If you own a small dog, you've probably said one of these lines yourself:
- "My dog's really fussy."
- "They've stopped eating their food."
- "They'll only eat if I put something through it."
And honestly? With smaller dogs, that makes a lot of sense.
Why Small Dogs Seem So Fussy at Dinner Time
Think about it from your dog's point of view. You've got a tiny ankle-biter with a tiny stomach — and throughout the day, that stomach is being topped up with kibble, treats, bits of cheese, ham, whatever else is going their way.
Then dinner time rolls around, you put the bowl down, and you're left wondering why they're just not interested.
It's not that they're being difficult. It's that there's simply no room left.
The Upside: Small Dogs Are Cheap to Feed Well
Here's the part most owners don't think about — dogs under 10kg are actually one of the easiest groups of dogs to justify feeding really, really well.
Why? Because they don't eat very much.
Take a 5kg dog as an example:
- At around 3% of body weight, that's roughly 150 grams of food a day
- That works out to just 4.5kg of food across an entire month
We're not talking about feeding a 40kg Labrador here. We're talking about a fraction of that.
So spending a bit more on better-quality food — whether that's raw, gently steamed, or a quality wet food — doesn't have to mean spending a fortune. Because the volume is so small, the cost difference between average food and genuinely good food is often minimal.
Making Every Bite Count
If your dog only has a tiny stomach to work with, you want as much of what goes into it as possible to actually contribute to their diet — rather than filling them up with bits and pieces all day and then wondering why they turn their nose up at dinner.
The simple fix:
- Cut back on random extras throughout the day (treats, table scraps, snacks)
- Prioritise quality over quantity in their main meals
- Make mealtime the main event, not an afterthought squeezed in between snacks
Small dogs don't need more food. They need better food, in the right amount, without the constant grazing that ruins their appetite before dinner even arrives.
Got a Fussy Small Dog?
If you've got a dog under 10kg that's a nightmare with food, drop their breed, weight, and what you're currently feeding in the comments. We'll pick a few and break them down properly in another video.