When you’re first dealing with feeding your pup, it can come along with lots of confusion. It may seem like everything that you try just isn’t working. If your pooch is turning up their nose at dinner, here are four easy tricks you can employ to get your pup eating healthy.
Set Meal Times
A great way to help regulate the eating habits of your pup is to instruct them at mealtime. They should be given a bowl that is used regularly so they know that it’s theirs. Pick specific times of the day that they should be fed. Like a human, three meals a day is usually ideal. Fill up their food bowl, put it out, and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Whether they eat it or not, remove the bowl. Put it back down in the same location at their next mealtime. Be sure not to give them treats or snacks outside of mealtimes. Your dog will learn quickly to eat their food at mealtimes.
Infuse Food with Treats
It’s likely that your pup has a favorite treat. Use that information to your advantage when it comes to feeding time. You can easily do this by adding some pieces of the treat to their food dish. Don’t just throw in whole treats with hard food as they’ll just likely eat the treats and leave the food sit. Rather, break the treats up into smaller pieces so they have to dig for them through the new food.
Switch Up Their Food
Sometimes pet owners overthink the obvious: sometimes your dog just doesn’t like a particular food. Kids and puppies both can be picky about the foods they eat starting at an early age. If you have a new pup, it’s likely there are just some foods they don’t like. If you’ve tried feeding them a certain brand and they won’t eat it, try switching to another. You’ll likely find there is another brand they prefer to eat.
While this may seem like an expensive endeavor to find the food they enjoy, try getting sample sizes of different foods first. You can often find these on manufacturer websites, sometimes for free.
Try a Seasoning Topper
If your vet has recommended special food for your pup, they may have some problems switching over. To easily solve this problem, try out different dog food seasoning toppers. These come in a variety of flavors, so you’ll be sure to find one that your pet absolutely loves. Simply sprinkle some on top of their new food. They’ll enjoy the taste of the topper and likely lick the bowl clean.
Dealing with feeding a new puppy can seem like a real disaster if you’re not prepared. The above four tips should help you with even the pickiest puppy. Just remember to take your time and assess what’s working and what’s not.
alice f
Sunday 9th of February 2020
These are really good tips! A picky puppy is like a picky child.
lisa king
Friday 29th of November 2019
my one girl is picky and i have to encourage her by giving her something tasty with her kibble
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Wednesday 27th of November 2019
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Debbie P
Tuesday 26th of November 2019
Thanks for the great tips!