Information about raw and how it’s the healthiest diet for your dog is spreading rapidly. Pet parents that have already embarked on this feeding are sharing healthy eating tips, and photos of their puppies enjoying raw meat.

But you find yourself struggling. Your puppy doesn’t even look at raw meat and you start to wonder if you're doing something wrong? Don’t worry, you’re not the only pet parent with a dog that instead of eating a juicy piece of meat prefers burnt brown balls aka kibble. And you’re definitely not the only one who endures starvation protests from your pooch when transitioning to a healthy diet.

Why does this happen?

Both dogs and cats can get addicted to dry food. It’s especially common with those pets who have been fed dry food for a long time and have not tasted other types of foods or snacks.

It turns into a habit. Pets expect to get the food that they are used to, but when another type of food appears in the bowl, at first glance or a sniff, it may appear strange and tasteless. That’s why the pet gets suspicious and unwilling to eat.

What to do?

We recommend that you keep trying even if your dog refuses to transit in the beginning. To form new habits, animals, just like humans, need time, effort, and patience.
Below you'll find secret tricks that have helped pet parents overcome obstacles when transitioning to raw.

#1 DON'T SUPERVISE, DON'T ENCOURAGE. LET YOUR PET GET USED TO IT

After serving a healthy meal, put the bowl in the usual place and continue to do your business as usual or even go out to another room. Your dog's curiosity will still prevail so that he will inspect or sniff the new dish. However, if you keep an eye on your pet, he will feel tension and pressure and feel hesitant to try it out.

#2 A BOWL WITH FOOD SHOULD NOT BE AVAILABLE AT ALL TIMES

No hare comes straight into the mouth of a wolf, right? A similar type of rule should be followed when feeding your pet. The bowl should not be filled with food all day. Firstly, the food can get spoiled; secondly, the dog needs to have a feeding schedule, which is important for his physical and psychological health. It means that if your dog has not started eating after 15-20 minutes after the food has been served, you will have to take it away and feed him when the next meal time comes.

#3 USE FOOD AS A DELICACY

Time to do a little trick! Split up raw food into small pieces and call your dog to play. Ask him to perform his favorite commands and praise him by rewarding him with the new and the best delicacy of all — nibbles of RAW food. When your dog eats the food from your hand a few times in a row, praise him joyfully and put the remaining pieces into a bowl. He won't resist an entire bowl of "treats"!

#4 MIX WITH OLD FOOD

Another way to make it easier for your puppy to eat new food is to mix the food with the old food temporarily. We emphasize — TEMPORARILY. It is not advisable to mix RAW with dry food for more than two weeks as it is not healthy for the dog's body. Mix both foods for up to 2 weeks each time, gradually increasing the amount of new food and decreasing the old one.

#5 IT'S PLAYTIME!

If your dog likes to play with smart toys, use them together with the new food. Add it to the toys and let the puppy play. If your puppy shows doubt about the game, you can create some competition and play with the toys and enjoy it as much as you can, but without involving the puppy in the game. After a few minutes, you'll see your dog playing alone and enjoying the game with the food. You can also use this tactic to pretend to eat the food yourself, openly showing how much you enjoy it. This strategy often works for all dogs.

Your dog will not starve himself

It is necessary to understand that no dog has yet died of starvation in front of an entire bowl of food. Don't worry if your healthy adult dog has been rebelling by starving for one day. This will not harm his body in any way.

The psyche of dogs works much like that of children. There are situations when the dog trains their parents: when, what and how he will eat. And because we love our furry friends so much, we give in to their manipulations so easily. But that leads to unhealthy eating habits for your dog.

Imagine a simple situation with a child: you give him broccoli, he doesn't eat it, so you give a strawberry instead. And the child eats the strawberry. The next day you present the broccoli again. The child does not eat it, you offer the strawberry, but the child also refuses it. Then you try chocolate to get the child to eat at least something, and of course, the child eats the chocolate. Do you think the child will choose to eat broccoli the next day?

The same psychology applies to dogs. That's why it is essential not to give up and stay patient. We believe these tips will help your dog smoothly transition to a healthy diet.