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Many pet owners are used to their pets wolfing down their meals as fast as possible so when a dog won’t eat it can be very upsetting. Lack of appetite is called inappetence or anorexia (not to be confused with anorexia nervosa, the eating disorder in humans). It simply means that the dog has no appetite and won’t eat. This condition can occur for a number of reasons. Most of the time your dog will start eating again after he skips a meal or two. Here are some things to look for if your dog isn’t eating and what you can do to get him back to normal.
- Is Your Dog Getting Older? Maybe It’s Time To Switch To A Senior Dog Food Blend?
Temporary Gastrointestinal Upset
While dogs are carnivores, they are more than happy to scavenge whenever the opportunity presents itself, even in the home. Pet dogs frequently steal food from the counter, off the table, and eat things from the trash when they get the chance. Some dogs eat dog poop in the yard and other things that are tasty only to dogs. And if you take your dog to a dog park or other public place, he can have access to things like candy and other things left by visitors. The result is that dogs can sometimes eat something they shouldn’t. Heck, I was sitting at home taking an online traffic school and my dog got into some candy he shouldn’t have been eating. It happens.
If your dog won’t eat, it’s possible that he could have a temporary gastrointestinal upset. Look for signs that he has some diarrhea or notice if he has vomited somewhere. Your dog’s body will attempt to get rid of whatever he has eaten that has upset his digestion. In the meantime, he won’t feel much like eating. As long as there is no blood in the stool or vomit, you should allow your dog to expel the offending matter from his system, provided he doesn’t become dehydrated. If the vomiting or diarrhea lasts more than 24 hours, take your dog to your veterinarian.
Change In Routine
A change in routine can upset many dogs and make them stop eating. If you change the time you feed your dog, change the time you take walks or potty your dog, or make serious changes in your household such as adding a family member, a dog can easily stop eating. Taking a vacation or moving to a new home are other reasons why a dog won’t eat. Dogs like routine and anything that upsets what they are familiar with can make them stop eating, at least temporarily, until they feel secure again. It’s best to make any changes gradually and make sure that your dog feels secure and included in what’s happening in your home.
Behavior Problems
Some dogs may stop eating because of behavior problems. These problems are not always caused by the dog who won’t eat. If you have another dog or pet in the home, your dog could be reacting to that pet. For instance, if your dog won’t eat, it could be due to another dog who is stealing his food or growling at him while he eats. Sometimes a dog won’t eat if he is a slow eater and the other dog eats fast. He may prefer to eat alone so he can take his time. If you have multiple dogs, it’s often a good idea to feed them separately – in separate rooms or in crates – so each dog can eat in peace. Dogs will often start eating again when they are left alone with their food.
Senior Dogs
Sometimes senior dogs can stop eating because of age-related problems. Too often owners assume a senior dog won’t eat because he is getting old when in reality the problem could be something that is easily remedied. For example, a senior dog can have dental problems which make it hard for him to eat his ordinary food. He may be hungry and want to eat but the food hurts his mouth. A trip to the vet to examine your senior dog’s teeth can reveal the problem and allow the vet to fix it. Your senior dog should be able to eat normally afterward. You can also warm a senior dog’s food and heat it to make it smell and taste more appealing to him since the senses begin to fade as a dog gets older. Try topping the food with some stew or something else tasty.
Picky Eaters
Of course, the bane of all pet owners are dogs who are picky eaters. Dogs are not born picky eaters – owners make them that way. If your dog won’t eat and you are feeding him a good quality food that he normally likes, put the food down and leave it for fifteen minutes. If your dog has not eaten it in that time, pick the bowl up and put it away. Do not give your dog treats or snacks during the day. Do not feed your dog any other food until it’s time for his next meal. Your dog will eat when he gets hungry. If you feed meals at a regular time each day and monitor how much you feed, and how much your dog eats, and keep the treats to a reasonable amount, your dog will stop being a picky eater.
