My 1-year-old puppies are picky. What's the best food for them?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
What’s the best food to feed my puppies? Pom-Chi Mix 1 year old and Yorkshire Terrier Mix 1 year they both are really piky.
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on March 6th, 2020
There is no one "best" food. Choose a diet that is easy for you to buy, that both will eat and both do well on. What they have done is train you to feed them what they want. To break this habit will require patience and consistency. If they aren't already, start a regular schedule for feeding. Dogs thrive on routine, so this should be easy for them. Prepare the meal and put it down for 30 minutes before picking up whether they have eaten or not. Repeat this at the next mealtime. Now, here is the tough part......do not feed them anything between meals. Don't worry, they will not starve. They will eat when food is presented eventually. Switching diets may lead to stomach upset and can reinforce the finicky behavior.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on February 20th, 2020
Stop hand feeding her. What she is doing is training you to feed her when she wants to eat. This can progress to a becoming a finicky eater later in life. Prepare her meals and leave it down for 30 minutes before picking it up whether she has eaten or not. Repeat this at the next mealtime. Dogs thrive on routine, so set up a consistent feeding schedule. Do not hand feed her or offer any food between meals. If she is training, tiny bits of food can be offered as rewards. Do not worry, she will not starve. She will eat when she is hungry. Be firm and be consistent.
4Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Food & Nutrition
I have a 10 month old Chihuahua that is a picky eater. What dry dog food should I give him
There can be many reasons for finicky eating: https://www.petcoach.co/article/my-pet-is-a-finicky-eater/ My advice is to pick a high quality food and stick with it. The two brands that seem to be most palatable are Royal Canin and Purina ProPlan. Also, as long as your pet is healthy, its ok if he skips a couple meals. Dogs are smart and they often train humans to give them something else. Have him examined if illness or a medical cause is suspected. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My puppies are not eating! I gave then wet food mixed with try food and they ate it for a while then stopped. Now im giving them dry food with ham and they licked the bowl clean and i stopped because ham isnt the best for them. And now im trying bana
If they are just picking then pick a dry food and stick with it. And stop mixing anything in. They will eat when they are hungry enough. A normal, healthy dog will not starve themselves. Put food down for 10-20 minutes twice a day to give them time to eat. If they don't eat pick it up and no treats or other foods. Healthy puppies will eat in a day or two. Don't let them train you, you need to train them. :) this way too you if they do ever get sick you have a better chance of tempting their appetite if needed. Thank you for using Boop by Petco.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
my dog, fuzzy is a very picky eater... we have been on multiple diets so far and we have been on raw for at least 3 months. I know he doesn't like it, but i'm out of options! i've tried EVERYTHING!
Choose one diet Fuzzy will eat and stick with it. What he likely has done is effectively trained you to feed him what he wants, when he wants. Dogs thrive on routine, so feed him on a consistent schedule if you aren't already. Prepare his food at the appointed time and leave it down for 20-30 minutes before picking it up whether he has eaten or not. Repeat this at the next mealtime. Here's the tough part....do not feed him anything else between meals. Be firm no matter how much he may whine or beg. He will not starve. He will eat once he realizes there will be no other food options coming. You can mix in some warm water or a teaspoon of plain baby food to stimulate the appetite.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
hello, I was wondering whats the best food to keep giving my puppy? he is now 7 months and he a mini golden doddle, we started with the Hill's Science Diet Healthy Development Small Bites Dry Puppy Food, for the first months and he started getting
What a cute puppy! With him being 7 months old and a small breed dog, I think that Lucas is slowing down on his growing. This can cause a reduction in his appetite. I find that the more that we change a dog's food- the more pickier they become. I would stick with one brand, offer 1/3 of slightly less than the daily recommended amount (they sell dog food, so the more he eats the more you buy) three times daily. Give him a set amount of time and then pick up the bowl. This will create some urgency. He will eat if he is hungry. The more we change and add things, the more he will wait to eat to see what good stuff will be added. I would keep track of his body condition score- you should be able to feel his ribs with a little bit of fat cover, but not see them. As long as he is in good body condition, I would not worry. Some dogs are not food motivated and will just eat what they need. If you have any questions about his weight or body condition score, you can ask your veterinari
