Why Your Dog Might Not Like Its Food

If your dog’s a picky eater, it may be a behavioral or medical issue, but it might also just be that they have specific tastes. Or it might be that the quality of their food simply isn’t up to snuff. Navigating which dog foods are actually worthwhile and which are low rate can be difficult.

It’s doubly complicated if your dog simply doesn’t like the taste of a certain brand. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to listen to your dog and find dog food that’s both nutritious and tasty.

Specific Tastes

There’s probably a type of cuisine you just don’t enjoy, and that’s true of your dog too. But they can’t just tell you. The only way they have to express they dislike something is to not eat it, so you should make the effort to try out a few flavors. 

Mixing things up between different ingredients like pork, chicken, and beef can go a long way to finding the appropriate diet for your best pal. We especially recommend trying a seafood option, as the flavors are very distinct from poultry and red meat.

Overall Ingredient Quality

Dietary preferences are one thing, but fresher and higher quality ingredients always taste better. 

Good ingredients can transform a meal, and that’s true of your dog’s food too. And what sounds delicious to your dog would probably sound delicious to you – at least in theory. After all, the kinds of things dogs would be eating out in the wild are the same food that you regularly find on your plate.

Protein

Most prominently, you need to look at the quality of the protein. It may sound funny when premium dog food brands talk about hormone-free and grass-fed animals when we’re talking about our animals, but it does make a difference. Brands that prominently position the sourcing of their meats can provide some level of comfort.

Fats

A fattier meal simply tastes better, and you shouldn’t have to worry too much about a fatty meal throwing off the diet of an active dog. It could be that your dog’s meal is too lean and too light on either oils or fats. 

Fortunately, there are a number of non-meat-based fats that can help create a more nutritious and delicious meal for your furry friend. Fish and sunflower oils are common and valuable ingredients in a tasty canine meal.

Fruits and Vegetables

If your dog’s ever tried to steal a tomato or a strawberry off your plate, that’s not that normal. While dogs may crave meat first and foremost, they’re actually omnivores – and they love the bitter and sweet accents of fruits and vegetables as much as we do. 

Think of your dog less as a picky eater and more as a culinary connoisseur. As a nice bonus, all that foliage sneak in natural vitamins and minerals.

Fillers

Fillers are usually fibers, and they exist to bulk up the recipe without adding anything in the way of nutritional content. That’s not to say that you don’t want any fiber in your dog’s diet, but you do want to make sure it provides as much value as possible. 

Stay away from corn and wheat, especially – and try to make sure it doesn’t rank prominently in the list of ingredients.

Wet vs. Dry Food

Some dogs don’t like the consistency of dry food. Others hate dry food. If your good boy or girl isn’t enjoying anything you’re serving, try making a swap over to the other option. For an option that falls somewhere in between, you should try adding a topper like fresh meat or gravy to existing dry food.