How can I get my shih tzu to eat out of his bowl?

Richelle

I have a 10 month old shih tzu, had him from the time he was 12 weeks. From the beginning we had a hard time feeding him- not liking his kibble and not eating his kibble out of his bowl. When he was younger we would just put his food on the floor and he would spend the entire day eating that one serving we poured out ( not enough food for his weight) and I found dust was making its way in his food and us stepping on it so I turned back to putting it in a bowl. From there he wasn’t eating his kibble in the bowl nor liked it, so we began hand feeding him the kibble and for the last 10 months we have went though a lot of brands. We recently bought hills science, it’s not a favorite but he eats it when we hand feed him, but I don’t want to keep hand feeding as my schedule is becoming busier and I see he’s reliant on me which I feel bad. It’s been two days now and he still haven’t touched the food in his bowl and I don’t know what else to do. I stopped giving him table food and tying the garbage up so he can’t get inside. Also if we put the kibble on the floor now he doesn’t eat it and I have tried wet food, he just sniff it and leaves. I know this is my fault and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get him eating by his self.

I have a dog I will be dog sitting for a week ( they already met) and he eats “normal.” Do you think my dog seeing him eat will help?

Lastly, I have stopping switching out food brands but I would feel satisfied having a kibble that he’s excited for me to open- any recommendations?