One more word: if you change dog food frequently, your dog will be picky about his food. It’s better to find a good food and stay with it. The more you change dog foods, the more likely your dog is to suffer from gastrointestinal upsets, which will lead to missing meals, which you will blame on the new food, which will make you want to try another food – it’s a vicious circle. Find a good food that your dog does well on and stick with it, even when you hear about new foods. If your dog is healthy and happy on a food, there’s really no reason to change. Remember that dogs don’t like change.
These are the major reasons why a dog won’t eat, barring illness. If your dog won’t eat after 24 hours, you should take him to the vet. It’s possible that your dog could be sick and your vet will need to check him out and start looking for more serious reasons why your dog is not eating. He or she will ask you about any other possible symptoms your dog may be exhibiting, so be prepared to discuss your dog’s overall health.
Thanks for the information. Our Australian Cattle Dog recently quit eating (we have had him for about 3 weeks} he is a 7 month old puppy who wolfed his food down until a day ago. He suddenly was totally uninterested in food. We had started feeding him outside instead of inside and he wouldn’t touch it. I am going to try to start feeding him inside again (we had put it out back so e could eat while we were gone for a few hours). Hopefully he will eat again when he is fed inside.
Hi Monica – This actually isn’t all that uncommon and most likely isn’t cause for alarm. I would indeed begin feeding him back inside again. Something as simple as an environment change could cause a dog or puppy to stop eating. What I would do is leave out breakfast for 15 minutes in the morning and dinner for 15 minutes in the evening. You don’t really need to encourage him and you certainly don’t want to punish him if he doesn’t eat. If he doesn’t touch his food in that 15 minute period, he’s “lost his chance” so to speak and you should take the food away until the next meal time. He will soon learn that when food is put out, he needs to eat it then. If he doesn’t eat after about 2 to 3 days (4 to 6 meals), I would take him into the vet just to make sure nothing serious is going on, but the vast majority of the time dogs will not go more than a couple days without eating. I would also avoid feeding him treats or any other food until he begins eating his kibble again, otherwise he will learn that he can just “hold out” for something even better.
If he is showing no other signs of illness or discomfort, this is most likely just a temporary thing. Just about all dog owners go through some periods where their dog simply doesn’t want to eat anything. Otherwise, if your dog is showing signs of discomfort or illness, bring him to the vet right away.
Best of luck and I hope your boy starts his normal eating routine again soon! Keep us posted!
Bailey, beagle terrier mix, 2.5 years old – trying to follow instructions of just giving her dry food and nothing else however she will barely eat for 4 days. She seems to be very healthy-still plays and has a shiny coat. She will eat a little out of our hands but that’s it. She doesn’t seem to be sick but she tries to eat grass. She has had an issue of vomiting when she doesn’t eat so we give ‘spice up’ her food so that she will. We are just tired of doing this. How long do we hold out?
Hi Anne, sorry to hear Bailey isn’t eating much! If she has gone 4 days without eating, I would consider taking her into the vet just to make sure nothing more serious is going on. Other than that, I would not use anything in the kibble to make it taste better as she will then not want to eat without the spice up. This would fall into the “picky eater” category. Many dogs will refuse to eat if they know they will get something *better* if they refuse their regular food (treats, people food, etc). A healthy dog will never starve themselves, so I would continue to simply leave her regular food out for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening. If she doesn’t eat within that 15 minutes, take the food away and do not feed any treats that day. But again, if she goes 4 days without eating, I think a quick trip to the vet is in order.
Thanks Mike! She has eaten a treat or two BUT we are stopping that now. AND we have hand fed her. I will do exactly as you instructed starting tonight and get back to you WHEN she eats! Stubborn!!! And that cute little face! It’s hard to be tough.
I hear you Anne! Most dog owners go through this from time to time. I’ve been through it myself. Yes, those faces just cut through our souls. It’s their main tool of manipulating us humans and they are experts at it. LOL!
