dog being a picky eater

Question
Hi, I have a Golden and Lab Retriever mix dog. She is 7 years old and weighs about 85 pounds. So she needs to lose a few pounds. But recently she has become very picky about not eating her food. She will just sniff and it and walk away. But she will eat everything else. Like a piece of bread or her dog treats or a bone. And if I mix a piece of bread with her food she will eat her food than. I think she just has me and my wife trained. We took her to the vet and they did a full blood test and everything came back fine. Her stool is fine and she is acting like she always has. I just wanted to get someone else's take on it. Thanks a lot. I look forwarding to hearing from you!

Answer
Hi Travis,

There's a popular saying amongst dog trainers: "finicky eaters aren't born, they're made". That's because a dog is a natural scavenger, and not a naturally picky eater.

Most finicky eaters have learned that if they wait, their owner (who may act anxious about the dog not eating) will "give in" and add something tasty to the meal. Many owners of finicky eaters become fixated on their dogs' eating habits which has the effect of making these habits get worse and worse.

It's good that you've first ruled out possible health problems. Now, here's what to do.

Don't hover over the dog, or try to cajoling her to eat by adding special treats. A finicky eater's owner, in the majority of cases, uses unintentional negative training to cement poor eating habits with their dogs. Unintentional, obviously because they did not set out to train their pup to become a finicky eater. Negative, in the reinforcements that the dog perceives (hovering, whining, adding treats) increases the problem.

Try just setting your dog's regular food down without fanfare or added treats. Ignore the dog, and let her eat. This means no hovering over the dog to encourage her to eat. Your dog might well just sniff at it and walk away, since she knows she can hold out for something better. Give her 15 minutes to eat, and then pick up the bowl, and meal time is over... even if she didn't eat, or only ate some of the food. Repeat this process at the next scheduled mealtime, with no in between meal snacks.

It's not uncommon for a dog who's used to getting "fortified meals" to refuse to eat for a few days. It's truly a battle of wills, but if you stick to your guns, your dog will learn just to eat what's served - when it's served!

Healthy and emotionally stable dogs do not intentionally starve themselves, so don't worry about a missed meal or two. When a dog has learned to become a finicky eater then a "tough love" program with food only at mealtimes will quickly teach the dog that there is no benefit in finicky eating.

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,

Patti