It’s the dinner time standoff – we’ve all been there. Your dog staring at you as if to say, “what the hell is this?”. And as the minutes go by, your patience wears thin. Why won’t they eat?!
Whether your dog is a notoriously picky eater, or whether they’re just a bit bored – we’ve put together some of our favourite tips to make mealtimes a bit easier.
Gravy!
That’s right: gravy. Low-salt gravy is a great way to encourage your dog to eat. It adds a new texture to their kibble – and it’s delicious, too.
Make sure you pick up the low-salt version, and if your dog has a wheat allergy, have a look in the gluten-free aisle.
Steamed veggies
Good for you, good for your dog. Add some steamed vegetables (check out this list for what’s dog-friendly) for a tasty vitamin boost.
We like to make extra when we’re cooking Sunday dinner – they’ll keep in Tupperware for up to 4 days in the fridge.
Wet food
For a real flavour party, why not add a spoon of wet food? Mixing in some wet food to your dog’s kibble is a nutritious way to encourage fussy eaters. After all, variety is the spice of life!
We’ve got 15 delicious recipes, from pates and jellies, to the all-important gravies. Just make sure you introduce it slowly – especially if your dog has a sensitive stomach.
Microwave
Nigella’s a fan – and so are we. For something seriously low-effort, pop your dog’s kibble in the microwave for a few seconds. Heat will intensify the flavours (and smells) and get that tail wagging.
Warm water
No microwave? Dog missing a few teeth? Boil up some water, pour it over your dog’s kibble, and leave to soak for 15 minutes. You’ll be left with a bowl of soft, warm kibble. Perfect for older dogs and fussy dogs alike.
Molly likes the wet food but we don’t wasn’t the kibble Would I just be able to have the wet food and treats for her teeth
Hi Edna,
Please send us an email at hello@tails.com – our fab customer team can help.
My dog like them too i rung the other day to ask if i can just get the wet food and not the dry but they told me i couldn’t only thing i can do is reduce the bag size (unhelpful) or cancel my subscription and buy wet food from somehwere else witch would cost more the having the subscription its silly really i will be donating the dry food to the food back
Hi Janice, as our dry food is our main product and the tailor-made part of your dog’s diet, we’d love to find a blend that they will love – just pop our Customer team an email at hello@tails.com with your details and they can help. In the meantime, if you do need a wet food-only order you can order this direct from our Shop here: https://shop.tails.com/. Best wishes 🐾
Add water to the dry food
I came to look at this article out of interest as to what gravy to use for dogs but just wanted to say that fussiness became a thing of the past as soon as we started with Tails! We feed our boy dry and wet food combined and give it a good stir. He literally cannot wait for it to go down for him!
We’re so glad to hear it!
My do just licks the wet food off the kibble
No, we cant fool them ha ha. Julie
I have an 11 month old basset hound pup. He will not entertain a kibble at all. He’s mainly eating a protein diet but I want to get him to eat both.
Tried gravy etc not happening ?♀️
Hi I have 2 dogs and they have no entertained the dry food at all feel it was a bit of wasted to be honest I have tried the microwave thing didn’t work mixing they just eat round them now I’m left with bags of dog nibbles that they both won’t eat.
Please drop us an email at hello@tails.com so we can help 🙂
my dog wont eat the kibble either. have now found I can order just the wet food. smashing. Hope she will keep eating it. She is so fussy. Have enough unused tins/packets/kibble here to open my own shop. even tried cat food as she did ONCE eat a salmon dog food-but only the 1 in a whole pack. all this now going to our local pet rescue centre. she will eat what I cook though, but older now and quite infirm so tend to more or less live on ready meals.
My dog turns his nose up at the wet food I chose for him .now I’m left with loads of wet food .maybe there are some newer recipes I can try for him ..he loves his biscuits tho ..
I don’t think we should have to mess around with gravy or heating. My dog was eating well enough before I just wanted to be sure she was getting a balanced diet. She will only eat the kibble if I add a small amount of olive oil??
Our male cockapoo was fine on the Puppy kibble but hated the adults and refused to eat it. What I do now is roast chicken thighs and keep the juices in a jug in the fridge. Now I add a little chopped chicken with some warmed chicken broth to soften and flavour the kibble and he eats the lot!
That is exactly what I do – roast chicken thighs and keep the jelly in the fridge, warm it with the kibble and a little bit of chicken n that’s the only way she eats the kibble?
