Bailey, my two year old shih tzu is such a finicky eater. I have dog food of most brands and he refuses to eat any of it except Pedigree in the pouches and ground style. That is ok with me BUT...now he has decided he isn't going to eat that either. He ate nothing yesterday... except a few Dad's peanut butter snacks after I brushed him out. Today, he has eaten nothing except a slice of spiral ham that I gave in and let him have. He ate that just fine. He is not sick. He is the most stubborn lil cuss I have ever seen.
When I first got him, I refused to give him people food. I was gonna play it by the book. However, when he proved to be finicky, my husband at the time was worried he wouldn't thrive and feed him what we ate. I have been on my own for 11 months now and he ate Pedigree fairly well. Now, he has decided that I must feed him what me and my daughter eat or he just won't eat. He is thin but not unhealthily so. I sure hate for him to get thinner though. He is just so dang stubborn.
He thinks he should be left out of nothing. If I brush my daughter's hair...he wants his brushed. If my daughter and I kiss...he has to have kisses from both of us. He is such a wonderful animal. I am concerned about his not eating. The problem is getting worse. It is not a health problem. It is sheer stubborn and wanting to be treated just like the rest of the family.
Any ideas? I sure do love my little furry boy. He is awesome. How do I get around his extreme stubbornness about what he eats?

I have a shih tzu, too -- and they are such a wonderful dog.

I would ask your vet for advice. I'm betting he will tell you that your dog will eat his dog food when he gets hungry enough

Looks likes he's learned if he waits it out he'll get people food instead of his food. Our dog eats her food not human food except a treat or for meds where i hide the pill in a small piece of hot dog or something, otherwise she's a dog and eats dog food. To me, it's like kids, they are going to eat when they are hungry, picky doesnt go well here

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I agree. He's learned that if he doesn't eat his food, he'll get human food. Dogs are like children, they'll eat when they are hungry. He isn't going to starve if he doesn't eat his food for a day. He'll learn to eat his food or nothing at all. But as long as you give him human food, that's all he'll want to eat.

I've been reading a lot about feeding dogs since I got Bella. She is a Pom, so not sure if this applies to your breed of dog, but from what I've read, people food is fine. I give Bella dog food, but am not at opposed to sharing. Obviously the problem with that is the whole begging thing, but oh well. You have to be careful what kind of food, but she will even eat vegetables, and apparently that's fine! No raw onions though.

Just check out some web sites, I've learned alot and really changed my thinking about how to feed her.

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Melissa

I often feed my dog "people food" but never from the table as part of our meal. It's healthier for them as long as it's whole foods and not processed stuff. Also watch out for dangerous food items such as chocolate, grapes, onions, ect.

I don't feed him veggies, but some people do.

If you don't want to feed people food, put down his bowl for twenty minutes twice a day and then pick up whatever is left. Even if he hasn't touched it. Do this each day until he eats. Dogs can go quite awhile without food with no ill effects, baring any medical problems. Don't give treats during the day. A healthy dog will not starve himself in the presence of food, he will eventually eat.

P.S. Don't ever do this with a cat, significantly lower their food intake, even for just one day can cause them to go into liver failure.

Good luck.

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I used to cook for my dog however she developed food allergies. My vet told me that most dogs have a degree of allergy with chicken, beef, and wheat. He suggested Dick Van Patten's Natural Dog Food. It's more expensive but worth it. A 30 lb bag of Duck and Sweet Potato dry is around $50 but it lasts us several months. You mix it with the roll of food. We get the lamb formula in the roll and it costs $11.49 and lasts two weeks.
She loves it and we noticed almost immediately her fur was healthier and she doesn't shed as much.

Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance® Pet Foods :1

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I have a tiny chihuahua who weighs 3 lbs. He is very picky about his food and actually has problems eating regular size food because he's so tiny. I researched foods and found that Royal Canin has food developed for each breed of dog. I bought a three-pound bag of Royal Canin for Chihuahua and he loves it. The foods are specially made for your breed of dog. And he's much healthier now too.

I'm sure Royal Canin carries it for your shih tzu too. I've seen it for a lot of breeds. I buy mine at Petsmart.

on the note of petfood: anyone use pet promise (natural food) and not now what to feed your animals now? They got bought out and I have less than 1 weeks food left for my 2 cats.

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-Kristi

Thanks for the help. I have went to both the web site of both the foods mentioned. There are retailers in my area that carries them. Also, I went to the site of his favorite treats and asked them to send a sample of their small kibble for him to try. I would love to find a dry food that he likes. I hate smelling the wet food. Hopefully I will find something that agrees with him.

Mom2twins I agree my shelties have been eating Royal Canin for years and they totally love love it. I will admit though they are not puppies almost 6 years old but they have been eating the puppy formula 4ever and it works and they love it and are healthy. In addition to the dry Royal Canin they also love the new little chef michaels entrees so to op kindly give these foods a try and please keep us updated. As far as table food is concerned because Sunshine has a overactive tyroaid sp... she maintains it well with medication, we limit the human food to a very small intake and only plain dry chicken or turkey. For a true treat they love plain cheerios . Again best wishes and peace. Catherine

Try "freshpet" roll food. It is in a refrigerated case in the grocery store. Here in NC & SC it is found in Lowe's food. It has pieces of potato & veggies. Our 3 dogs love it.
Also try the natural balance roll food. Our 3 dogs don't care for the dry food though.
Both are supposed to be human grade food.
Like a few other posters said, set the food out 2x a day. After 20 mins. pick it up. Dogs won't let themselves starve to death. Hubby was feeding them table food & one of our dogs decided he didn't want dog food anymore. This is what our dog trainer told us to do and it worked. Now they only get table food as a treat.
If he still give you a hard time, there are recipes to make your own dog food. We did this for awhile when there was all the problems with dog food. We stopped because it became to expensive with 3, 60lb+ dogs.
HTH,
Judy

I hada finicky eater with terrible allergies, the other one ate anything and seemed hungry all the time. A few weeks ago I changed them to raw food diet and everything changed! One is not itching anymore and eats like a normal dog (even comes in the kitchen looking for food) and the other one doesn't seem like she's starving all the time. It really worked for my girls ... good luck with your pup!
Raw Food Diet for Dogs

I don't want to come across as a spammer, so I will say up front that I am a rep for a company that sells the product I'm about to mention. If that annoys you, feel free to stop reading

Petlane's Pure Purr and Pure Woof are great foods with no chemicals or preservatives. I've had several customers with allergic pets, and they have no problem with the food. It is not available in stores, but you can have it shipped to your house on a regular basis if you choose.

Now even I think I sound like an ad. Can't help it...really love this stuff If you want more information feel free to contact me. Thanks!

Stacey