Is your dog so spoiled that it just sniffs at kibble and walks off?

No. They would have starved to death a long time ago.

Ha. Not quite.

No.

The dog will eat anything if it gets hungry enough.

I had to get on Rick for constantly buying dog treats and stuff. They were getting fat. He finally quit and they’re both at a good weight now.

He does the same thing when we go to family functions and kids will be there. He thinks they just have to have candy or something. So the last one I brought a big mixed fruit bowel and he brought s’mores fixings. The kids emptied out the fruit bowl. The s’mores were ignored. :)

No dogs anymore but my 2 cats are very picky, won’t eat any fresh meats like chicken or beef or turkey, only tuna for one, no cheese, but the other loves beef jerky. haha
They get a quality dry food and canned food every evening and, of course, kitty treats which they love. They both maintain a good weight even though they are free fed and food available at all times,

One time I had a cheapo chicken pot pie. I just ate them for the crust, which I’d kind of push into the gravy. I gave my cat what was left, which was everything but the crust. He ate all the gravy…and that’s it. Didn’t touch the chicken. Things that make you go “Hmmmmm….”

One dog is quite picky. She sniffs things when you offer them before deciding ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to eating it. The other gulps its food down so fast I’m sure nothing hits the sides. They’re both equally spoiled and in so many ways. Right now they’re snuggled up on the end of my bed – both snoring.

Is your dog rejecting kibble because he knows something better will be offered to “poor baby, won’t eat?”

When you treat them like family, they do want to eat what you eat. Most dogs will very happily eat apple slices, green beans, and just about every fruit or veg you are preparing in the kitchen (not leafy greens, for the most part, that texture just makes them spit it out and ask you where is the “food”?)

I had to retrain a very picky foster dog by keeping a bowl of frozen beans on the table while I was eating. He would have to wait until I finished, then he got those beans dumped on his kibble. I cut back on the beans until he was fine with a bowl of kibble served immediately after I ate.

Those healthy low-cal snacks in a bowl works well for those humans who just can’t be trained not to feed the dog snacks from the table. If it comes from the table, the dog will love it!

Most extreme case I counselled: The dog had severe kidney disease and the owners were paying for a transplant operation. Puppy had to adhere to a very strict prescription kibble, which he would not touch until fed kibble-by-kibble from the table as a treat.

I would not spoil my dog in this way – it’s really bad for them to be fed treats instead of a regular dog food. But my dog is spoiled rotten when it comes to her “accessories.” She has a hat, a Santa collar, a rain jacket (she is half Lab and gets limber tail in the wet and cold), a bright orange don’t-shoot-me jacket (we live next to a hunting area), an engraved collar, a harness, a mushing harness (she’s in training to pull a sled), a seatbelt harness (we used to live in NJ, which is the only state in the US that requires safe restraint for dogs in cars), a doggy backpack, a foldable hiking bowl, and a canine flotation device. And she’s got both a microchip and an ID tattoo. Whew, we spend too much on that dog! But most of the stuff is useful; we take her on a lot of outdoor adventures with us, obviously.

Every veterinarian I know spoils their own pets. Feed them from the table and let slide behavior commands.

It’s using healthy treats (dogs honestly do not care) to give the forbidden… yay! treat for me!! And give something from your table.

@Blueroses, yes she often gets our food, my husband gives her what he eats and when she is not eating the best of our food, she eats canned dog food. I want her to eat some dry dog food a few times a week, but with all the better alternatives, why would she go with the kibble? Neither would I if I were a dog!

Despite what people say, canned food is not evil. If it’s quality, it is good for nutrition and for kidney health. What it doesn’t do, is give crunchy tooth health. So, give your dog a carrot from the table. Dogs love carrots. That satisfies her need for treats and your husband’s need to treat her.
No more steak scraps, but some carrots from his plate.

Trust me. She won’t care as long as it is from his plate.

My dogs love all sorts of veggies. They sit waiting for bits of broccoli or carrots etc. I agree with @Blueroses, treats don’t have to be unhealthy.

Yeah, my dog loved fruit trimmings when I was cutting up fruit. Healthy living. Lab mix – he lived to be 15½ years old.

My dog is so spoilt that she is rarely fed kibble. Instead she is fed a mostly raw diet so gets lots of meat and veg. She is fed better than me, that’s how spoilt she is!! However, if I do give her kibble she will eat it.