"What to Do if My Dog Won't Eat?" Picky Eater Dog Tips

So, your dog won’t eat his food when you add the Dinovite? In fact he sniffs the food then turns and walks away. This is frustrating! What do you do? First off, it may help to understand what’s going on inside your dog’s brain. Simply put, dogs have a “smell oriented” brain, hundreds of thousands times more sensitive to smell than our brain. It’s something to think about really. Dogs see the world around them largely through smell.

When one of our dogs rejects a food item, it looks like he doesn’t like the taste but something else is going on. Let’s face it, dogs will eat some pretty disgusting things like garbage, feces, dead animals and dirty diapers, to name a few. When a dog rejects a food item, it is not taste. It's scent confusion.

Many of our dogs eat the same dog food day in and day out with all the same ingredients. Your dog becomes accustomed to this family of ingredients with their specific scents. Everything is very familiar. Our dogs go through their lives sniffing then eating new things and slowly increasing the variety of what is “on the menu” so to speak, a “food category”. Remember, your dog can smell things we don’t even understand, they operate in a different world. So what happens when a scent is encountered that’s not in any of their known food categories? What happens is a type of confusion that tells them not to eat the item. When a dog rejects dinovite on their food, it contains some ingredients (with their foreign scents) that may not be in your dog’s food category.

So what do we do? Well, we need to get these new scents added to your dog’s food category. All this takes is a little time and patience. Here are some tricks that work well.

Trick #1 - A tiny pinch

Take a tiny pinch of Dinovite and put it on the bottom of your dog’s food bowl, then pour his food on top. Do not mix. Feed his food like this for two weeks, then slowly increase to the correct serving. Make sure the pinch is so tiny you can barely see it. Don’t worry, your dog will smell it. What we are doing here is adding whatever is “objectionable” to his “good food” category. This process takes a little time but works well. Often, after your dog starts to like the Dinovite he will no longer eat his food without it.

Trick #2 - Make a paste
This trick seems counterintuitive but for many dogs, it works great! Mix about a teaspoon of Dinovite and a teaspoon of Lickochops together. Serve it on a plate next to your dog’s food bowl. Just put it down and walk away, no coaxing at all. I have seen the most “finicky” dogs lick it up when served this way. I think this method eliminates the “scent confusion” because the “new smell” is not mixed with the familiar smell of their current food. So, they try it.

Trick #3 - mix with yogurt
Mix the Dinovite with a food item your dog loves, something like plain yogurt, ground beef or cottage cheese. Just mix it up and feed it to your dog. If your dog loves the food item then there is a good chance he will scarf it down. However, this method can also trigger the “scent confusion” and your dog could turn and walk away. Remember, you can’t hide the smell from your dog. If this happens try sprinkling a light dusting of Dinovite on the bottom of your dog’s bowl and put the loved food item on top. Do not mix. Think like this, you are standing outside at a picnic eating a hamburger with your dog at your side and you drop the burger right in the dirt. Your dog would not hesitate to eat the burger, dirt and all.

How are you feeding your dog?
Dogs are gorgers and fasters by design. So, it is best to feed them in that manner. We have found that dogs who turn their noses up at Dinovite are often "free feeders". What do I mean by “free feeders” or “free feeding"? Free feeding is supplying a virtually constant supply of food in your dog’s food bowl that your dog can graze over the course of the day. This feeding method goes against a dogs design and cultivates a finicky nature.
 The best way to feed your dog is to offer your dog's food once or twice per day for 10-15 minutes and then pick up the un eaten food and offer it the next feeding. A few days of this regiment will help turn finicky dogs into eager feeders. This method is also better for their digestion.
 
*All information on this website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the expert advice of a veterinarian or veterinary practitioner.