2 year old malamute that won’t eat. Never has been big but it’s getting to the point where his hips are so bony you see the outline of his bones. I give wet dog food and he still refuses. Doesn’t have worms and is healthy as far as the bet says, but it makes me scared to see him that skinny
My dog is named Casey, he’s a miniature pinchure/dacshund. He is about 9 and a half years old. We used to feed him the same healthy weight dog food everyday because he tends to weigh on the heavier side. Almost 7 months ago we switched to a different brand of dog food because we noticed he was excessively farting, then one day peed in the house. We looked up the dog food and found out it had been killing dogs and making them ill. After the switch he continued to eat the new food and his farting decreased. We have stayed on the same food brand that we bought as soon as we found the other one to be a problem. Now he hardly touches the kibble. He’s not one to not eat. Usually he scarfs it all down as fast as he possibly can. Now he will sniff it then walk away. We don’t know if it is something to be concerned with or not. Last time we took him to the vet, he said that Casey was in decent shape for a dog his age, starting to develop to cataracts, teeth getting a little bad (just brush them more often), and a bit overweight, but no health concerns to worry about too much. If anyone has any clue what could be causing this sudden change in his hunger, please let me know soon. Thank you!
I am glad to see that I am not alone. I am beside myself trying to get my dog to eat. He is 1.5 year old Shih tzu. The second day I had him home as a pup, he got very sick and almost died. He was on a human food diet and I have struggled this past year to get him to eat anything. I tried all the food down, food up games. No treats, long walks. It is driving me crazy. I spend $500 at the vet last month and all his tests and xrays are normal. I don’t know what to do anymore. It is too the point that I believe he is starving himself, which is breaking my heart. 🙁
omg I have a 5 yr old shihtzhu and I went on vacation for 5 days to come home to a skinny dog who stopped eating the day I left and now im home and she still wont eat… took her to the vet and she was put on med been on meds for 2 days and still not eatinig I am going nuts… she is like my daughter I don’t have me and her are the only girls in the house… she is wasting away what can I do
Alice, I called the vet yesterday and of course the first suggestion was a $450 ultra sound. I refused and she gave me a “appetite stimulate”. I asked her what it is and she said it is an antihistamine, but it makes dogs eat. Well within an hour he was trying to eat anything he could get. Day two and he is still eating, but he is looking at me all the time as if I should be feeding him. It is one extreme to the other. Ask the vet for this kind of med. They gave me Pepcid first for his tummy, but that didn’t make any changes.
I have a 10 y/o husky that just started peeing blood and her stool is soft and has an orange tint. Took her to vet hospital and she has 105 degree fever . The vet prescribed trams doll and clavamox 625 mg. the blood work they did showed mildly elevated liver enzymes and low red blood cell count. Now today we can not get her to eat anything at all and after first dose of meds she still has 104 degree temp. Please help. What can I do next to try and get her to eat and get well again
Hi Alice, I’m so sorry to hear about your poor girl! You know, when dog owners say their dog is like their son or daughter, most people who have never owned a dog simply roll their eyes. But believe me, I understand EXACTLY how you feel! Me and my boy are the only boys in my house. 😉
With that said, a change in routine or even a change with the person who is feeding the dog can sometimes cause a dog to stop eating. Is she eating at all? Even treats? Going 5 days without eating does indeed warrant taking your dog to the vet, so I’m glad to see you did that.
Sorry for the late response as I saw you posted this a couple days ago. Have you made any progress? I would love to hear if your girl is getting back to normal and how you were able to achieve that.
Hi Mary Ann, I’m super sorry for the late response on this, but I’m glad to hear your boy is eating again, that’s great! How is he doing today? Back to normal I hope!
Hi Shelby, how is Casey doing? Are you still having issues?
