My 8 month old pit bull puppy only licks his food...?

Hi. I never really watched my puppy eat before, but was noticing that he wasn't eating as much as I thought he should be. I started watching him eat and saw that he licks, or rather slurps his food, rather than digging in with his teeth. He'll obviously eat whatever he can pick up with his tongue... but everything else stays packed down at the bottom of his bowl. I mix dry food and wet food and have tried changing brands, adding water... any ideas about how to get him to eat "with his teeth"? Or is this ok?

My 8 month old pit bull puppy only licks his food...?
If he's licking it its most likely because he likes the taste of the canned food and not the dry food, and he's trying to 'avoid' the dry food. Dogs are crafty like that.





Try switching only to dry food or not always mixing the wet stuff. He needs the crunchy stuff for his tooth/gum health.
Reply:Sounds like tooth ache to me, or some other pain in the mouth or the jaws. What did the doctor say? Report It

Reply:If he's licking his food the reason is because he likes the taste or his teeth could be coming in theres nothing wrong with this though it's perfectly normal for a dog this young.. Don't worry about it
Reply:do you give him a lot of flavored hard treats? that will train him to like the taste and have to chew.. Liek those beggin strips are a little harder perfect for a pup, and he will have to chew it.
Reply:Just like Amanda said. Dogs are very crafty. I definately think he is just licking the wet food of the kibble and only eating pieces if they happen into his mouth. I had a rottweiler that did this as well.
Reply:Do not feed wet food...it is not healthy and promotes tooth decay, and dogs prefer it so they will not eat the dry food.





Make sure your dog is on a high quality diet, like fish and chips from http://www.frrco.com/121668 which you feed 1/2 as much of regular food of, so it only costs a few cents more per feeding. It also wards off allergies, cancers, diabetes, and other medical problems associated with most dog food ingredients.





Stop feeding the wet food immediately. The dog may not eat for a couple of days, but he will eat the dry food when he is hungry enough. Make sure there is always plenty of water. Do not give him treats during this time, either. Wait to give treats until he is eating his dry food well.





Once you get him on dry food only, do not go back to wet food.





Moni


http://www.geocities.com/libertydogtrain...
Reply:Try giving it dry food only.
Reply:you should stop feeding any canned food. Try only using dry food and if you want, mix in just a little low sodium chicken broth if you find that he's finicky about eating the dry.



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