Why does the dog not eat dry food and how to teach it to him?

With the appearance of a puppy in the house, the owner has to deal with various problems. One of them is the refusal of the pet from dry food. This phenomenon extends to adult dogs that previously ate such food. What can this be connected with and how to train a pet for industrial feed? This will tell our article.

Dry food, convenient for feeding a dog, may not appeal to the pet for several reasons. For example, for some animals, this may be due to choosiness in taste preferences. Others may not like the food offered because of its poor quality. Dogs, like humans, do not eat all food.

Besides, refusal of feed may be associated with other reasons: age and health. In most cases, the breeder has to go to the veterinarian to solve the problems, taking a pet with him. Let's consider some of the most probable reasons.

An inexperienced breeder may not pay attention to the importance of a smooth transition from natural to industrial food. For example, if a puppy in the kennel ate before the time of purchase eating natural food, you can’t switch it sharply to dry food. This can lead to a refusal of food, and sometimes even stress. Solid granular food is unusual for such dogs, and therefore it may not cause appetite.

To force an animal accustomed to soft food to nibble hard granules is very problematic. This situation is also typical for adult dogs, which are sharply transferred to "drying."The breeder does not think that the dog’s digestive system is not ready for such a meal. In some cases, the reaction to a sharp transition may be the rejection of new food by the body, which leads to vomiting.

If a dog, sniffing a bowl of food, refuses to eat, this may indicate its staleness and poor quality.

Few inexperienced breeders pay attention to feed composition, and it is he who gives complete information about the ingredients and their quantity. As a rule, they are listed in descending order, and it is important to ensure that the composition is just meat, not meat flour, which is made by grinding hooves and offal.

Taste qualities of such food leave much to be desired; granules do not attract a dog. In addition, it is not worth buying open packs or a product by weight. The longer it lies on the counter, the faster it loses freshness and deteriorates. If you take bulk food for a pet, then only in stores where it does not lie on shelves.

Sometimes it happens that a dog used to eat food, but abruptly stopped eating at all. Here the owner needs to be extremely careful. Maybe, the reason lies in the discomfort that the pet is experiencing at the moment. This may be due to the fact that on a walk a dog or puppy picked up something from the ground and accidentally swallowed, which caused poor health.

The specialist will establish an accurate diagnosis and prescribe treatment. If the dog is not feeling well, it is useless to force her to eat dry food. During the period of malaise, this will not give a positive result, but it will provide vomiting.

You can not force a dog to eat dry granular food if it has bad teeth, there are diseases of the upper respiratory tract and oral cavity. In these cases, the dog refuses to dry food due to pain and irritation. Moreover, attempts to eat at least a few granules are accompanied by whining, the animal is lethargic and depressed. With these symptoms, the pet needs to urgently see a doctor.

A dog that moves a little does not consume much energy. At first, it simply reduces the amount of food consumed, and subsequently can eat through feeding, not differing in special appetite. In some cases, with a lack of movement, it gains weight, becomes clumsy and lazy. This problem is solved more easily than the others: regular physical activity is required to regain appetite. These are walks, games, training and frequent jogging.

It is no secret that dry feeds differ in certain taste characteristics. Surely the breeders were faced with the fact that the pet prefers some food and may even refuse another, waiting for him to buy his favorite food. If it seems to some owners as finicky, others understand that the dog does not like the taste of the proposed granular product.

As a rule, this can be observed during the transition from expensive fodder to budget. Do not contrast feed with feed. Often this is precisely what causes the stubbornness of an animal that refuses to eat food whose taste is far from its favorite treat. If such a need arose, you need to train your pet for new food gradually. This will allow the animal to take new food, orientate on the hardness and size of the granules, get used to their taste.

Like humans, animals are subject to various kinds of stressful situations. And if people in such cases often seize stress with food, then dogs, on the contrary, prefer to refuse food. This phenomenon is quite common, and it is especially understandable if on the eve of the dog something could be scared or had the imprudence not to please the boisterous and rude owner.

In addition to the above reasons, the dog may refuse dry food due to spoilage, during estrus, in the presence of age-related characteristics and in case of non-compliance with the dosage. Each case has its own rationale. For instance, loss of appetite may be associated with a period of high sexual activity. As a rule, in such cases, the owner does not need to resort to radical measures, since after the end of the period of surge of hormones, the appetite returns to the animal.