If he has been eating the same dog food for almost 7 months and then suddenly one day there was a change in his eating behavior, I would wonder if some ingredients were changed in the food you are using. That can be enough to cause a dog to stop eating, at least temporarily. What is the dog food you have your dog on currently and do you remember if you opened a new bag of food when this started?
Hi Nick, are you still having any issues with your dog eating? If your dog is getting really underweight, I would plan a trip to the vet so they can run some tests.
By chance, when you let your dog out, does your dog attempt to eat a large amount of grass?
Hi Anne, how are things going Bailey? I hope she’s back to normal!
Hi Chris, I am SO sorry to hear about your poor girl! Unfortunately, I know through experience how helpless you can feel when your dog is in a situation like this.
I wish I could offer you some solid advice, but at this point, I wouldn’t be able to offer any advice that your veterinarian hasn’t already given you. I would be very curious as to why your dog is showing signs of blood in her urine and stool. That can certainly be cause for concern. Have they taken an ultrasound or done any additional testing? If she is experiencing a lot of discomfort, especially in her stomach or digestive system, it could prove very difficult to get her to eat. Figuring out how to resolve her current health issue would most likely resolve her eating issue.
As for her fever, 104 isn’t quite as bad as it sounds. The normal range for body temperature in dogs is 99.5 – 102.5 and a dog must have a body temperature of 103.5 to be considered as having a fever.
Have you tried sprucing up her food at all? You should of course run everything by your vet before you try anything, but you might want to try adding some canned pumpkin to your dogs food. It’s tasty and can help to sooth a dogs stomach.
I hope your dog feels better soon!
Hello Mike, No, not normal, he is not eating today. I wonder why giving him meds makes him eat, but without it, he doesn’t eat. They want to ultrasound him, but the x-rays were very clear. I am starting to think it is behavioral. I just don’t know how to fix it. 🙁
Hmmm, well that certainly is perplexing and I can see your dilemma. You could pay all that money for an ultrasound only for it to show nothing… Or it might show something. That’s a tough decisions and one only you can make. This is one of the many reasons I have pet insurance through Trupanion. It does cost me about $40 per month, but when things happen, I don’t have to worry as much about taking finances into consideration. Thank goodness I had that when he got bit by a rattlesnake several months ago. Fortunately he’s fine now and Trupanion paid 90% of my $4,000+ vet bill. Yikes! Anytime the vet wanted to run a test or do something I could immediately say “yes” without any hesitation.
In the meantime, if you think this is more behavioral based, you can try to “ride it out” by only giving him a chance to eat for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening. If you do this, in the vast majority of cases, a dog will start eating again after a couple days. It might take some reinforcing over the next week or two (good days and bad), but once your dog learns there is a small window of time to get some grub, it could help longer term. Only then should you begin to GRADUALLY increase giving out treats between meals.
I hope things start improving soon!
Hi Mike! Still a battle but we only feed her dog food – dry!. She knows us too well. She holds out so we did a work around as I can’t have her vomiting (she did that on my feet in bed! YUCK!) We only fed her dry food but we started by hand – NOT going to work that way – stopped that. Now, we are measuring her food and NO treats by themselves. We cut up her treats (kind of like bacon bits-LOL!) and put them in her food. Much much much better-she actually will eat. I would like to hold out but she does vomit when she doesn’t eat and that won’t work – on the hardwood floors – ok but no way on the carpet or me! Thank you for reaching out! Much appreciated.
I’ve been to the vet and they’ve ran tests on him twice. Came back saying he’s a ok, but he still is extremely thin. He never eats grass or anything, he just won’t eat food for some reason. It’s just making me worry is all
Well I’m glad to hear you’re making progress! The things we do for our furchildren… LOL!
