Animals like chidlren won't starve themselves. When it's hungry enough it will eat. Patience!!

Do you know if she has tried hand feeding or is able to get some food into the dog that way? I know not a long term fix but a beginning.

When my chihuahua gets that way i feed her baby food chicken or turkey and pinch up some bread on the side. There has been days where all she will eat is bread i pinch it into small pieces and put a smear of peanut butter on it then had feed like its treats.

If the dog has a clean bill of health and she knows it is just pickiness then she needs to do this. Even a small dog will not starve itself unless it is ill.

No treats! Not until the dog is finishing her food for several days within fifteen minutes of being set down.

Never leave food out. Place it down for 30 minutes max, then take it away. Next meal time set it down again for no longer than 30 minutes. Repeat until the dog eats. If it doesn't eat in 3 days take it to the vet.

Warming the food or adding broth is OK. But NO treats. ZERO treats. Zero snacks. Little Chi probably knows if she holds out there will be treats. Even a single treat or allowing the dog to nibble will take it back to step one.

If hand feeding, make the dog work for it. Hand feed the same dog food the dog would be getting at her meals but during training, not freely given or she will have this dog expecting to be hand fed forever.

Just went through this with my elderly cat. Baby food worked. He liked turkey one & the beef one

Its easy to say they wont starve themselves but these tiny dogs will easily crash from low blood sugar if they don’t eat. They are also prone to stomach issues, when this happens they won’t eat. I have 10mg of pepcid cut in half to give mine which usually takes care of the upset stomach pretty quickly, with approval of my vet. Purina also makes a probiotic you can sprinkle on their food to help with chronic stomach issues. the trick is wondering if your friends is just being picky or having stomach issues, mine now only eats canned chicken with bread and takes a GNC dog vitamin. she has very few issues with this diet so im ok with it, so is her vet and for treats she gets cheerios

100% agree with MiMi. I had a sweet Westie who was prone to stomach issues, especially if she didn't get regular meals. It isn't always a deliberate attempt at getting "better" food - some dogs get sick if they don't eat and then it is a downward spiral.

Please don't just assume ill intent on the part of the dog. The poor thing may feel sick!

I too used the 1/2 a pepcid for her, to tamp the stomach issues down. My girl would throw up bile after a day or so of not eating, and then it could take another few days to get all systems back to normal.

i agree with trying the pepcid. the problem with trying to wait it out using "tough love" is that the longer a dog goes without eating, the more ingrained the problem becomes. for tiny dogs like this, waiting it out can cause significant problems.

i've had a few danes over the years that were extremely picky eaters. i tried all kinds of toppers, all without much success. i found that a pepcid given 30 minutes before meals went a long way in helping. even the smallest tummy upset can cause a dog to refuse food.

is your little guy drinking normally?

If this refusal continues, she could maybe call her vet. Depending on what the dog was sick with at the time she was switched to chicken, the vet might have advice on what to do and more important whether it is a physical problem and not because the chi (of course) might prefer a lovely meal of chicken cooked by her owner.

In general, most dogs like to eat. Most like to eat too much and will eat to excess if the opportunity presents. Heck, one of my current maniacs will eat cardboard!

I also don't generally believe dogs are capable of thinking they should abstain from food offered, believing a more palatable choice will be forthcoming. Most dogs are pretty basic critters - see food, eat food, what else food is there. LOL.

Certainly they all have their own preferences too, but if a dog won't eat my first thought is not that they are trying to annoy me or holding out for something better.

Think about trying to eat when you have an upset stomach. Maybe certain foods will appeal to you, but others will be a hard no. Dogs have no way of explaining their stomach is upset, or what food may bother them in other ways. One of my acquaintances lost their dog to bad dog food.

She took the tough love approach and refused to give him anything else when he refused what she was feeding him. That poor boy didn't have a history of refusing food either. (He was a lab, they'll normally even eat things that aren't edible!) He kept picking through his food, and ended up dying from a food which was recalled due to toxins.

There's something called Forti Flora. You sprinkle it on "normal" food and it makes it yummy. Made by Purina. Or...they have an appetite enhancer cream. You apply it to the inside of the ear.Link Click to see

Thank you all for your thoughts. I've passed this thread on to my friend. She tried a food from Target yesterday and the dog scarfed it down. Which doesn't mean she'll eat it today!

Nicole--that stuff sounds really useful!

Fingers crossed that your friend's little pup will continue to eat well!