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Food & Nutrition
My 8 month old puppy is extremely picky with food. After about a month of having her, she stopped eating her original dry food. I switched to wholehearted. After a while, she stopped eating that too. I tried meal mixers and food toppers, but she pick
This can be difficult. Finicky eaters are not uncommon with small breed dogs. Fixing this depends on how stubborn both you and Freya are. A dog who is healthy will not starve themselves to the point of illness. You can pick a high-quality food, I recommend the brands Royal Canin or Purina pro plan. Offer the diet and don’t offer her anything else. It is likely she will refuse the food and may do so for a couple days but eventually she will eat. You can try adding in canned food or meal toppers, a very small amount of shredded boiled chicken or some plain brown or white rice to make it more appealing. An alternative is to look into a diet more like fresh pet or Nom Nom pet food. These will be more like meals humans eat and you may have more successful. When you have a finicky eater, it is crucial not to offer any human food or food from your plate. Treats must be minimal. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I spoiled my dog retrieves and people food now he won't eat his dog food. I tried bil-jac for finicky eaters but the corn makes him itch. He's healthy he sees event has all the shots and heartworm medication. He's shedding excessively now but it's th
There can be many reasons for finicky eating: https://www.petcoach.co/article/my-pet-is-a-finicky-eater/ My advice is to pick a high quality food and stick with it. The two brands that seem to be most palatable are Royal Canin and Purina ProPlan. Also, as long as your pet is healthy, its ok if he skips a couple meals. Dogs are smart and they often train humans to give them something else. Have him examined if illness or a medical cause is suspected. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Food & Nutrition
My 6 month old puppies won't eat Purina food at all..i have tried Blue Buffalo they never touched it,I have tried Pedigree,they didn't like it,I have poured some beef broth (low sodium) over their kibble,i have tried boneless,skinless chicken and pou
It sounds like you have a couple of picky eaters on your hands! You could still try another flavor of kibble - Purina makes a ProPlan with some softer pieces or you could try Royal Canin or Hills. You may need to ‘wait them out’ and leave the dry kibble out until they eat it without offering anything new. It also won’t hurt to continue to mix a little wet food in if you aren’t opposed to it. Good luck!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Food & Nutrition
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 d
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/
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Food & Nutrition
I have an 8 month old aussiedoodle and she will stop eating every once in a while. Should I just change her food? She’s eating earthborn puppy vantage right now
Dogs are lucky in that if they don't eat for a day or two there's no harm done. Cats will suffer liver damage after a few days, dogs just get hungry. As long as she is otherwise healthy, I wouldn't worry about it too much if she has a picky day here or there. Keep an eye on the behavior, to be safe, and see if there seems to be anything that seems to trigger the event, so you can keep your vet informed. If you do decide to change her food, don't do it abruptly. Make sure you have enough of the old food for about a week. You can change her over a couple of different ways. One method is to mix the two foods, 75% old, 25% new in a single bowl for 23 days, then 50% of each for a few days, then 25% old food, 75% new for 2-3 days or until you run out of the old food. Alternatively, you can offer two bowls of food, old food in one, new in the other. Gradually decrease the amount of new food until she is completely transitioned onto the new food. This will minimize and hopefully prevent any in
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Food & Nutrition
What do you do when your puppy is an extremely picky eater? I have tried science diet, digestive diet, diamond naturals, pedigree, and wholehearted soft and wet food. I can leave the bowl out all day and I’m lucky if she eats a full bowl. I’m really
What Mia is doing is training you to feed her what she wants, when she wants it. You can turn it around by sticking with one diet and feeding her on a consistent schedule. Dogs thrive on routine. Prepare her food and leave it down for 30 minutes before picking it up whether she has eaten or not. Repeat this at the next mealtime. Offer no food or treats between meals other than tiny training rewards. Be firm and be consistent. She will not starve. You can warm her food slightly or mix in a bit of warm water to stimulate the appetite. Being that she is young and tiny, watch for symptoms of hypoglycemia and offer a dab of Nutri Cal or Karo syrup if she becomes lethargic. Once she perks up, feed her.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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