Lilly has turned into Vicky Pollard

Hi, hope everyone is well and haven't been on the forum for a while. As you probably guessed I am on it now as I need advice. Lilly is becoming really stroppy, pulls on the lead, wont sit at the kerb when we go out, keeps taking the bedding off her bed and the latest trick is not eating her dinner. She has not had anything since Tuesday teatime. I don't believe she isn't hungry and she hovers around me when I cook our dinner. I can usually have her in the same room if we eat off a tray but not now, she's making a real pest of herself. I have read on this forum that the dog will not go hungry. I don't know what to do as its the same dinner, we keep putting it in the fridge and getting it out again, it keeps for 3 days anyway. Its Nature Diet - she doesn't eat kibble - so its a decent food. Do I keep persistng or do I try to give her something else. She isn't ill by the way, she's showing no signs of anything being wrong. As usual, grateful for all welcome advice.

As much as its wastefull I would give her a new dinner every time, and yes persist with it Xx

Since its Nature Diet, if she doesn't eat in the morning, I'd cover it and put it in the fridge till tea time, then repeat the next day then if she still doesn't eat then I'd put out new stuff! I know Bailey wouldn't eat if it was the chicken flavour as sometimes it smelt pretty rank!

A couple of weeks into us having Dexter he began being a bit of a pest at teatime, in a similar way. We taught him "out" to get him to leave the lounge himself because shutting him out seemed to make him worse whereas having a command for it seemed to make him happier. He now lies on the mat by the front door while we eat (occasionally poking his head in to make sure we all still know he's there ) I agree with what's been said that if you put the food into the fridge then try again, we put a bit of warm water and the tiniest smidgen of organic gluten and yeast free stock onto Dex's wainwrights as this had him wolfing it again when he started being mister fussy. We were about to start trying other foods though, if that hadn't worked cos I guess you just have to keep cracking away at it. They do love to try those boundaries!

p.s with the pulling have you tried stopping dead until she comes back next to you or at least slackens the lead? It's arduous but something we did (and still do if Dex starts to pull which he does every so often) and it did have a huge effect it just takes a lot of stop starting and people looking at you strangely as they go past, but then stuff them

Thanks for the advise especially about the chicken Nature Diet as that was what it was. I threw it out and gave her a lamb one and she has eaten it.