He Won’t Eat The New Food
Oh my mercy! Dog mamas can get very stressed when Fido doesn’t eat his dinner heartily during a transition to a new food.
Please do not stress out!
Transitions can take some time. Remember for Fido, we just took away his junk food and there may be some resistance to that. I do not worry much if they don’t eat the first day or two, if they don’t clean their bowl right away, etc.
You may have to back up a step or two and revisit the transition process. It’s ok to let them "fast for a day – we’re not withholding food. They have a choice to eat it or not! But we may need to consider an intolerance test if they truly keep resisting specific foods even after our best efforts. Seomtimes they know foods that don’t make them feel good.
But there are a few tricks of the treat to help Fido adjust to new foods for those that are holding out for junk food or just resistant to change.
- Gently cook the meat for a while. Going to raw is a big change! If you precook several days worth of meat in advance, be sure to warm-up each meal’s portion
- What’s the temp of the meal? I add mix + meat to the bowl,
pour hot water over both, stir and serve. Warm meat is more enticing, releasing scent and more appetizing. - Use Bone Broth topper for a few days
- Feed Meat heavy for a few days — add a meat topper to the bowl, or stir in a bit of your recipe to meat and gradually change the ratios.
- What’s the consistency — For a dog that is used to something very dry, that may seem off-putting. Experiment with consistency and texture.
- List item What temperature are you feeding the food at? They may not it cold.
- Add some seasoning on top a little freshly grated garlic or ginger, a little Italian seasoning. smidgens of freezer dried liver dust, etc.
- Add some cottage cheese, or kefir as a topper
- Top the meal with sardines
- Add a vegetable medley
- Add a raw egg
- Be creative
If you put down a bowl and fido doesn’t eat it within 15-20 save it for dinner and try again. Try to avoid waste as much as possible. Unless your dog is unhealthy or underweight, skipping a meal isn’t a big deal.
Ideally, this transition zhuzh up is temporary! Just until Fido figures out how much he likes real meat!
If you need help be sure to ask!