Hi Guys,

My 7 month old rescue Westie, Max just wont eat dog food. We've had him for over two months now and we've tried all the leading brands. Obviously we've not just swopping brands every next day and we've tried taking the food away then putting it back down later on. Stubborn little so and so!!! We're now buying Chicken/Turkey joints which is costing a fortune, he's gone off scramble egg!! wont eat rice or veg. Loves garlic, cheese, toast but only if it has butter (no artificial stuff) I'm also bit worried cos I'm sure I've read somewhere that food with salt in isn't good for them.
Other than that he's a lovely little boy, and getting to be very well behaved (well when hes a sleep lol)
Pipj         

"Human Food" isnt very good for dogs - he will put on weight and will cause all sorts of problems - my friend had the same problem when she got her poodle at 6 months old - he'd had a great diet of crisps and chocolate and wouldnt eat dog food.

So she had to be cruel to be kind im afraid - she decided to leave the dog food down and not give him anything at all - eventually he was so hungry he ave up and ate it! Now he is on the dog food quite happily and sometimes gets a "human treat" lol

All the best with your pup - im sure you'll sort this out :-D

To quote someone elso on this forum...'fussy dogs are made, not born'!!!

Pick a good quality food that you want him to eat and put his bowl down for 15 minutes. lift it after this time whether he has eaten it or not and feed nothing until the next meal time. Repeat for as long as necessay. A healthy dog will not starve itself. Once he figures out there is nothing else on  offer, he'll eat what is available :)

To quote someone elso on this forum...'fussy dogs are made, not born'!!! ;)

Pick a good quality food that you want him to eat and put his bowl down for 15 minutes. lift it after this time whether he has eaten it or not and feed nothing until the next meal time. Repeat for as long as necessary. A healthy dog will not starve itself. Once he figures out there is nothing else on  offer, he'll eat what is available :)

Hi Radleydog, and the rest who very kindly sent advise

Don't worry I NEVER feed him junk food or chocolate.
And just to let you all - it looks like he's taken to Burns puppy bites but only after they've been left to get mushy in water!!
I forgot to mention we did try him on one of the top selling brands - he puked on several occasions so I guess he knew he wasn't good for him - what a clever puppy!!!
Thanks again all of you
Pipj 

Hi again - i didnt mean it to sound like you fed your dog chocolate and crisps lol - i was just saying about my friends dog lol.

I also didnt mean the good "human food" i.e raw meat and veg - it was the junk food side i was refering to thome.

Really pleased your pup is taking to dog food - i have problems with my spitz and eating and i also put her food in water to make it soggy - the good thing about doing that is that it will go soft and so not get stuck lol :-)

I agree with Radleydog, this little critter has you pandering to him, I've never known a dog starve themself to death, so he will eat the dog food when hes hungry, you just need to stick to your guns for a while till he realises you're not going to give in to him ;)

Clever little dog! He's got you very well trained. ;) Unfortunately if you pander to his whims like this he'll end up an unhealthy little dog before he goes to an early grave. :(

The best thing to do is choose a good-quality dog food, put some in his bowl at his mealtime, and leave it down for 15 minutes. Then take away the bowl and any left-over food, and give him nothing - no treats, no titbits - till his next mealtime - which will again be the same dog food. Again, leave it down for 15 minutes then remove any uneaten food. He'll test your patience, but I bet he won't hold out more than a week - no healthy dog starves itself to death. The thing is, which of you has the stronger will? ;)

"Human Food" isnt very good for dogs

What a sad thing to say :( So your saying only humans deserve fresh foods

There is absolutely nothing wrong with "human food" as some like to put it,fresh meats,veggies,fruit etc. are all excellent additions to any dogs diet!! Obviously sugary/salty foods and junk food aren't any better for our dogs than they are for us :rolleyes:

However seeings you have a fussy dog,i would omitt all 'additions' until he is happily eating dog food,i dont know of any dog that would pass up fresh,real food in favour of dry food ;) Your dog is simply very clever and know's what he needs and wants :) As others have mentioned put the food down for 10-15 minutes and give nothing until the next mealtime and so on and so on,dont give any snacks/treats inbetween because you feel sorry for him,as this will put you all the way back to square one again,and besides inbetween meal snacks are hunger killers!Dont forget YOU are not starving him,this is his decision.

A few people have said dogs will not starve themselves,my little dog went 5 days without eating a scrap,on the 6th morning I gave in,there is nothing wrong with her other than her hatred of commercial foods.I was honestly starting to wonder if she actually would starve herself to death rather than eat dry food,at the very least i would think her internal organs would suffer some damage after not eating for more than a week?? What do you all think? How long is too long to let a dog go without food?

>We're now buying Chicken/Turkey joints which is costing a fortune, he's gone off scramble egg!! wont eat rice or veg.

>There is absolutely nothing wrong with "human food" as some like to put it,fresh meats,veggies,fruit etc. are all excellent additions to any dogs diet!! Obviously sugary/salty foods and junk food aren't any better for our dogs than they are for us

OP says he's off veg, egg, rice and she can't afford to feed fresh meat everyday but anyway, maybe he's telling her he needs and wants caviar, champagne and Belgian chocolate.  When people said not human food I think they were probably thinking of processed food, etc.  The OP is trying to pander to the dog's taste which isn't necessarily what is good for him.  My dog sits beautifully for doughnuts but she doesn't get them

Nothing wrong with human grade food, that is all that my dogs eat ;)  As they eat raw........

However, back to the OP question, you have created a fussy dog by offering lots of alternatives, in my house I also offer an alternative, eat or starve; never had a fussy dog, cat or child!

As for how long a dog can go without food, weeks (not that I am recommending this of course) as long as they can drink.

How do we know?  Because of dogs getting stuck in all sorts of placed without food.

Dogs will not starve themselves to death, neither will any other animal other than man, and generally they are getting SOME nutrition, somewhere, and if the dog was fat to begin with, like a camel, it can go for ages living off its reserves.

Most dogs will not go past 3 or 4 days without eating (unless they are getting bits of stuff elsewhere) but a week is not too long IMO UNLESS of course the dog is ill, very very young or very very old.

One way to stimulate eating in a dog is to increase the amount of exercise
Part of the nature of the beast is the hunt, the chase, the kill the reward. Some breeds of dogs are very good at regulating their own weight (not Labradors) my own setters will not eat a full meal if they miss a walk (I think they tend to think why I am I being fed when I haven't had a walk) try increasing the amount of exercise and stick to the golden rules of who's in charge -JO