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Our dog spent the last two months on bad food and he got obese. Our trainer suggested he should start on low fat food to loose weight (Welness reduced fat). The first day I gave it to him in the morning he ate half of the bowl (I always add a bit of milk).

Now yesterday evening and today he refused to eat (he did drink the milk) (the trainer suggested to take the food away if he doesn't eat it, as he needs to learn not to take it for granted as he used to play with his food rather than eat it).

He's not getting anything on the side. I guess if he's REALLY hungry he will eat. I just want to know when (after how many days) I should start to get worried about it.

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  • A dog can easily go several days without eating. You might want to try a different brand if he doesn't start to eat consistently. There are many "light" foods available. He might not like that one.
    – jalynn2
    Commented Jun 19, 2015 at 16:54
  • I edited your question slightly to make it easier to read and more likely to draw attention. If I accidentally changed the meaning, please use the edit function to correct any mistakes.
    – Zaralynda
    Commented Jul 18, 2015 at 21:30

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In my experience, I did not change my dog's diet outright. I tried to transition the change gradually by introducing new food along with the old food to get him to develop a liking for it.

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It's kind of silly to go on a salad diet, but also eat gigantic milkshakes, too - this is sort of what your dogs diet is like right now. Milk is likely part of the problem your dog is obese. You also need to cut out human foods, as well, like table snacks.

One of the tricks dog owners use to get their dog to eat food is to make the dry dog food into wet dog food by adding a bit of water. Let it sit and the dog food will turn soft and mushy. In the majority of cases, a dog who wouldn't eat it dry will now eat it wet.

When changing to a new food, as @roxie yap mentioned, owners are encouraged to transition gradually by adding a little more of the new food each feeding until the dish is wholly the new food.

If the problem with your dog isn't so much the food as it is quantities, and you find your dog still not loosing any weight, it is time to go into portion control. Figure out how much your dog needs by using the guidelines on the back of the bag, and then customize according to your dog. It is a trial and error process with measuring cups until you figure it out (perhaps a week?). Feed that much each day.

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