If your dog is a fussy eater, and picks and chooses when to eat, you probably leave their food down all day in an attempt to get them to eat more of it. You might be surprised to know that this is the opposite of what you should be doing..
If you leave your dog’s food bowl down all day, you’re teaching them that the food is always there. This means there’s no urgency to eat the food, encouraging them to have a very nonchalant approach to eating.
To train your dog to make the most of meal time, create a set time, put the food bowl down for 20 minutes, and then take it away until the next meal time. Even if they haven’t touched it.
This creates a sense of urgency around food, as your dog will learn that they have to make the most of it (i.e. eat it!) while it’s there, as if they don’t it will disappear again, and they will (temporarily) go hungry.
Make this a part of your routine and they will soon catch on, even if they go hungry for a day or two first.
P.S. Before you do this, make sure you talk to your vet and rule out any health issues that may be causing loss of appetite, or that may mean your dog can’t go without eating for a day or two. If your dog goes from having a healthy appetite to being very fussy, or stops eating altogether, it’s highly likely there’s a health issue behind that, rather than a behavioural one.