My dog refuses to eat dog food, only wants treats. What can I do?

Question

She won’t eat normal dog food, only her treats. It’s been like that for about a year now, and the issue is she is still in perfect health physically with no signs of any pain or sickness or anything. She weighs right about 50lbs and is very muscular. At the vet last time we went a couple months ago for an ear infection, the vet said how great she looked too. We walk about 5-6 miles per day, every day. After the walk I feed her a couple of treats and she is satisfied. No rawhide either. Pet's info: Dog | American Pit Bull Terrier | Female | spayed | 10 years and 5 months old | 51 lbs

Destini R. Holloway, DVM · Accepted Answer

This is certainly an anomaly and not typical of a a sustainable diet. Over time, this will affect her organs in a big way, because treats are not a balanced diet for pets. Although she does look ok externally, her bloodwork may reveal all kinds of nutritional deficiencies. I would try to slowly ease her back on a healthy dog food and try to stick with proteins that she likes (i.e. chicken, beef, turkey, etc). I would also try other brands of foods that are highly palatable if you have not done so already, such as Royal Canin, Purina, Victor or Hill's Science diet. You can also try adding canned food in with the dry kibble if she prefers that more. And lastly it is ok to cook for your pet as long as the meal is pet approved and balanced. Balanceit.com and Pet diets (google search) should help you formulate a daily meal for her that will support her overall health and well-being. I hope that this helps get Hannah on a balanced diet soon and hopefully she has no irrepetable internal damage from being on a deficient diet for so long. Best of luck and take care.

My dog refuses to eat dog food, only wants treats. What can I do?

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