My theory on 'fussy eaters'
Both dogs and cats. I firmly believe in the old saying, "A dog will never go hungry when food is available."
But there are still domestic animals that make us believe they are being picky, finicky, precious - just damned fussy.
My experience is that there is ALWAYS a really good reason in the animal's mind, to not eat and enjoy their food. You could play the waiting game - no food until puss or pup eats voluntarily. I've found a better way from living with Gibby who came to me at 12 weeks with moderate anxiety and a great will to please.
PUTTING FACE IN BOWL - she didn't like to do this. I suspect, being a very clean little dog, she doesn't like having food on her whiskers. Othe dogs I know are alarmed at their tags clanging on the bowl.
SOLUTION - Cut her food into 1 inch peices and place around on an plastic mat.
The beauty of doing this is you can see instant results; your pet will suddenly show (or not) more interest in eating. I'm not going to touch on particular likes and dislikes. I've found there is always something else at play, but it's convenient for the owner to blame the food.
SMELL - The mat and smaller pieces worked well but something else occurred to me. If a dog's sense of smell is over 3,000 times as sensitive as ours, how is the residual scent of washing up liquid affecting them? I stopped washing Gibs mat in dish soap, instead unsing just very hot water and a scourer. It made her a bit keener to eat but not a huge difference. Still, fewer toxins etc so this stay s.
TEMPERATURE - The common wisdom purveyed by just about everyone is warmer food enhances the smell. That's a very restaurnat critic thing to say. It's a human preference.
First, let me describe how I store and prepare Gibs food. She has a slightly deformed lower jaw - the canines top and bottom are out of alignment combined with a slight underbite. Therefore her food is cut up, but she has very small chewy bones with every meal. It's a different action and part of the mouth - not mutually exclusive. Food is stored in small servings (2 days) in the freezer. Mostly raw but some cooked + veg for balance.
One day I had fogotten to defrost some food. It was a warm day. I took bags of food from the freezer, armed myself with the trusty No 2 meat cleaver and chopped up some frozen food knowing it would defrost in a few minutes.
This was the biggest surprise. She wolfed it down, was looking for more. Since that day, I keep Gibs food in the freezer and take the cleaver to it when serving. Can't explain it because this goes against what everyone says but I can't deny the magic.
In closing (and haven't I gone on for long enough....!) It's a good position to adopt to believe there is no such thing as a fussy eater. There are reasons. Dogs and cats are not malicious trolls when it comes to food. We are the adults in the room with the responsibility to observe, extrapolate, experiment all without harming our animals.
I've gone on a bit longer than intended. Thank you for your attention to this matter. 
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