eating habits

Question
My eight month old Pom/Poo does not like any type of dog food. I made the mistake of feeding him table food and now with the exception of liver treats, Max Puppy Biscuits and an occasional Pup corn - he refuses to eat canned or dry dog food. He does like his multi-vitamin. He will occasionally take a bite of dog food, but then sticks his nose up in the air. I decided yesterday that he must eat dog food. He is beginning to have intestinal issues (runs) and I want him to be healthy. I am trying to feed him briefly three times a day. It hasn't worked yet. He sneaks off and eats plants when I am not looking. I have moved all the plants and am monitoring him more closely. I work from home and we are together 24/7 (except on occasion when I go somewhere). When we are not together I put him in his crate. He is a sweet - very spirited little dog. I love him and want him to be normal. Thank you for any input you may offer.

Answer
Well you've hit the nail on its proverbial head when saying you "made the mistake of feeding him table food...", this is a mistake many, many people make out of kindness!  No point kicking yourself!

I know it feels VERY bad to watch your much loved little dog "starve", but think of the future benefit to him in the long run (as I see you are doing.)  It's a very good idea to remove plants; many plants are poisonous to pets.  No physiologically healthy dog will starve itself; it may look as though he's doing that, but eventually he will eat.  So long as you offer (as I'm sure you are) a premium dry food three times daily (for fifteen minutes each feeding period), he will be fine.  Don't make a big deal out of it, simply put the bowl down and walk away.  Small breed dogs often appear not to eat very much, and often will eat tiny amounts over the course of a day or two, but so long as the dog's weight doesn't drastically decrease, there's no problem.