Will dogs get all their nutritional needs met if they eat a balanced diet of human food only?

My dog Lucy, a mix breed min pincher/chihuahua, will NOT eat dog food. It drives us crazy! We've tried all the training tricks we can find. Still, she refuses to eat it. Even when we give her human food, like chicken, she still will not eat. She looks at me as if she is saying, "I don't have a taste for chicken today." Thanks

http://www.thepoop.com/pooppantry/it has a bunch of dog recipes that you can feed her..

Chi's are very persnickety canines. You need to get down on all fours with her and nibble (fake eat) at her food. Then very gently and in a baby voice say, "mmmmm this so good". When she is hungry, she will eat. Do not feed her human food, until she can consistently eat from her own food bowl with her own dog food.If you don't have patience and try this for a least a week, you will have no success. I have used this technique to get persnickety dogs to eat and it's never failed if I'm patient. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't catch on after the first time, but just have patience. She will eat.Good Luck...hope this helps.

And you think your dog would let herself starve if for once you stopped pandering to her every want?If a dog is hungry enough it will eat whatever it is given. Starving dogs will eat their own faeces so I'm as sure as hell your dog can eat dog food. You are going to have to be cruel to be kind but unless you sort this out now, you will have to deal with this for 15+ years. Pick a brand of meat-based dog food you are prepared to buy regularly. Put down a a bowl of her allocated amount twice a day for 20 minutes and no matter how much is still there at the end of that 20 minutes, take the bowl away. Do the same for the next meal and the next and so on. Offer her absolutely no human food/titbits/treats/table scraps in between meals. Make sure everyone in your household is involved with this as it only takes one person feeding her human food secretly for all this to go out of the window.Sooner or later, however reluctantly, she will eat. It may take a couple of days but she will (and it won't kill her to not eat for a couple of days). The trick is to get her so hungry that she is forced to eat her dog food. Of course she will try twisting you around her little finger again but when she realises you are not playing her game anymore, she will eat. No healthy dog will let itself starve. The problem here is you. I'm not trying to be mean or insulting but the only reason she is picky is because you let her be. Stop playing her game and force her to eat what you buy for her. Sooner or later, she will turn her nose up at most human foods.You say it drives you crazy so change it. I've just told you how to do it.(And in answer to your question, no, human food is not a balanced diet for dogs. Until she can eat consistently her own food from her own bowl, offer her nothing else. Even when she can treats/human food should not consist of more than 10% of a dog's diet).

I am so guilty of spoiling my dogs, but my conscious won't let me tell you it's okay. Feeding your dog human food is actually a bad idea because our food is more "complex": it takes more energy and effort to digest the plethora of unnatural combinations of crap we throw together and call meals. Seasoning, cooking, etc -- it all changes the chemical makeup of food, and dogs simply do not have the same digestive tract that we have. Feeding them human food can lead to severe pancreatitis.Feeding them more "natural" foods is a bit more acceptable -- like chicken, as you mentioned. Remember that they are carnivores.When looking for a dog food brand, take a look at the ingredients list. What are the first three ingredients listed? They should say something like "chicken" or "lamb" -- NOT (and I repeat NOT) "chicken by-product", "lamb by-product", etc. "Cornmeal" should not be the first ingredient, either. What this is saying is that you are feeding your dog the ground-up nasty bits that belong in the trash - bones, organs, etc. You want to feed your dog MEAT. You've already spoiled her by giving her people food, and that's why she's refusing to eat dog food. Why should she eat this crumbly crap when you have something so much more tasty? You're going to have to put your foot down and NOT feed her people food -- only allow her access to dog food.No dog is going to "starve" itself to death, and certainly not on principle, when it has access to food. Your pet may try and hold out for a while, but eventually, it'll have to admit defeat on the issue.Consult your vet about training tips and what you can do to make the dog food more palatable again.

your dog will NOT starve itself to death.put the dog food down and leave it..... after a few days she will get hungry.she has done a wonderful job training you

There is a spray product new to the market that you could try... Bon Appetit, you need to get it from the vet.. it costs RRP £5.99 for 100ml spray.http://www.petdispensary.co.uk/bon-appetit-food-flavour-enhancer-spray-5254-0.html?gclid=CM_Xt7Dy0p0CFQdl4wodh09gsg You can also get it from the vet pharmacy stores online...

as a pet, in particularly a dog owner we have a hard time and this is a common problem. a human diet is just that meant for humans, and tho i sympathise with your problem please do not feed her human food on such a regular basis. dogs are meant to eat dog food, otherwise there would not be such a lucrative market.maybe you just haven't found the type that she likes, i have one dog who is a bit fussy and will not eat a bowl of just dru food that i get from my vet, she has to have wet meat.yes maybe this is pandering but i would rather she was happy than only eating enough to survive.you on the other hand are completely pandering, if you let her away with this what else will she try to get away with?try different foods, mix dry and wet, but get a good food, vets are a great place to by in bulk and at least you know its not all sugar and crap in the food.