Question:Since I bought him when he was a puppy..he didnt want to eat cheap puppy food..he always ate the expensive food...but I can't afford it.he doesnt want to eat his puppy cookies nothing...only water...I'm a bit worried what can I do?
Answers:
First start with a vet to find out if there is a problem. Yes quality food does cost more but our pets need quality pet food. Read the ingredients list and learn what the stuff on there is and what it does (or does not do) to/for our pets. A quick pet food 101. If the pet food contains corn/corn products or by products it is a poor quality food. Corn is a filler that can trigger skin problems. (allergies, skin problems, itching and excessive shedding) By products is anything from an animal not fit for human consumption, including cancerous tissue. Do not pay attention to advertising, they all say there food is great. "Vet approved" means they have a vet on staff to approve their product. In other words, someone paid to approve it. Same with foods most vets recommend. Salesmen "gift" vets then the vet recommends the food. Most vets are not nutritionalists! Quality foods have meat as the first ingredient. California Natural, Solid Gold, Innova and Merrick are a few of the best brands available. If you want to learn more check out: http://www.sagekeep.com/petfood.htm... www.api4animals.org/facts?p=35... more=1 http://animalark.eapps.com/animal/petfoo...
Please, tell me...why do people that can not afford pets get them? It is so unfair to the pet not to be able to recieve the care it deserves...
Shi tzu can't eat THAT much, check the company website of the food you were feeding him that he liked. Maybe they have a coupon you can use to purchase some of it. If you bought a few pound bag it should last a decent amount of time.
talk to a vet or somewhat at the dog food area in the pet store. I would reccomend using a food such as Nutro Ultra, or Nutro Natural Choice, this is found at a petstore, if you can't afford that, your next choice would be Purina Pro Plan, which can also be found at a pet store. If all of these foods are out of your budget, then Purina One is still OK, but I show champion dogs , and we feed them Nutro Ultra, and sometimes, Royal Canine, but Royal Canine is about $45 a bag. We have 5 dogs and that really adds up. I think that any Nutro foods are the best. You may want to stick to a holistic food, which is dog food that has no preservatives that can make the dog sick. JUST NEVER FEED YOUR DOG PEDIGREE FOODS! BBLLLUUUHHH!!
Could just be a tummy bug try some boiled rice to help him get back to rights.
The dog will eat when it is hungry. Point blank.
I think you should stick to your guns. When he gets hungry enough he will eat it. And also, be sure to check with your veternarian. They might have picked up some tricks along the way.
Your Shih Tzu has you well trained! Give him a choice - take it or leave it, he's not going to starve himself to death just because he doesn't get what he wants. Put his food in a dish, put it on the floor, leave it for 10 minutes. Lift the bowl up & don't give him anything else for at least 8 hours. Then repeat. It may take a week or so, but he'll get the message that being fussy doesn't get him his own way.
The more you fuss over him, the more he'll enjoy the attention, so give him a straight choice - sounds hard, but it's better than your dog dictating to you!
the best thing to do is put the food down for no longer than 15 minutes, if he still hasnt eaten it pick it up and wait another half hour before putting it down again - again for 15 minutes. Keep taking it up otherwise he will learn to graze whenever it suits.
It might also be worth getting his teeth checked by a vet as sometimes dental discomfort can stop a dog eating.
natures diet is a very good soft food that can help encourage a dog to eat a dry food if you mix a bit in with it.
Maybe he needs a dog tonic - one with vitamin B which is an appetite stimulant.
We adopted a spaniel once who would only eat bread because that's all he'd been given and he didn't "trust" (?) anything else. It took time, but eventually, he agreed that he would co-operate and ended up eating anything we put in front of him.
Could you try mixing cheaper and expensive together, or is he bright enough to pick out the one he likes and leave the rest? Try him with a little cat food as a treat - it's too highly protein concentrated for full time dog food but it has been known to stimulate a jaded doggie appetite.
He should give in and eat when he is hungry. Depending on his age she should be having 3 - 4 small meals a day. Feed him regularly and at the same time each day to get him into a routine. Leave his food out for a short period of time and lift it, giving him it again at his next feed time.
If he has got a bug then plain chicken and rice should sort it. But does he have any other signs of a bug - sickness or diarrhoea?
The only other way around it would be to mix the expensive food with the cheaper stuff and slowly introduce the food that way.
I hope it helps!
like my vet said...he is on strike! he'll give in and eat when he is ready. do not try to coax him. just put out the food, and leave it. (not 4 long if it is canned) no treats except for training purposes. he may even loose weight but he'll eat when he realizes there r no other choices. shih tzu's r notorious finicky eaters. changing up food regularly causes this finickiness to b worse. so, find 1 kind of food and stick to it. also, it is gross but shih tzus also eat their own crap! so if u r not watching carefully, he'll make his meals by recycling! u'll need to watch and not let this happen and also ur vet can give u this tasteless/ordorless powder for his food that will discourage this behavior. unfortunately, he still may do this on and off from now own. just watch closely and stop him if he continues. also, puppies can get coccidia which will cause eating issues. make sure he does not have diarrhea or such. if so, have him tested for parvo and coccidia. these r just small fecal exams. just to b on the safe side. otherwise...it is a fight of wills. sorry, but good luck.
Stop feeding him and he will soon come around.
I don't own fussy animals!
ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
He might not like the flavors of food. Shi Tzu puppies usually are picky about food. Try a variety of food flavors. Make sure they come in packs so you can save money. Then if he eats it check the flavor to make sure you buy him that kind of food.
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