Beneful is all she eats....

My parent's adult female sheltie has always been picky, but recently she completely quit eating her food. She was eating several premium brands, but after about a week on them, she would get tired of it and quit eating. She has become very thin but the vet can't find anything wrong with her. She is just very picky. Sadly, they've had to resort to feeding her Beneful since this is the only food she will eat on a consistent basis. Any ideas on how to make better food more appealing to her? They've tried almost every brand out there but sadly she still choses Beneful.

The only suggestion I have, (and I've thought about this because we're trying to find good food that our dog likes the taste of) is adding some canned food from the same premium line as the dry dog food you're feeding. It seems that Spanky hasn't met a canned food that he doesn't like yet.

I am feeding my dog Natural Balance now and she loves it, You might try that brand if you can find it. Petco stocks it.

I had thesame problem withmy mothers Golden, all she would eat was Beneful. I recently switched her food and se wouldnt touch it. Is the dog free fed? Maybe your parents can get her on a schedule and pick up the bowl after 15-20 minutes? A healthy dog wont starve itself.

If they dont want to do that they can try canned food. I have yet to meet a dog that refuses canned food.

Lizzie isnt really picky, but what I do is I mix something in her food everyday. MOst days its egg, but some days its chicken broth, baby food (sweet potato, squash, etc.) or canned food, and she eats better than if its dry alone.

I hope you guys get her to eating soon!

Beneful contains a lot of ingredients that are specifically designed to make the food attractive to dogs. They don't have much (if any) nutritional value but dogs love the taste - and the corporate giants who produce these poor quality foods put a lot of money into research on that, because otherwise their products would't sell at all.

It can be very difficult to wean dogs off "junk food" like that.

What kind of bloodwork has the vet done?

if there really is nothing wrong with the dog, sticking with beneful wouldn't be the end of the world...

it's not of very high quality but your dog would survive fine on it...

you can keep trying to find samples of different foods to see if she'll change her mind or fall in love with something else... but if she's stubborn and sticks with beneful, it really isn't the end of the world

every dog is different... some may thrive on low-quality brands like beneful and your dog seems to be doing so since the vet said she's fine. =)

Our Vet told us to try Beneful. Jade had some sort of food allergies, she
scratched constantly and bit herself till she had bald spots, I tried all
types of shampoos , ointments, creams. Cooked home cooked meals
Nothing helped till I put her on Beneful ! since then she has been
itch free and her coat looks great.

What did you try prior to the Beneful?

Would it be too difficult to add cooked meats to a premium kibble to make it more appealing? They could cook a bunch of chicken and/or ground beef and freeze portions, then thaw them out for meal-time. Chicken broth, canned tuna, canned salmon, cottage cheese, yogurt, and parmesan are also yummy additions to kibble. They should also practice limited feeding times, keeping the bowl down for about 20 minutes at a time.

A few kibbles that Gonzo particularly liked (he hasn't refused anything, but he has only had good quality feed store kibbles in his life) was Chicken Soup, Canidae, and Natural Balance.

I am starting to see this food in Publix Supermarkets , and while it might not be the greatest, it seems to be better than the usual supermarket brands..

http://www.lassie.com/naturalway/natural-way-flash.htm

Adding broth, canned food, or water to dry food, then warming it in the microwave a bit can make it much more appealing. Wysong makes a canned product called "100% Chicken" that I have never seen a dog turn down--even a very picky, ill dog I fostered would eat food mixed with it.

It can be extremely hard to wean dogs off of food that has sprayed-on fats, sugars, extra salt, etc. Good luck!

We add warm water, a few drops of olive oil, and ground flax to Canidae and our puppy loves it.

What about trying some home cooked food? Most dogs like table scraps better than any dry food. Boil some chicken, etc. Just take the cooked bones out. The other thing you could look into is the (gasp) raw diet. Many dogs do great on this diet and the food is very high value/appealing to them.

My cocker is SUPER picky. She's finally eating consistantly (actually she's now wolfing it down) and what I found worked with her is the EVO, mixed with Wysong's 100% canned or Evo's 95% canned. I just add a tablespoon, heat it in the microwave for 15 secs and presto. She loves it. Something else that I mix in is hokamix, or proenzymes...but that won't necessarily apply to you.

Solid Gold, Merrick and Natural Balance are lines that are very flavorful. You might want to try those out.
Just remember the 15 minute rule and stick to it. And don't forget that every dog is different. It's a hit and miss.

I would recommend Royal Canin or Bil-Jac for a picky eater. Neither of them are the best you can buy, but they are a leap above Beneful and many have had success w/ feeding them (me included).

Bil Jac will even send you a free 1lb sample to try by going on their website.

Thanks for the replies and suggestions everyone. Honestly, feeding a RAW diet is not an option because both of my parents work full time and simply don't have the time or energy for that. When I took Andy to visit them, Millie (the picky one) ate a lot of his Royal Canin puppy food while we weren't looking, so I think they will try her on that. I'll let you all know how it goes.

They realize Beneful is crap...her coat is sooooo string and greasy. When you look at her and Andy it is easier to see who is eating the better quality food. Anyways, thanks again and I'll let you know how this turns out.