12 to 13 foods is a lot to change a dog over on, but I totally understand your frustration. My dog is a jerk when it comes to food. She'll eat her food as long as everyone else is eating the same thing. If her food is different or the other dogs food is different, she'll pick around and not eat. I have all 4 of my dogs on Innova. Two are on Senior, and the other two are on regular adult maintenance. I have had this dog since a pup, and she has always done this. THe best solution, find a food that you think is suitable for your dogs needs. Innova dog foods have done wonders for my dogs, so I will always recommend it :) . But there are other foods out there also. Don't switch the food around. Your dog is ultimately telling you what's what. "I dont like this, get me something else". Try different kinds of canned food, yogurt, eggs, soup broth (chicken or beef), brown hamburger.
There is another factor to this issue also. Maybe your dog just isn't a big eater. Some dogs just don't need to eat a lot of food all the time. My moms dog will eat a meal every three days. She's perfectly healthy. I was told by a vet that a healthy dog can go 5 days without eating. Dogs are hunters... that instinct of survival never left the domesticated dogs.
Food factor... There could be two things. If you're feeding a high quality dog food, perhaps the dog is consuming too many calories and is full. Another factor, you could be feeding a low quality food and the dogs tummy is full of fillers that aren't easily digested.
I heard that if you heat up the dog food, the oils will release from the kibble making it more appealing to dogs. You might want to try that. Ive also heard that some small dogs just don't like to eat hard food. Maybe moisten it with some warm water. Ive also heard that some small dogs would rather eat large kibbles than the small kibbles.
But I would definitely suggest to stop switching foods around. Find something that you feel is good for your dog and stick with it. Not only are you possibly getting an upset stomach, but you're also allowing your dog to boss you around to a certain point.
|