My 15 year old dog does not like the kibbles, I have tried gravy, boiled water and also crushing them up as he is 15 years old and has a few teeth missing. Alfie has been diagnosed with a gastrointestinal problem. I have gone back to Royal Caninn gastro dried food as he seems to eat that eventually. He does eats the Tails wet food. Would I be able to just order that?
We’re sorry to hear that Alfie is struggling to get through his kibble recipe, Lesleigh. As our dry food is our main product and the tailored part of Alfie’s food, we’d love to see if we can find a solution that may help – just pop our Customer team a direct message via Facebook Messenger with your details and they can help. In the meantime, if you do need a wet food only order you can order this direct from our Shop here: https://shop.tails.com/ Best wishes
My 14 year old Yorkshire Terrier Tia won’t entertain the kibble she licks off the wet food and leaves the rest. She started losing weight so I have returned her to her original food which she eats and is putting the weight back on. She has lost a couple of teeth and has to have things moistened I have a full bag of kibble not for her am afraid she is too old to change
Hi Pauline, we’re sorry to hear that Tia didn’t get on with her kibble as well as we’d hoped, however, we’re glad she’s feeling better now. If you have food that can’t be used at home, you could donate this to a local animal or dog shelter, we’re sure they’d appreciate this kind gesture.
Best wishes,
Samantha at tails.com
My dog is a very fussy eater still! The o ly time he eats straight away is when I have another dog, also eating here!
I have an excess of dry food at the moment as I have to mix the Tails.com.kibble with other brands.
Can you please send me a list of your wet foods. Our local Sainsbury’s now sell some of your products, where I have recently purchased a few wet food trays.
Hi Ann, we’re sorry to hear that your dog is being a little fussy with his food at the moment. Our Nutrition Team has some tips that may help get his tail wagging again here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb-Zrndfb2o or if you’d like to learn more about our wet food options via our subscription offering you can click here: https://tails.com/gb/range/wet-dog-food/ 🐾
My cocker spaniel refuses to eat the kibble from you but adores the wet food, but it seems I am not alone when I read all of the comments people have posted, however when I tried kibble from a different company she will eat it the only difference is that the kibble is all of the same size and small – could that be the reason? I have already tried to mix tails kibble with hot water and gravy it still does not work.
Hi Sue, we’re sorry to hear that your dog isn’t enjoying her kibble blend at the moment. As our dry food is our main product and the tailor-made part of your dog’s diet, we’d love to find a blend that she will love – just pop our Customer team a direct message via Facebook Messenger or email us at hello@tails.com with your details and they can help. In the meantime, if you do need a wet food only order you can order this directly from your Dashboard or on our online Shop here: https://shop.tails.com/ 💙
My dog wont eat her kibble at all , just wants to eat her treats .Is it possible to change the recipe.
Hi Jan, we’re sorry to hear that your dog isn’t enjoying her dry food as much as we’d hoped. Our Nutrition team has some tips that may help get her tail wagging again! You can watch these here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb-Zrndfb2o Alternatively, you can send our Customer team a direct message via Facebook Messenger or Twitter, or email us at hello@tails.com with your details and we can look at introducing a new flavour for her to try 💙
My dog won’t eat his kibble like he used to. When he sees that is all he is getting he will eat only a mouthful. I was hoping to try a new recipe. It needs to be grain free as he has allergies.
Hi Margaret, we’re sorry to hear that your dog isn’t too fussed on his dry food lately, our Nutrition team have some tips that may help get his tail wagging again! You can watch these here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb-Zrndfb2o Alternatively, pop our Customer team an email to hello@tails.com with your details and we can look at potentially introducing a new flavour for him to try 💙
My 11 year old Shih Tsu Roxy has always been a fussy eater and has over the years tried every recommended brand available. She also has always had tummy problems . We are delighted with our Tails products She is tucking into both dry and wet food and seems much more settled in her mood/ her poos are properly formed which is a miracle in itself !!!! It has always been a job to get her to eat dry foods but so far loving this long may it continue . Cannot recommend highly enough Thanks Judith
This is so great to hear, Judith! Make sure to give Roxy lots of extra fuss from us 💙
ive sample of your food to try on my 2 year 11 months old westie called Charlie he has not took to it at all So i wont be trying any more of your food on him im very sorror
Hi Derek, we’re sorry to hear that your dog’s food didn’t suit them as well as we’d hoped. If you’d like to try again, our Nutrition Team have some tips that may help get Charlie’s tail wagging again! You can watch these here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb-Zrndfb2o Or if you’d like to try a new flavour instead, just pop us an email at hello@tails.com with your details and we can help 💙