Oh believe me I totally understand! It’s so hard when our dogs can’t communicate to us and tell us if something is wrong. At least the vet was able to rule out some health issues so we mostly know it’s a behavioral thing. Also remember that just like humans, obesity is a HUGE issue in dogs these days, so even a slightly underweight dog can seem extra skinny to our eyes. Sorry I can’t provide you with some better advice, I wish I could, but I think as long as your dog is proving to be healthy (even if he’s underweight) he will be just fine. Fortunately it sounds like he has a loving and caring owner. 🙂
My 5 year old shih tzu hasn’t been eating very much at all. Last Thursday he had gotten sick during the day while I wasn’t home (and my mom was watching him and said he didn’t get into anything) that whole day he didn’t eat or drink anything. Same thing deal with Friday still no eating or drinking, and continued to vomit yellow bile in the middle of the night. Come Saturday after his grooming appointment I stopped by the vet to see what she said. While she didn’t know why he wasn’t eating, she gave him a 24 hour anti nausea shot and put him on a three day bland food diet. When we got home he gobbled up an entire can of the bland wet dog food and drank a bit. Come today, he refused to eat and drink again. It’s quite frustrating. Because he will eat his treats, and I even got him to eat just a tiny bit of the bland dog food but he won’t get near it now.
Sorry to hear about that Jessica! If the vet said everything checks out and he is also eating treats, it sounds like he might be playing the “picky eater” game. Sometimes dogs will learn that if they refuse their food, they will end up getting something tastier. This, combined with his recent change in atmosphere (being at your moms place), could be causing the issue.
What you might want to do is try leaving the food out for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening without any chance for treats during the day. After a couple days of this, he should start to learn that food is only available for a short period of time, and he’ll want to gobble it up. This may need to be reinforced over time with good days and bad, but hopefully it will help longer term. Unfortunately, this will do little to help with his vomiting as that is a common side effect of a dog who isn’t eating.
You can also try to feed him after a light play session or walk. Many times an excited dog will be much more motivated to eat, but this isn’t always the case.
I sure hope you’re able to resolve this issue quickly! Best of luck!
My 3 year old Springer Spaniel used to wolf down down his morning and evening meal as soon as it was put down. Now, he just walks away from it!! He has no other eatables during the day, no tummy upsets, runs about daft in the park as normal…….just seems to have no appetite!
My heart aches for you, I really hope everything goes well, maybe it’s nothing, I would check if he doesn’t get dehydrated, once my dog had an episode like that, I gave him electrolytes (pedialyte) it keeps from dehydrating. If your vet saw him then it’s probably nothing alarming. Meds can do that to dogs, and I know, we feel so helpless when they’re sick!!!!
Please some advice. I recently got this 7 month old Blue Pit. We got the same food as he was eating witb his last family. Now he wont eat the foods. He will eat his treats and drink water, also he loves ice cubes. What to do? He is active and playfully.
I am dog sitting for my daughter while she is on vacation. He will not eat (which is normal when we dog sit), but now he is pulling out hair. He liked treats, but is very picky about what kind I get. We will have him for another week. What can I do to entice him to eat.
My 15 year old Springer hasn’t eaten anything for at least a 2 weeks now, only drinking water. She had a urine infection & was on Synulox Antibiotics for 2 weeks & have now finished them. 4 weeks ago we had to put to rest her brother (same age) so they have been together since birth. I know she is missing him, but I have now tried everything she could possibly eat, freshly cooked, Chicken , Fish so many different dog foods but she just sniffs it & walks away. She use to do that with her Brother & he would eat hers…she is getting so skinny & weak, her back legs are starting to give way, some days better than others ! Is this anything to do with her grieving for her brother because he was the Top dog in her eyes, or has she just given up, all she wants to do is sleep, she still wags her tail & loves attention. I know 15yrs is a great age for Springers, her brother wasn’t ill, he just had a accident running in from the garden & slipped on the patio door step, knocking is back leg & damaged his main knee ligament, he couldn’t walk anymore & the vets couldn’t do nothing for him, because of his age, so after 4 weeks of him not improving or being able to walk we sadly had to put him to sleep. He is buried in our garden with his Mum. She does keep going outside sniffing around his grave & just seems so lost. They were both great family dogs, just not sure what else to do for her now.
