How to Feed Your Dog: Puppies, Fussy Eaters and Senior Dogs
At a glance
- A dog's nutritional needs change significantly across their life — what works for a puppy is not what a senior dog needs, and treating every life stage the same is one of the most common feeding mistakes
- Fussy eating is almost never a personality trait — it is usually a food quality problem, a learned behaviour, or both
- Dogs eat with their noses first — aroma drives appetite before taste gets a chance to, and most heavily processed food gives a dog very little reason to be excited
- A dog's gut microbiome responds to dietary improvement at any age — switching to fresh food works whether a dog is eight weeks old or eight years old
- Most dogs take seven to ten days to transition to a new food comfortably — moving too fast is the most common reason a switch appears not to be working
In this guide
What does a puppy actually need from their food?
Puppies need significantly more protein, fat, calcium, and phosphorus than adult dogs. Their bodies are building muscle, bone, and organ systems simultaneously, and the food has to keep up. A puppy eating adult food is not getting what growth requires. A puppy eating poor quality food of any kind is building on a weaker foundation than they should be.
Frequency matters as much as quantity in the early months. Puppies have small stomachs and fast metabolisms: three to four meals a day up to around sixteen weeks, dropping to three meals until six months, then twice daily from there. Portion size depends on breed, expected adult weight, and the specific food being fed — a Cockapoo and a Labrador at the same age have very different needs.
Ingredient quality at this stage has long-term consequences. The gut microbiome established in puppyhood influences digestive health across a dog's entire life. Puppies fed on heavily processed food from the start often have less diverse gut bacteria by the time they reach adulthood, which shows up as sensitivity, inconsistent digestion, and fussiness — making it crucial to choose the right food for your puppy from the beginning. Marleybones Pantry Fresh meals are complete for all life stages including puppies, with whole ingredients and no artificial additives from the first bowl.
If your puppy is not eating, the cause is usually stress from a new environment, a food they find unpalatable, or a transition that moved too fast. Persistent refusal beyond the first week of settling in is worth a vet check. What to do if your puppy is not eating covers the most common causes and how to address them. First-time owners will find everything else they need in the new dog owner's guide to feeding.
“A complete game changer!!”
When should I switch my dog from puppy to adult food?
Most dogs are ready to move to adult food between nine and eighteen months, depending on breed size. Small breeds mature faster: a Chihuahua or Cavapoo is typically ready by nine to twelve months. Large and giant breeds take longer: a Labrador or Golden Retriever is still growing at twelve months and some giant breeds need puppy nutrition until eighteen months. Moving too early cuts off the nutritional support growth requires. Moving too late on a calorie-dense puppy food risks weight gain as growth slows.
The transition itself follows the same gradual principle as any food switch: seven to ten days mixing increasing proportions of adult food with puppy food. The gut microbiome needs time to adjust to a different nutritional profile, and the dog needs time to accept a new taste and texture. What changes nutritionally is primarily the protein-to-fat ratio and the calcium and phosphorus levels, which come down from the higher concentrations needed for bone development. Portion size typically adjusts downward at the same time, as adult dogs need fewer calories per kilogram of body weight than growing puppies.
During the transition, looser stools for the first few days are normal as the gut adjusts. What is not normal is persistent diarrhoea, vomiting, or a dog that refuses the new food entirely after several days. If either happens, slow the transition down rather than pushing through. The goal is a settled gut at each ratio before moving to the next stage. A dog that completes the transition without digestive disruption is far more likely to settle happily into the new food than one that was moved too quickly and associated the change with discomfort.
Why is my dog so fussy about food?
Fussy eating in dogs is almost never a personality trait they were born with. It develops — usually through one of three routes: a food that is genuinely unpalatable, a learned behaviour reinforced by an owner who keeps switching foods or adding toppers, or an underlying health issue that is making eating uncomfortable. The first two are far more common than the third, and both are addressable.
Palatability is the factor most owners underestimate. Dogs eat with their noses first: aroma drives appetite before taste gets a chance to. Heavily processed dry food has a flat, uniform smell that gives a dog very little reason to be excited. Fresh food cooked from whole ingredients smells like food: real meat, real vegetables, the kind of aroma that triggers a genuine feeding response. Many dogs that owners have written off as constitutionally fussy turn out to be dogs that were never given food worth being excited about.
“Such a relief to see her enjoying her food”
The learned behaviour route is more complicated. It typically starts with a dog going off their food, sometimes genuinely and sometimes just being slower than usual, and an owner responding by adding something more interesting: a topper, some chicken, a different food. The dog learns that holding out gets something better. Each switch reinforces the pattern. The food gets rotated, the dog gets pickier, and the owner concludes their dog is just a fussy eater. What has actually happened is a behavioural loop that the original food rarely caused.
The solution is not more variety. It is better food, served consistently. A dog that finds their food genuinely palatable does not need convincing to eat it. The best dog food for fussy eaters shares certain characteristics: high real meat content, whole ingredients that smell and taste like food, and a texture that engages rather than bores. Single protein recipes help too. They simplify the picture if a specific ingredient turns out to be the issue, and give the dog a clear, consistent flavour rather than a rotating blend of proteins that never quite settles.
Marleybones uses a slow in-pack cooking process that concentrates the natural aroma of the ingredients, making the food significantly more palatable than anything produced through high-temperature extrusion. 9 in 10 previously fussy dogs now enjoy their food on Marleybones, and 67% of dogs are more excited at mealtimes after switching, based on a survey of 1,056 active subscribers in January 2026. Most owners find that getting a fussy dog to eat consistently comes down to food quality and patience rather than tactics. Marleybones Lush Lamb and Sassy Salmon are both consistently strong performers with fussy dogs: novel proteins that most dogs have not built a resistance to, in recipes short enough to identify any issue if one appears.
