# New Maltese won't eat dog food.



## BuddysMommy

I got Buddy 6 days ago. I got him from a lady who only had him for a couple weeks. I believe she got him from his original owners but she didn't know much about him when I got him from her so I can't be sure where she got him from. The vet says he is between 2 and 3 so he isn't a puppy. I don't know what he used to eat with his original owners but I can't get him to eat dog food for the life of me! When I got him, the lady gave me a bag of Purina Dog Chow that he wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole. I did a little research on some brands that are better for Maltese and ended up getting a bag of Solid Gold and a couple cans of it too thinking if worst came to worst I could mix the 2. Yeah right! He won't eat either of them! I tried the stuff that looks like sausage that comes in the roll and he chewed it a couple times then spit it out. I don't know what else to try. All he will eat is meat....real meat. I got in touch with a breeder from my area and asked her opinion. She said boil hamburger and rice and mix it with the dry dog food and gradually increase the dog food and decrease the hamburger rice mixture. I did that and it sort of works....he eats around the dog food to get to the good stuff but he at least gets a few pieces down. Are there any certain brands that tend to work better for picky eaters? I'm fine with making him home cooked dog meals too but I'm having a hard time finding recipes to trust and I'm nervous he won't get the proper nutrition that way. The vet says just to give him the Solid Gold and that he will eat eventually when he gets hungry enough. I hate to do that to him though! Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!


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## Bonnie's Mommie

Hi and Welcome! There are a lot of great recipes for home cooking in the forum archives. If you do a seach, you should find some that may work for you.

As far as quality dog foods, you'll get a host of different opinions. There are a good number of high quality foods and maybe you'll find something that Buddy will like. In my case, Bonnie eats Stella and Chewy's freeze dried raw and she loves it. When trying a new food, be sure to slowly transition from what he's eating now. It sounds like you're trying a good method with the meat and rice. I've heard people say that, too - about dogs eating when they're hungry enough. Talk about tough love, lol.

Good luck.


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## lynda

Another thing you might try is to soak his kibble with warm water making it softer and bringing out the flavor.


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## Ella'sMomma

Hi! I have a very similar problem with an extremely picky eater. My fluff, Ella, is a year and a half old and will _not_ touch dog food. I've had her since she was tiny so I know it wasn't because she got spoiled on people food. She has just never liked dog food. We tried her on Natural Balance, Solid Gold, Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Eukanuba, Royal Cannin, Hill's Prescription I/D, Grandma Lucy's Artisan Freeze Dried, Nature's Recipe, Castor and Pollox, and EN. The only one she would sort of eat was Royal Cannin but even then it was on and off. She's also suffered from gastro problems since I got her. My vet always told me to just put the food down and she would eat when she got hungry enough....she would literally starve herself for days though. I finally found a vet that took my concern over her anorexia seriously and we found out that she has awful food allergies. I think she refused to eat because it always made her sick! I started home cooking last week and used a recipe posted by Nikki's Mom on the home cooking sticky. Ella loves it! I'm still trying to figure out all the supplements she will need and am also worried she won't get everything. I did buy a book titled "Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health For Dogs and Cats." The book is amazing. It has a ton of easy to understand information on dog nutrition and even has recipes for home cooking. I found it at my Natural Grocer's but I'm sure you could find it online. Good luck and let us know what you find out!


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## Bibu

Sounds to me like he probably came from a home where he was used to eating food from the "human" table! Its not a problem though...nothing you can't fix.
Bibu is a suuuuuuper super picky and finicky eater. He used to get bored way to easily making me spend literally $$$ and have to give away the food a week or so later.
He stopped being like this as soon as I switched him to Dr. Harvey's. He looves it because he gets fresh meat and veggies. Not only is it fresh meat but I vary the source of protein all the time and this keeps him intrigued, never bored. You can find more about it on their website here: Natural and Holistic Foods, Treats and Supplements for Dogs - Dr. Harvey's. I feed Bibu the grain-free version (Veg to Bowl) because I find he is allergic to foods with grain.
I hope you find a good solution soon! Best of luck!


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## miss Eve

I have a similar problem with Toby. He absolutely won't eat kibble so I've been feeding him brown rice and roasted chicken with a few frozen green beans. He likes this but I'm worried that he isn't getting all the nutrition that is required. Any advice from you experienced nice people?


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## almitra

lynda said:


> Another thing you might try is to soak his kibble with warm water making it softer and bringing out the flavor.


Lynda, this is what I did and even my most finicky eater wolfed it right down. Amazing what a little water can do to make crunchy food more appealing to our fluffs, huh? BTW- your babies are P-R-E-C-I-O-U-S!:wub:


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## BuddysMommy

Thank you for the ideas everyone! I am thankful for a few new things to try. I did try soaking his food in warm water and he still turns his nose up at it. I even tried soaking it in chicken broth...nope, nothing. I will keep you posted on the outcome of this little bump in the road. I am determined to get Buddy to eat something (besides the hamburger and rice) eventually! Thanks so much again!


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## edelweiss

I would stay w/what he will eat for now. You have only had him 6 days and his little world sounds like it has been a bit topsy-turvy. He needs time to settle in & learn to trust you. For now just eating is okay. You have plenty of time to "adjust" his eating habits. Just have fun & love on him & let him enjoy being w/you a bit. He won't starve in the next couple of weeks & he might just get hungry!


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## RudyRoo

> I would stay w/what he will eat for now. You have only had him 6 days and his little world sounds like it has been a bit topsy-turvy. He needs time to settle in & learn to trust you. For now just eating is okay. You have plenty of time to "adjust" his eating habits. Just have fun & love on him & let him enjoy being w/you a bit. He won't starve in the next couple of weeks & he might just get hungry!


Yep, I agree with Sandi. If you are still having problems in a month or so then you could try a little bribery.  Rudy is a very finicky eater as well. The only thing I have found to work for us is if I start him off with something he really likes. For us it's a Gerber Baby Meat stick. We do the regular Meat stick and not the chicken or turkey ones because they have garlic powder in them. The Meat stick is just a combo of chicken and turkey anyway. He gets super excited when he sees them. I let him eat it about half way down and then I tear up the rest of it and stick it down in his food. He ends up eating all of his food just to get to the meat stick pieces! I don't plan on keeping this up for his whole life, but while he is a finicky puppy it works well for us. good luck!


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## BuddysMommy

I picked up some of the Dr. Harvey's yesterday (thank goodness there is an organic grocery store around me that sells it!) and have given it to Buddy twice now. I gave it to him for dinner last night and again this morning and he has eaten it both times! He doesn't "love" it but he at least eats it  The only thing I don't care for about it is that after adding the water it turns pink...not good when you have a white dog. But that is minor I guess since he is actually eating the food. He tried turning his nose up at it last night but I put a couple pieces of chicken on top and he ate them then got a taste of the rest of it and did eat about half so it's a start! I'm very happy and thankful for the recommendation. Thank you so much!


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## almitra

Woo-hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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