My dog is a labrador female. She used to eat dog food without problem from the time I got her at 2 months old. She is now around 5 years old. However, for about a year now she started eating table food which she really loved. She gained so much weight. But now I wanted her to go back to dog food. I noticed for the last 2 days she hardly touched the dog food and I’m afraid she might get sick. What must I do?
Hello, I have a 5 month old Alaskan Malador. She was fine and then she suddenly won’t touch her food. I’ve tried everything wet, dry, even tried a barely cooked hamburger Patty. She’s still drinking and peeing. She has thrown up a couple of times. The next day she seemed fine even ate wet canned dog food. And now today she won’t eat again. And it seems like she doesn’t have her normal energy level. She hasn’t pooped that I know of. I’m concerned and can’t really afford vet bills at this time. Can anyone give me an idea of what it may be and how can I get my girl back to her old self?
My neighbor gave me her dog because she can’t care for her anymore…..i had her 2 days now and she won’t eat… She eat the treats with no problem but won’t eat…im trying to home train her….how do i get her to eat….
However, I have 4 dogs and they have all quit eating. Two large dogs and two small dogs.
I wish I knew. My dog normally eats the minute I fill her bowl. But I had to cut a vacation short because my dog wouldn’t eat. Now I only do short vacations.
Good luck!
I have a 2-3 year old Llewellin Setter (rescue). Two days after I gave her heartworm chewable tablet (Iverheart) , she quit eating. She drinks water and is not vomiting. It has been 5 days now. She will take her bedtime treat (frosty paw), but that’s it. She normally eats dry food. Her activity level is fairly normally..in and out doggy door all day. This morning I added about a tablespoon of canned food to her dry food. She turned her nose up and walked away. I just took another one of my dogs, 14 year old cocker spaniel to the vet last week to the tune of $407. He was anemic. I can’t afford to take her in this week. I’ve tried the feeding her alone without the other 2 dogs..to no avail. Any suggestions?
hi my puppy iss just 1 month and a half she starts eating when she was 1 month and a 1 week she has been eating very well but now she wont eat no change at all in home and she doesnt want to eat nothing i feed her with our food and sometimes with dog food put she doesnt wont to eat anything even water when she is veryyy thirsty she is a my baby and is so small plz help me
Stop giving the dog treats,I made that mistake coz my pup wouldn’t eat,he’s on n off his food still but I don’t give him treats we need training aswell as dogs
Hi my dog is a yorkie she’s 9 months she has all her shots..but for 5 days she’s being real picky on eating her food she doesn’t want to drink water as well and she is vomiting as well every time she drinks water..any I deal what can be the proble.?#helpChiquis
Hi I just adopted an English bulldog,I’ve had her for almost 3 weeks now but gosh she wont eat!!! Its so frustrating I already tried 2 brands of kibbles, plus the can food and the raw and anothing! I also tried some home made and nothing I already took her to the vet and she just said she’s fine she looks more like an olde English rather than a English it just got to me already I don’t know what to feed her anymore to get her to eat, one time she eats then the other 2 feedings she won’t eat at all, I just don’t know what to do anymore, she eats her poop instead of her food, vet gave her some.forbid but its not working,I just wish she would.be interested in her food as she is in her feces. Can anyone help??????
did you get an answer? I have 3 Maltese and 2 are getting impossible to feed
Try not to change foods so quickly, and don’t let her eat her poop.
Diet changes can upset a dogs tummy. The fact that you’re rapidly jumping from one food to another is probably making her feel under the weather constantly. Pick one food and try to stick with it for at least three weeks so her tummy can get used to it. She may skip a meal or two while she’s adjusting, and that’s okay, just like humans do with an upset stomach from a new diet. Only put her food down during meal times and then take away what she doesn’t eat after 15 minutes. Minimize other foods options like treats and snacks. This will help her appetite grow for meal times while she gets used to living with you and eating new food. You must clean up her feces immediately so that isn’t an option. Eating feces may curb her hunger temporarily and make her feel sick, both of which will make her more likely to skip meals. Plain pumpkin is a great thing to add to meals to help with gastrointestinal upset. You can find it at the pet food store, and add a little to each meal to help settle her stomach and regulate her stools.
