My Dog Doesn’t Like Their Food. Why Does That Matter for Training?

Your dog should want to eat their food.

If your dog doesn’t like their food, change it! 

They aren’t being a brat or being picky, they are trying to tell you something!

Having loose stool isn’t the only indication that the food is making your dog sick. They could have a stomach ache, head ache, heart burn, feel groggy, etc and the only way they have to tell you they are sick is by not wanting to eat their food. 

Imagine being forced to eat food that makes you sick everyday. Wouldn’t that affect your mood and overall behavior?

It may take time, trial and error to find food that works best and that’s okay! Your dog deserves to feel good and have a type of food that works for their unique nutritional needs. Plus it will make training a lot easier if your dog is healthy, feeling good, and enjoying the rewards you are offering them. 

I’m also speaking from my own personal experience as someone with severe digestive issues and limitations. As a child no one believed me when I said I was sick from certain foods, I was forced to eat things that made me extremely ill for years. Being sick all the time had a huge effect on my personality. I was grumpy, I lacked motivation, I was anxious all the time. Now that I can actually eat food that makes me feel good my behavior is drastically different. 

Some dogs are going to have a lower food drive than others and that is okay too. But for your dog to only eat their food if they absolutely have to is not normal or healthy. Even a dog with a low food drive should want to eat the food they need in order to survive. No where in nature are animals designed to be indifferent or uninterested in the food that keeps them alive. Their interest and motivation to access food is natural by design, any deviation from that indicates something is wrong. 

Our dogs deserve to have their voices heard even if they can’t speak. They deserve to eat food that makes them feel good. Finding the right food may be a long process but it is worth it in the end!