toy poodle feeding

Question
I have a 6 yr old toy poodle and he refuses to eat any kind of dry food, even moistened, my husband got him for me before he died of cancer so i would have a friend,,i have really babied him and spoiled him rotten, vet says i need to make him eat dry food, give him nothing else and he will eat when he gets hungry, i am telling you he will not. he went almost 3 days without eating he will eat a few nibbles if i hand feed every one. I have gotten another puppy and refuse to spoil that one like i did this one and I'm trying to get the toy to eat what the other one eats but i hate to watch him not eat and  cry everytime i eat. what  can i do at this point  thank  you

Answer
I tend to side with your vet.  Has the vet said anything about his weight?  Many dogs will snarf down more than is good for them and look for more. Others refuse to eat more than than they need. Evaluate the dog as illustrated in this link, http://www.longliveyourdog.com/twoplus/RateYourDog.aspx You may want the vet to confirm your judgment. Adjust the dogs food and exercise as needed to reach its ideal body condition. Some German Shepherds and other breeds may refuse to eat enough to completely hid their ribs. As long as you are feeding a concentrated, meat based chow, the best thing is to accept it.

The worst thing you can do is to bribe a dog with rich foods into eating more than it needs. Instead, Put down the dish with what the dog should eat, and give it 15 minutes to eat. Then take it up. Do not give it anything to eat until its next scheduled meal. In a few days, it should be eating what it needs. Continue to check its ribs and adjust the food as needed. This is not easy. I had a Shepherd go 3 days on a few nibbles. I was a wreck, but she was fine. It is almost unknown for a healthy dog not to eat what it needs. Unfortunately, in too many cases, it is less than the package says, and less than the owner thinks the dog should have. Many dogs are quite good at holding out for tastier chow. Like kids, sometimes it calls for tough love.

You might look at his chow.  If the pieces are to big, you might want to look at the chows meant for small dags that come in smaller bites.