If you stick with one food and make it her only option for at least three weeks and she’s still finicky, you may decide to switch foods. Don’t switch suddenly. Make it a 90% current food, 10% new food mix for a few days and keep an eye on how she eating and whether her stools are changing. Slowly transition to a larger ratio of the new food and use pumpkin during transitions to help her tummy feel good until she’s completely comfortable with the new food.
Hope that helps!
Thanks for ur help, its crazy but I ended up trying what te breeder had told me he had her on, pedigree I was so hesitant because I don’t think that it is quality food but she eats it and as long as she’s eating I’m happy, however I will transition her slowly to another quality can dog food but for now that’s the only one she will eat lol
Something else that might help- dogs that are close to you will often eat something if they see you eating it. Try pretending to eat your dogs food in front of your dog, then offer it to them. This usually only happens if the dog is close enough to you.
My 3 yr old rottweiler has stopped eating, as well as my miniature schnauzer who is 8. My schnauzer is female and my rottweiler is male and recently went through heat, so we had to keep them seperated. That is when they stopped eating. They will eat treats, but not their dog food, and I’m getting worried. Should I be concerned? They will eat out of my hand, but that’s it. They are still drinking water. What can I do?
Hi, I have a 11 year old miniature schnauzer and he is barely eating but will eat a little out of my hand. He lies around all day and I have to force him to get up. When I take him outside, he pees okay but tries to poop and only a little comes out which is soft not diarrhea. when he gets up, he looks like he is in pain. Took him to the emergency vet yesterday and they did a total physical exam but couldn’t really determine what was the problem. Any suggesstions?
My one year old German shepherd has stopped eating and pooping by one week and ah half.I carried her to d vet.s vet said she is quite healthy and does not c anything wrong with her.d vet also said tat d change of appetite may have occurred due to her calling or she may not like d environment she is in.I bought her home and now she moves very lethargic and is no eating.I ammm solo confused don’t know wat to do again somebody hellpppoo meeeeeeww
Hi, i have a 2 month old puppy, he has stopped eating this morning, and upon checking he have a high fever while his gums are pale. I already gave him a 125g paracetamol tablet diluted at 5ml water and gave him water using a dropper. After a while, his body temperature drops. But he is not yet eating.Then he vomits, twice this morning, a liquid vomit. Did his body take the medicine? Could you help me. I couldnt bring him to the nearest veterinarian due to lack of money. Please help me because i love my puppy. I will cry if i will loose him =( T.T
Hey. I have a sen Barnard 9 months old she stop eating suddenly bcuz I slapped her be 4 some days .Any one help me wht I do for h er tht she start eating …tell me early plz…..
My 1 yo GWP is doing the same thing. X-rays show no blockage. Blood tests are clean. CVP swab negative for parvovirus. It is almost as if he can’t swallow solid food. The vet recommended a bland soft diet and he tried to “wolf” it down but immediately spit it out.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but pet insurance is a scam in my humble opinion. Theyll take monthly payments, month after month, but when its time to pay the bill they had a b.s. excuse on why they wouldnt pay. Maybe I am one in a thousand (I highly doubt it based on how many people here have the same type of issues with their dogs) but im glad they paid your claim Mike. Maybe since your claim was a snake bite, they paid. But with all of these tests they do when a dog wont eat could run you several thousands of dollars. Okay so the vet doesnt know whats wrong and oh by the way heres your $5,000. bill oh yeah you have insurance but the claim wont be paid until they approve it, well sure enough they didnt approve, it. So be cautious before wasting money on insurance. just my two cents
She won’t get sick, she is just waiting to see if you;ll give her table food, dogs can go up to a week trying to see if they’ll get what they want, as long as you have her dog food and water down, she will cave in and eat it
This behavior is normal, your dog was grieving , each dog is different as to how long the grieving period is, but hopefully they’ll resume normal behavior at some point.