Some representatives of the canine world are prone to begging. Possessing excellent acting data, by hook or by crook, they can lure something delicious from their owners. And if the owner often ignores the rules of feeding, treating the pet with food from his table, it is not worth counting on the fact that the animal will eat granular food.

As for the dosage of food, this aspect is of particular importance when growing a healthy pet. In a fit of excessive care, the owner may think that the more the pet eats, the better.

A puppy cannot eat rough food due to a change in milk teeth, which are still weak. In older dogs, the teeth are diseased and are characterized by thinning of enamel.

After the breeder is able to identify the reason for the pet to refuse dry food, You can begin to eliminate it.

• If the dog does not eat granular food due to illness, it is shown to the veterinarian. In this case, the specialist examines the animal, makes a diagnosis, prescribes treatment and carries out a set of necessary procedures.
• If a dog has stopped eating pellets due to a tooth disease, it cannot be accustomed to solid food. This food will be painful for an old dog with bad teeth, and therefore the owner should review his pet's diet.
• If the dog does not want to eat due to the stress, it is worth reconsidering his views on his education, training and communication with him. There should be no scream in the house. You cannot humiliate an animal with a whipping, you cannot emotionally put pressure on him.
• A separate category of dogs cannot remain alone for a long time. If the owner often leaves home, you need to provide the pet with a company in which he will not feel lonely.
• If the reason for the refusal is the poor quality of the product, you should look closely at the products of trusted brands. For example, the producers of dog food Puppy, Acana, Orijen have proven themselves well.
• When buying, you need to take into account the volume of the product, since the food at the pet must be fresh. Small dogs of decorative breeds, and puppies do not need huge packages of food. Store the product preferably in a vacuum container.

You can teach a puppy to dry food by soaking granules before feeding. This will reduce the load on weak baby teeth. Someone for more effective attraction soaks the granules in natural yogurt or kefir.

You need to feed the pet correctly.

For instance, for puppies and old dogs the food is different, they have different composition. If the dog does not want to eat due to ticks, worms or a large number of fleas, the appetite can be restored with a simple treatment. Sometimes she does not eat after vaccinations, as well as after taking medication.

Making the animal eat the purchased food is a difficult and sometimes impossible task. Some breeders believe that you can break a pet with hunger, and therefore he will have to eat purchased food sooner or later. However, this practice is inappropriate for experienced breeders and moreover it cannot be used in relation to puppies, pregnant females and sick dogs. Sick animals need to stop the pain initially: they will not eat through it.

So that the dog does not refuse food, the owners must monitor its diversity. It must not be allowed for a pet to eat the same food every year. This can lead to complications such as kidney or liver failure.

If the breeder has the opportunity to buy good food, it is better to go by weight. It has the property of oxidizing when in an open package. By following the dog’s behavior and lifestyle, you can buy a specific product variant, for example, which is suitable for sterilized animals, puppies, lactating and pregnant dogs. You can also find on the shelves of specialized stores products for animals with sensitive digestion, long hair.

As for the latter type of food, it is relevant for dogs that, like cats, take care of their own hygiene by gnawing off dead hair. Such food allows them to cleanse the digestive system of wool. You need to look at calorie content, type of breed, product class.

Premium analogs have flavoring additives, they are made from meat, poultry, fish, vegetables. They are absorbed by the body up to 75%.

In addition to meat, the best products contain cereals (oats, rice), a whole egg, vegetables, fruits, berries, herbs and even algae. In addition, the ingredients should include yeast, glucosamine, chondroitin, probiotics, minerals and vitamins.

Good appetite is the key to a pet’s health, as well as proper handling. Experts note that it is not difficult to accustom an animal to dry food, but for this it is necessary to take into account several nuances.

• You need to feed a puppy or an adult dog at the same time.
• You can treat it with delicacies only as an incentive in the classroom and training.
• Portions of food should not remain after eating, food should be selected taking into account the age and weight of the animal.
• The dog will be willing to eat premium food or holistic.
• The bowl of water should be next to the bowl of granular feed.
• Sick pets, puppies and dogs of retirement age need to mix dry food with wet food, and it can be soaked in water.
• If a puppy or weak dog does not cope with the large granules of the purchased product, it is worth buying a pet analogue with a smaller fraction of the meat product.
• If the animal does not eat a dry product for a long time, it must be converted to natural food.

In this video you will learn all the nuances of transferring a dog from natural nutrition to dry food.