My Dog Won't Eat - Help For Owners of Older Dogs

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Any dog owner who is seeking an answer to the question - "How do I get my dog to eat?" is experiencing one of two scenarios: One, they have a sick dog on their hands, or two, they have been trained very well by their dog. As with most negative behaviors exhibited by your dog - and being a picky eater is one of them - you need to first rule out any health issue by a trip to your vet. Assuming your dog gets a clean bill of health, you will need to retrain your dog. If you buy into this one truism - and you should - that a healthy dog will not starve himself to death, your job at hand is quite simple. Just wait him out. Put his food down at his established feeding time. Give him fifteen to thirty minutes to eat. If he hasn't touched his food, remove it until the next feeding time. This means NO food - including treats - until next feeding time rolls around. There you have it. If I stopped here, I'm confident I would have helped 95% of the households that have a dog that is a finicky eater. But, that wouldn't make much of an article; and, I do feel obligated to address the other 5% out there who cannot bear the thought of deliberately "starving" their beloved dog to death.