If your dog is refusing food they previously ate, or showing signs of discomfort around mealtimes, rule out an underlying health issue before treating it as a fussy eating problem. Pain, dental problems, and nausea all produce food refusal that looks identical to fussiness from the outside.
How does a senior dog's diet need to change?
Senior dogs need fewer calories but higher quality nutrition: a combination that rules out most of what is marketed at older dogs. Lower energy needs mean portion sizes come down, but the demand on ingredient quality goes up as the body becomes less efficient at extracting nutrition from heavily processed food.
Most dogs are considered senior from around seven years, though large breeds age faster and may show senior nutritional needs from five or six. The changes that matter most are a reduction in overall calories to manage weight as activity levels drop, maintained or slightly increased protein to preserve muscle mass, and increased support for joint health through omega-3 fatty acids. Contrary to the old advice about reducing protein for older dogs, current nutritional guidance supports keeping protein high from quality sources.
A senior dog carrying excess weight puts significantly more load on joints that are already under age-related pressure. Weight is harder to shift once it is gained at this stage, so portion discipline matters more than it did in earlier years. It is important to understand what changes nutritionally as a dog ages before making any changes to a senior dog's diet.
Fresh food tends to suit older dogs particularly well. Higher natural moisture supports kidney function, which comes under increasing pressure with age. Whole ingredients are easier to digest as the production of digestive enzymes naturally declines. The palatability of fresh food also helps with the appetite reduction that many senior dogs experience. A dog that finds their food genuinely appealing is more likely to eat consistently, which matters more as maintaining condition becomes harder.
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Is it ever too late to switch to fresh food?
No. Dogs improve on fresh food at every life stage: puppies, adults, and seniors. The transition takes the same gradual approach regardless of age, though older dogs with longer histories on a single food may need a slightly extended transition period to give the gut microbiome more time to adjust.
The principle is consistent throughout: move gradually over seven to ten days, mixing increasing proportions of new food with existing food. 25% new food for the first two days, 50% for days three and four, 75% for days five and six, 100% from day seven. For older dogs or those with sensitive digestion, extend each stage until stools are stable at the current ratio before moving forward. The signal to progress is settled digestion, not the passage of a fixed number of days.
What to expect during the switch: some variation in stool consistency in the first week is normal as the gut microbiome begins to adjust. Energy levels and coat condition tend to follow improvement in digestion, usually within two to four weeks. Appetite almost always improves, sometimes significantly, once a dog that has been eating heavily processed food encounters something genuinely palatable for the first time.
For fussy dogs the change is often faster. A dog that has been indifferent to mealtimes for years can become genuinely excited about food within days of finding something they find palatable. Create your personalised Marleybones feeding plan — built around your dog's age, size, and needs.
FAQs
How many times a day should I feed my dog?
Puppies up to sixteen weeks need three to four meals a day. From sixteen weeks to six months, three meals. From six months onward, twice daily is the standard for most adult dogs and suits their digestive rhythm well. Senior dogs generally do well on two meals a day, though some do better on three smaller meals if appetite or digestion becomes less consistent with age.
When should I switch from puppy to adult food?
Small breeds are typically ready at nine to twelve months. Medium breeds at twelve months. Large and giant breeds between twelve and eighteen months, depending on how much growing they still have to do. The safest guide is breed-expected adult weight: the closer your dog is to their full size, the closer they are to being ready for adult food.
Why has my dog suddenly gone off their food?
Sudden food refusal in a dog that was previously eating normally is worth taking seriously. Common causes include dental pain, nausea, an underlying health issue, or a change in the food itself: a new batch, a formula change, or a different storage condition affecting palatability. If refusal lasts more than 48 hours or is accompanied by lethargy, vomiting, or weight loss, see a vet before making any dietary changes.
Is my dog fussy or just not hungry?
A dog that picks at food, eats slowly, or leaves food in the bowl but is otherwise healthy and maintaining weight is more likely to be a slow or selective eater than genuinely food-refusing. A dog that consistently refuses meals, has lost interest in food they previously enjoyed, or is losing weight has a problem worth investigating. The distinction matters because the solutions are different: one is a feeding management issue, the other may need veterinary input.
Do senior dogs need special senior food?
Not necessarily. Senior-labelled foods vary enormously in quality and many are formulated to a lower standard than their marketing suggests. What a senior dog actually needs is high-quality protein from whole ingredients, appropriate calorie reduction, and increased omega-3 support for joint health. A high-quality adult fresh food often meets these needs better than a dedicated senior formula built on heavily processed ingredients.
Can puppies eat the same food as adult dogs?
Only if the food is complete and balanced for all life stages, which means it meets the higher nutritional requirements of growth as well as adult maintenance. Marleybones Pantry Fresh meals are complete for all life stages including puppies. Foods labelled for adult maintenance only do not meet puppy nutritional requirements and should not be fed to growing dogs.
How do I get a fussy dog to eat their food?
Start with food they find genuinely palatable: aroma and texture drive appetite in dogs more than variety does. Serve at room temperature rather than straight from the fridge, which dulls the smell. Put the bowl down for fifteen to twenty minutes and remove it whether it has been eaten or not. This breaks the holding-out pattern without creating anxiety. Avoid adding toppers or switching foods at the first sign of hesitation, which reinforces the behaviour. If the dog is healthy and the food is genuinely good, consistency usually wins within a week.
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