Is Your Dog Actually Picky?

You Buy the Food...They Love It! Then Won't Touch It. Why?

Tell me if you’ve ever brought home a brand-new, food for your dog, watched them gobble it down like it was the best thing they’ve ever tasted for three days straight, and then...completely refuse to touch it on day four! I'll go first!

As you likely know, Zaner is a foodie's foodie! He's never met a morsel of food he didn't like (lettuce is the exception), but my German Shepherd Spencer was a completely different muncher when it came to food. I always thought Spencer was just picky, but there are so many things I know now, that I didn't know when I had Spencer

So if you"re feeling like "been there done that, bought the t-shirt" when it comes to "trying to find the right food" you are definitely not alone.

Lately, we’ve been having this exact conversation with more and more pet parents in the store than usual. I know if you're struggling with what you think is just "your dog being picky" you feel this at a deep level. It can be frustrating and frightening all at the same time. You worry they're not eating enough, you worry about how much money you're spending on food just for them to change their mind and you likely think I've gone crazy every time you hear me say "Switch it up all the time, diversity is the key to the best diet!"

But believe me, just because I currently live with a little foodie, didn't mean that was always the case. Spencer was my introduction to a dog who didn't eat anything he found like it was his last meal, so I get it! But I also know, I may have been contributing to his pickiness. 

🎙️ If you'd prefer to listen to this blog, you can find it here anywhere you love listening to podcasts! Look for S1 E39: "Is Your Dog Actually Picky?"

So it all starts with offering a new food and the furry guy gobbles it down with gusto! Then three days later, won't touch it, won't even sniff it! The immediate assumption is usually: "Oh no, they’re bored of it," or "They hate it now." But before you start panic-buying five different toppers or pan-searing chicken at 7:00 AM, take a deep breath. You haven't done anything wrong, and your dog hasn't suddenly turned into a gourmet food critic overnight.

More often than not, there are a few very simple, and very natural, reasons your dog is stepping away from the bowl. Before I get into that, I'm going to tell you the mistakes I made with Spencer that I didn't even know I was making.

I stored his kibble in a big plastic container. Yep! I poured the whole bag in to the bin where the kibble was coming in direct contact with the plastic. If you happened to read last week's email, you'll know not only was his food rotting in the bin, the chemical reaction between the rotting kibble and the plastic caused toxins to leach into his food. I had no idea this was even a thing! This is exactly why I tell every pet parent I meet about proper kibble storage.

To make things worse, I fed him from a plastic bowl. Again, I had no idea that over time as plastic degrades, those fine scratches in the plastic were breeding grounds for bacteria. Not that I could smell it, I thought I did a good job at keeping his bowl clean, but imagine if all of your food smelled like moulding bread all the time! I couldn't smell it, but Spencer could.

What I did right, and again I had no idea this was actually good, I was using the food within less than 28 days, so it was fresh with each new bag. Funny enough, the only day Spencer seemed to actually care about food was the day I opened a new bag. I even called it "new food day" because then Spencer actually looked like he enjoyed his food. But with me dumping every new bag into the big plastic container, I started the whole rotting cycle over with every new bag. And after "New Food Day", Spencer went back to what I thought was him being "picky".

My poor boy wasn't picky, he knew more than I did and I didn't realize how I was impacting the freshness of his food. I just chalked it up to having a picky dog. Now if you're not making any of the same mistakes I did, there could be another reason you're thinking you have a picky dog.

🥩 High Protein = Higher Density (They’re Literally Full!)

If you recently transitioned your dog from a typical high-carb kibble to to a more protein-rich, nutrient-dense diet, the volume of food they actually need changes dramatically.

When you feed a protein rich, low carb, nutrient-dense diet, you usually feed 30% to 50% less than what you were feeding before. If you’re still scooping out the same amount you used to feed with their old food, there's a very good chance you’re simply overfeeding them. Your dog isn't being stubborn, they’re just telling you, "Hey, I'm completely stuffed!"

The analogy I usually use in this instance is if you think about when we go to a Chinese restaurant (western Chinese) we eat all of the delicious food, we feel stuffed, but 30 minutes later, you're starving again...I think there's even jokes about it! But when we sit down to a home-cooked, Christmas feast and we enjoy everything our plate can hold, we feel stuffed for three days! That nutrient dense, Christmas dinner is similar to a protein rich, high quality kibble for our dogs. It's filling and it keeps us full for a long time.

If we change up our food and especially if we move from high carb food to a high protein food, we need to ensure we're not over-feeding. If you're not entirely sure how much of the new food to feed, you can use our Calorie Calculator on our website. In most instances, feeding the correct amount of calories for our pets' ideal weight is sufficient. However, since you can't tell by looking at them what their metabolism is, we watch. If we're feeding the correct amount and they lose weight, we increase our serving size gradually. The same is true if they gain weight. The change is gradual until we find the right amount.

