Are dogs becoming fussier eaters?

Palatability has been a key focus across the pet food industry as the sector develops, and it’d be fair to say that the palatability of modern dog foods is at an all-time high.

With a growing market of tempting additions to boost appeal, and claims such as ‘suitable for fussy eaters’ now widespread, the question is posed: when did dogs get so pernickety?

Dog food evolution

In 60 years, the dog food industry has evolved enormously. From 1970 – when dog biscuits first appeared in the UK – to today where there is not only a vast array of formats of complete and balanced dog food available but a wide variety of complementary products, the expansion has been huge.

Toppers are a key example, designed to enhance pet food through taste, texture and nutrition. Freeze-dried toppers first emerged in the US in early 2010s. By 2018, toppers were viewed as a massive growth category, and by 2020 UK brands were entering this category.

Toppers incorporating functional claims have emerged, and now toppers are firmly established as a pet food market segment, chiming with trends of humanization and diet customization.

Advances in palatability science

By its definition, palatability is related to how readily a food is accepted and measured in terms of its attractiveness and consumption. It is an essential element of dog food development, as an owner’s decision to feed, or to continue feeding a particular product, is heavily influenced by their dog’s perceived enjoyment of it.

Traditionally, palatability studies have used one-bowl tests to study acceptance and two-bowl tests to judge preference. However, new methods of assessing a pet’s enjoyment of food are now available.

These include facial expression coding systems, behavior analysis, e-nose and e-tongue analysis to identify chemical composition, and the use of canine olfactometers to supplement understanding of two-bowl preference testing, which works by isolating aroma from other cues.

A review by researchers at the University of Arkansas reported that dogs decide their food choice during the step of aroma isolation, showing the huge importance of food smell in dog palatability.

False bottom bowls can provide separation of aroma and other food characteristics in palatability testing.

Cognitive palatability assessment protocol – a method where dogs are trained to connect foods with non-food objects – is ill-suited for widespread use due to training time required, but can be a useful tool in palatability assessment.

Human influence

A dog’s role within households has shifted over generations, from ‘just a dog’ to ‘one of the family’. Owner-dog bonds now most closely resemble parent-child relationships.

Dog owner perceptions, priorities and purchasing of dog foods are now key aspects of feeding behavior, with owners’ views regarding ingredients, nutrition and format directly impacting the foods offered to dogs.

The humanization trends observed throughout the pet food industry have led to changes to the ingredients and characteristics of pet food products so that they more closely resemble human foods.

The evolution of dogs alongside humans means that they display human-like social skills and respond to social cues, allowing them greater synchrony with humans.

Studies consistently show that human preferences affect dogs’ choices. Research from the University of Milan published in 2008 demonstrated that dogs’ innate preferences for greater food quantities were overridden after seeing an obvious preference by their owner for the smaller food quantity option.

Owner bias can therefore predetermine palatability outcomes in dog food, with owner preferences and relationships with food influencing acceptance of food and feeding behavior in dogs.

Palatability testing where positive human cues, including eye contact and petting, were given prior to food being offered led to greater food consumption by dogs than when no social cues were given. Dogs therefore make choices influenced by food presentation by their owner, rather than on food characteristics alone.

Are dogs getting more picky?

Dog owner surveys reveal interesting insights into feeding behavior and food selectivity in dogs. A 2023 survey commissioned by pet food company Butternut Box found 37% of owners describe their dog as a “fussy eater”, with 10% of dogs “consistently refusing to eat their food”.

A study by the University of Cambridge into links between dog obesity risk and appetite found many owners added taste-enhancing foods to their dogs’ regular diet. Owner-stated reasonings for this varied from dogs refusing kibble without additional food toppers, to simply using up leftovers.

This owner behavior occurred across dogs with different food motivation, so the action of adding toppers to dog food is not solely to encourage appetite.

Within another survey of 2,000 dog owners by OnePoll for US dog food brand Jinx however, 49% admitted that they “always” or “often” struggle to get their dog to eat meals, with 48% reporting that they need to add things to the meal to encourage their dog to eat.

Survey data also reports 54% of dog owners consider their dogs “picky eaters”. 17% report that their dog “turns their nose up if the food isn’t up to scratch”, and 30% of those dogs are reported as being more interested in their human’s food.

On average, owners have tried 8 flavor or brand varieties before finding a food which works for their dog, and 28% of owners have at least 10 bags of unused dog food at home from searching for an option that works well for their pet.

Need for further research

We know more about dog food palatability than ever. With a focus on constant improvement and innovation, dog foods are achieving higher quality nutrition.

However, despite owners’ desires for dog foods of comparable quality to their own being met, a considerable proportion of dog parents regularly struggle to entice their pets to eat.

Are dogs learning picky eating tendencies through increasingly appealing options being offered? Future research exploring behavior around fussy eating, social cues and dog owner influences would provide key industry insights.

Owner perceptions of food and associated feeding need to be accounted for, as optimizing positive social cues to dogs could improve acceptance.

Further understanding would benefit dog food palatability and ensure dog foods are developed to best suit feeding behaviors.