My 1 year old lab does not really like to eat. I have to stand over her at times to get her to focus. She seems completely disinterested in every food that I have tried, i.e. Cal Natural, Innova, Verus
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
thanks.

Has she always been like this??? How much are you feeding her??? Has her amount of exercise changed?? Has her energy level changed? Have you had her thyroid checked???

Generally speaking........a Labrador that does not eat is either VERY ill , OR it's owner has CREATED a finicky eater, by constantly switching foods.

Do tell , which is yours ?

I'd first note what CM posted, if all these concerns are benign I'd do the following:

Make your own food, I'll bet she'll eat it. I have a girl who only likes to eat kibble when pregnant or nursing. Otherwise she only really likes homemade food.

I cook together:
Diced chicken, carrots,celery, peas, eggs, rice. My finicky eater loves this, an all my coats are much nicer when I take time to do the homemade food.

I have a dog that has little interest in food. The dog is perfectly healthy and his thyroid is tested at normal. Other than switching from puppy food, he has had only 1 other switch in food and that is because he is a working dog and needs to be on a performance food to maintain weight. He never receives table scraps or special foods. He is not interested in "cookies". He does eat but I do have to stand over him as he is easily distracted. He seems to be one that does not need to eat at regular intervals but will eat heartily when hungry, so I do not get overly concerned because he maintains a very healthy weight.

How is her body mass? Maybe you are feeding too much now, that she is done growing?

She might be spoiled rotten. Put her in a crate to eat and leave the room. Give her 15 minutes and take the food away and try again latter. Sometimes picky eaters do better splitting the food in two meals.

She needs more exercise to increase her appetite.

I have a young male, almost 2, on the thin side. He has been on Pro Plan Performance for quite some time now, although he was fed 2 other foods before. He's thin, in perfect health, but it's hard to keep weight on him. He gets very distracted when eating too. We will put a dab of peanut butter on the side of his bowl when he acts up, and it always gets him into the routine of eating. My other 5 do not do this ever. Call it spoiling him, if you will, but I would rather not have this dog miss a meal. And if a dab of peanut butter helps, so be it.

My puppy is perfectly healthy. She has always been this way so I find it hard to believe that I created this habit. I was just looking for some tricks as to how to get her to eat her food. I've added green beans to the bowl and that seems to help.

how about a few tbs of wet food?

Have you offered your dog any fresh poop? Sorry about that, but I am sooooooooooo punchy from this massive snow storm!!!!

I thought they liked it frozen?

Does she have a pulse??

Just kidding. Sometimes they eat better with a little competition and sometimes they eat better as they get older. Some are never big eaters. They all are individuals with their own quirks and habits.

I have a 14 month old boy who is a very picky eater. He's on the small side so I do whatever I can to make sure he eats. He's on a premium kibble. I've tried a few in an effort to see if I can find something he likes. When I finally buy a bag of something he has previously eaten, forget it. He doesn't like it. So now I am through with the kibble search and am sticking to what I have.
In the morning, I scramble an egg and add it to his kibble. In the evening, I cook ground turkey (occasionally beef), and add that to his kibble.
He does not like canned dog food. He likes green beans and yams, but not with his kibble.
He started his finicky habit last summer when he picked up some bacteria swimming in a lake and ate nothing but cooked ground meat and rice for a week.
Yes, he is spoiled. Yes, I could change it by holding out for a while and giving him nothing but his kibble. But I would be a wreck. And this way, we are both happy. He eats his food with his extras, and I don't have to worry about whether he is getting what he needs.
Good luck. I feel for you.

Have you tried putting warm water over food? Some dogs prefer any kibble warm and mushy.

Yes...no dice :(

We have an almost 4 year old girl who ever since she was little really did not like to eat and even now eats laying down. The food has never changed. She will
eat if we put a tablespoon of Vanilla Yogurt on her food.

Try putting a bit of warm water on her kibble, and "top-dress" it with about a 1/2 inch slice of canned tripe.It is available as a canned product made by Tripett. Mush it all together, put her in her crate and put the bowl in the crate and shut the door. Walk away to another room. In 15 minutes, come and take away the bowl and whatever is left in it. Do this morning and night, 2 meals a day, and she will learn to eat what is in front of her when it is mealtime. The tripe is very appealing to dogs!

No healthy dog will starve itself to death. Tough love is needed here, I think. This method has worked for everyone that has had to use it.

I cook chicken breast and salmon... Sweet potatoes and asparagus....One option

The food I found that my Boy likes is NOW or GO..

Try dried beef or chcken liver sprinkled on top of food...

If you are upset.The lab will feed off of you. Put some nice relaxing music on...Have a glas of wine and wait 15 minutes.... If the pup will not eat TAKE IT AWAY>...... till next meal...

Guaranteed picky eater cure - courtesy of a boxer breeder friend of mine.

1. No treats, extra food, table scraps, etc. during the day. Meals should be plain kibble with no additives, canned food, gravy, scraps, etc. Back to the basics.
2. In the morning, offer breakfast.
3. If dog doesn't eat breakfast in 15 minutes, take breakfast away.
4. In the evening, DON'T feed dinner. Let your dog watch everyone else eat.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until the dog starts eating enthusiastically.

I've never had a dog refuse to eat the third day's breakfast. Only one didn't eat the second.

All of my dogs eat like Labradors, including the cocker and the Havanese. I consider it an important thing to train my dogs to eat enthusiastically because if one does refuse food, that is an early sign of illness and I don't want to confuse it with the dog being finicky.

Good luck.

I am with Nancy on this one, it's all a matter of who is in charge !

Cool!