🍔 The "All-Day Buffet" Effect

Many pet parents fill the bowl in the morning and let the furry guy choose to eat whenever they feel like it and we hear it all the time "he's a grazer". He's not a grazer and the reason is, grazing it is not part of a dog's DNA. They are not mini cows. They are built to feast and famine. Grazing does not factor in. Grazing is almost always an indication of food fatigue. In other words..."ugh, not this again". Your dog isn't grazing because he's a grazer, he's literally eating something he doesn't want to so he stays alive. But since we're talking about the furry guy who is getting variety but still keeps snubbing his nose, food fatigue is likely not the issue.

Picking at food all day is a problem though when it comes to consistently eating at meal time. Take a second to think about the last work conference or event you went to that had an all-day buffet. If you were grazing on tiny snacks, pastries, and nibbles every hour from morning until afternoon, were you really interested in eating supper when you got home? Probably not. You were likely feeling sluggish, full, and the thought of more food felt like a chore.

Our dogs feel the exact same way! If we leave the food bowl out all day for constant grazing, or if we’re handing out treats throughout the afternoon because "they didn't eat their breakfast," we end up ruining supper too. The digestive system needs time to rest and reset. Working nonstop to process food all day takes a ton of energy.

☀️ It’s Hot Outside!

Weather plays a massive role in appetite. During the warmer months, most of us naturally crave lighter, smaller meals, a cool salad, some fresh fruit, or something quick. Nobody wants to belly up to the dinner table for a heavy, steaming five-course meal in the middle of a heatwave!

Our furry family can feel this same toll during the warmer months, especially if we've got a little furry guy who already runs hot and we're feeding a warming or hot protein, we're compounding that uncomfortable feeling of eating food during warmer months. This aligns with what is referred to as Food Energetics. Stay tuned for a deeper dive on that in the future. 

In the winter, dogs use food as a primary fuel source to stay warm, so their drive to eat is naturally higher. In the summer, that drive drops. It’s totally normal for them to eat with a little less gusto right now.

🫐 What Meal is Being Skipped Most?

In most cases, breakfast is the meal most furry guys tend to ignore the most. This makes sense, because breakfast isn't part of their biological make up. Our furry guys don't hunker down for three squares a day. They hunt and gather, eat and may not eat again for another six days until they find food again.

Aside from breakfast not really being part of their ancestral routine, if we eat supper, hang out on the couch watching TV with the hoomans, then go to bed, yes we digested our food but we likely didn't burn much energy by the time we're expected to eat again. I know it's more alarming for us when they don't eat a meal, but it could be as simple as biology at work.

Even Zaner the foodie will sometimes opt for a later breakfast. This can change as our dogs become older. They rest more, burn less energy and may not always be hungry even if they love their food. I used to panic, because he loves his food, but now I know, if he doesn't eat when I serve it, he'll tell me later when he's hungry and sometimes eats breakfast around 1:30pm. Funny enough, he also still demands supper around 3pm! 

✅ How to Fix It & Reset the Routine

The good news? Fixing this doesn't require a culinary degree or a dozen secret ingredients. It just takes a little tweak to the routine.

✅ Ditch the All-Day Graze: Put the bowl down for 15 minutes. If your dog walks away or gives you that look like, "I don't think so, Susan...go make me something else!", simply pick the bowl up and put it away until the next scheduled mealtime. No drama, no guilt. A healthy dog will not starve themselves, and sometimes we just need to gently re-establish that we control the kitchen.

✅ Respect Their Natural Biology: In the wild, animals don't wake up to three structured, cooked meals a day. In fact, breakfast isn't a "natural" mealtime for them at all. If your dog consistently turns their nose up at breakfast, that’s just biology at work! Try offering a smaller morning meal and a larger supper after they've been active for the day.

✅ Consider Feeding Once a Day: For healthy adult dogs, intermittent fasting can be a game-changer. Allowing the digestive system to fully rest between meals is incredibly beneficial for gut health. There is a lot of research on the benefit of once a day feeding and until I did an FMT with Zaner which required food with two pills a day, he only ever ate once a day. My big dogs only ate once a day.  (Note: If your pet is on medication that requires food, stick to your current feeding schedule. If your dog has any condition, like pancreatitis, small frequent meals are better than one large meal.) Stay tuned for an email on feeding windows.

👉 As a quick rule of thumb: Puppies up to 6 months need 3 meals a day. As they grow into young adults, they drop to 2. Once they reach full adulthood, 1 meal a day is a fantastic option for many dogs.

At the end of the day, pay attention to your dog's energy levels and body condition rather than the exact line on the measuring cup. If they’re happy, active, and holding a healthy weight, skipping a meal or eating a little less during a hot week is completely fine.

If you have questions about calculating the right portion size for a new food or adjusting your feeding schedule? Stop by the store anytime, we’re always here to help you navigate the wonderful world of "You loved it yesterday! What happened?" 😳