And finally, if your dog is consistently refusing food and/or is losing weight or seems lethargic it would be a good idea to have him checked out to make sure nothing else is going on. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck!

My dog won't eat his food but wants table scraps. Picky or vet?

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