The Best Food & Feeding Tips for Picky Dogs

We founded Sundays on the simple idea that mealtimes should be the easiest, most enjoyable part of the day. (Yes, easy like Sundays!) And as anybody with a dog who can be a picky eater knows, mealtimes have the potential to be one of the most frustrating experiences with your pet. 

It can feel like you’re failing them by not giving them an option they’ll eat, so us dog parents will resort to pretty much anything to ensure they aren’t going hungry and — as we see it — sad. While dogs as a species have the reputation for eating anything, it’s certainly not true for most dogs. 

As a veterinarian, but also as a dog mom, I get it. Which is why we’re so excited that the recipes we’ve made at Sundays have helped countless picky dogs go from grazing or straight up refusal to falling in love with their food. You can get a box on the way to try asap here, but for the curious, here’s why Sundays food is uniquely appealing to picky dogs.

How Sundays is Designed to be Delicious for Picky Dogs

Real, human-grade food

Our food is made to human-grade standards, meaning safe, healthy, high-quality ingredients, gently cooked and then air-dried to draw out and then lock in their natural taste. It’s a concentrated jerky of meat and vegetables, which is naturally flavorful and more appealing to dogs than kibble — a dough cooked at extreme temperatures, then coated in fats and other palatants to make it edible. We developed Sundays  to keep the convenience of shelf-stable food, but offer all the benefits of a fresh, home cooked diet. 

Tasted tested

How do we know it’s more appealing than kibble? In addition to the countless reviews from real customers, we conducted extensive taste tests when developing our recipes. In a controlled 2-day palatability study, dogs consistently chose Sundays first over the most popular kibble on the market — 39-0.

No synthetics. Period. 

Another reason Sundays recipes are unique is that we do not use any synthetic ingredients in our food. None at all. Our goal has always been to provide balanced nutrition through the fresh, whole ingredients we used. The majority of dog foods on the market that claim “All natural” will have an asterisks explaining that it does have added vitamins and minerals. We do not have any asterisks. Dogs have incredibly sensitive noses — more than 50 times more powerful than a human’s! — and if anything smells even a little suspicious, it can be enough to cause them to turn up their noses. Synthetic nutrient blends are almost completely standard throughout the entire pet food industry, including in frozen dog food options. We worked with a team of PhD and veterinary nutritionists to achieve nutritional balance naturally. 

Flavor variety 

 Sundays offers 4 different flavors, providing a wide variety of flavor. We currently offer Chicken, Turkey, and Beef recipes. We’re always working on developing more recipes, and for added confidence in the (rare) case your dog is not satisfied, we offer a 14-day money back guarantee.

Allergy friendly and easy to digest

Sundays features a whole host of great dog health benefits, but two of its most powerful are its easy digestibility and allergy friendliness. Another benefit of being made to human-grade standards is Sundays recipes are gently cooked, which is proven to result in a more nutritious and easily digestible food than the extreme processing used to make kibble. And adhering to strict human-grade standards at our facilities ensures the risk of cross-contamination or unlisted allergens finding their way into our food is as close to zero as exists.

Tips to Set Your Dog Up for a Successful Meal

As a vet-founded company, we can provide expert guidance beyond just expertly-made food. We’re always on hand to help customers, but here are some lesser known factors to keep in mind that can impact a dog’s enthusiasm around mealtime. 

Consistent routine

Most dogs are creatures of habit, and thrive with a predictable routine. This includes meals, and there’s a few reasons for it. 

First, having a set mealtime where food is offered and then removed after a certain period of time, can help focus the dog’s attention on those meals. Being allowed constant access to food means a dog doesn’t have a rhythm to being full or hungry, it encourages grazing and apathy through overexposure, and it’s harder to keep an observant eye on their eating habits. It also can lead to over-eating and obesity.

A little sense of scarcity can go a long way toward increasing enthusiasm for the food they’re given, and a predictable time and setting gives them something to look forward to as well. The total number of meals you feed in a day is less important than that the meals themselves are specific moments in the day, versus constant access.

Cut out other treats and scraps 

This one may be the hardest to do for many of us, since food is often how we show dogs our love! But if you’re dealing with a picky dog and trying to reset your routine, cutting out all other treats and scraps from the day is essential to focus their attention onto their own food at mealtimes. 

It’s a short term pain for a long term gain, since you can start adding treats back into the mix when they’re consistently eating meals — and you’re doing it ultimately to increase their mealtime enjoyment, health, and you value for money from their food! In addition, you can use their food for treats — Sundays makes a fabulous high-value treat as it breaks into smaller pieces without crumbling. 

Feed after activity 

Working up an appetite is another great way to elicit more enthusiasm at mealtimes. Eating after exercise turns your dog’s meal into a reward for a great walk, fun game, or favorite trick. We all love to feel we’ve earned our rewards! Note that it’s important to wait until your dog has cooled down before feeding them, as eating while still panting heavily can risk them choking on food. And mealtime can even BE play — some dogs will more happily eat their food from puzzle toys or lick mats which can make mealtime last even longer and provide some mental stimulation. Experimenting and finding something that works consistently for your dog is the whole point. 

A calm environment 

Getting your dog excited about mealtime — great! Having the area they eat in be busy or distracting, less so. If their bowl setup is in a spot that’s busy (a lot of foot traffic around), loud (think: near a washing machine), or smelly (like, near the trash or a strong candle) then it can overwhelm their senses and put a dog off from being able to enjoy their food. Consider their setup and see if there are any ways you can reduce sensory distractions. 

Clean bowl club 

Sticking with the subject of their physical setup, dogs’ bowls can be another factor to consider in combatting picky eating. 

Firstly, are they clean? A 2022 study found that most pet owners are skimping a little on hygiene, but clean water and food bowls aren’t just a matter of health. Dirty bowls can be quite unappetizing, especially considering how much stronger our dog’s sense of taste and smell are compared to humans’.

Secondly, what material are they? Plastic retains smells that can build up and overwhelm far more than metal or ceramic. 

And lastly, what height are those bowls at? It’s not a deep observation that different dogs are different sizes, and their bowl height should be a decision that prioritizes what makes eating easiest for them, rather than aesthetics. 

Keep their flavors fresh

Many dogs are happy to eat the same thing daily, but some understandably prefer a bit more variety. Choosing a food they like with multiple flavors for them to rotate through can help keep things fresh, and at Sundays, we have 3 to choose from (and we’re always working on more!)

Try it Yourself Today!

Helping dogs and their humans have a happy, healthy, easy mealtime routine is our company’s whole reason for existing. And we’re here to help you find the recipes they’ll love! Tell us a few details about your dog, and we’ll help you find the best and most nutritious recipes to support today’s needs and their lifelong health.