How to Feed a Rescue Dog Who Came With No Food

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By Toby Lee Spiegel
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Rescue dog new food

This recently happened to me - I rescued a dog from a family going through a foreclosure. He was given to me with no dog food. He was 1 1/2 years old, who came with nothing, not even a coat on his back. No collar, no tags, no bowls, and no food. If you read my eHow article How to Transition to a New Dog Food in 12 Days, then you know under ideal circumstances changing dog food should be a gradual 12 day process.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

New dog
Food bowl
Premium quality dog food
Water bowl with fresh water

Step 1

If you have adopted a new puppy or an older adult dog, most of the time your new furry friend came with a supply of dog food he was eating prior to you getting him home and you can gradually transfer him from the old food to the new food. But, sometimes life happens and he was given to you with no food he was eating before you got him.
Step 2

Doing a quick one day change from one dog food to another is best accomplished by using an excellent premium high quality dog food for the new food. In my case, I feed my dogs Innova Adult dry dog food, but there are many other well known brands who use ingredients that are human grade without preservatives. Stay away from supermarket brands, because they have corn, wheat, soy, and nasty by-products.
Step 3

When meal time arrives, you will put the appropriate amount of new dog food for his size into a bowl, and put it on the floor.
Step 4

Act like nothing is unusual and give your dog about 15 minutes time to eat the new dog food. If you have other dogs who are happily chowing down (mine inhale their food) then your new dog will most likely figure the new dog food is a good thing and proceed to eat without a problem.
Step 5

If by chance, your new dog turns his nose up and decides to play "I want my old dog chow" game with you, and 15 minutes has gone by - do not coax or beg your dog to eat - then remove the food bowl. And go about your business. During the time from the first meal to second, do not offer any treats or feel sorry for your dog for not eating. He'll be fine.
Step 6

Next meal time do the same thing as you did with the first meal. By this time your dog is probably so hungry, he'll eat willingly and the rest is gravy. No pun intended!
Step 7

If by the end of the second day your dog hasn't eaten anything, then please have him evaluated at your veterinarian to make sure he is healthy and able to eat. He might have an oral problem with his teeth or mouth, or a digestive illness.