She might have something blocking her intestines
U should have taken him to the vet Paracetamol is like feeding him poison
Have u changed residence? Food? walking or playing times?
Mine did the same thing, they found out he had arthritis, now he gets injections called Adequane and is back to normal self
Try not leaving her poop in place, pick it up right after she does her business, and don’t keep changing her food, if u do u should transition mixing old and new 1/2 n 1/2 then less and less of the old over the period of 3 days
Im sorry for your loss. … but Dont get a dog if you cant afford the vet, dogs are great companion but require a financial obligation alonside a loving forever home obligation.
Paracetamol is highly poisonous to dogs. Never give animals human medication without veterinarian advice.
Hi, I have a 2 year old lhasa apso/japenese chin mix. she’s not sick, very active- likes to play in house and outside with us and her lot of toys. drinks very little. very finicky eater, always been, since day I got her. she never liked dog foog-dry or wet. I fed her on what the breeders fed her purina puppy chow (tried mixing it with gravy, wet and dry comb-many different combo’s like breeder did for her siblings, to see what she might prefer) for first 8 months but she hardly eats. would act like she was hungry, go to food dish smell it but walk away. Dr says her weight is fine, growing, etc. tried going to a place called the natural dog and they gave me several samples of different things but she didn’t go for any of it. I have introduced people food to her and she likes tunafish, hamburgers, chicken, eggs and peanut butter, but occasionally will even snub the people food. she occasionally will eat science diet pet food, but only if we feed her each pebble and usually will eat about 1/4 cup then be done. she likes her treats which we give her purina jumb bone in afternoon and a minty bone at night. she will also cry until we give her these, or bring us to her treat bucket. we try to hold her off on her treats until she eats something and even have refused her of treats until she has. If we are to continue to give her people food as a diet, is there a way to make it a balanced meal for her (a dog)? Please any advice would be welcome!
I have a 9 month old Husky Wolf. She stopped eating a while ago. At least, not eating nearly as much, or with the same enthusiasm. It was the very day we switched her from 2 cups a day, to 4 cups a day. She used to wolf EVERYTHING in her bowl down in 4 seconds flat. But now she just picks at it, eats maybe 10 pieces, if that, and walks away from it. We don’t feed her people food so I’m sure its not that she’s already full. But she did start her period around the time she stopped eating, and my boyfriend and I who own her, went on vacation for about two weeks and she had stayed at the house and his mom came to take care of them. She’s just been acting very weird and her not eating is scaring me. I dont know what to do?
I have an 11 month old who randomly stopped eating one day. I switched her to the same food as my other dog and at first I was mixing it 75% old food 25% new food and gradually mixing more of the new food in over the course of a few weeks but all of a sudden she just won’t eat at all now unless I really coax her. She is still acting like her crazy self she still bounces around on our walks still alert and attentive she just won’t eat….I’ve tried switch her food again but still nothing. No vomit no diarrhea everything is perfectly normal and the same…..I’m so vexed, any thoughts?
My 1 year old female yellow lab golden retriever won’t eat and we think that she is pregnant….could it be she is pregnant?
I have a 2 month puppy she won’t eat her food from this morning.i was alone at my grandmother house and there are no nearby vet
I have a 11 month old shiz-tsu chihuahua Pomeranian mix, and around the time he was six months old he stopped eating so we changed his food. Then he stopped eating that. We started giving him wet food. He Does not eat that either and now we changed his food again and he will not eat it and i have to force feed him. The vet clearly said he had to eat at least to cups a day of dry food. He is really under weight and you can feel his bone quite easily. It’s worrying me;
I have the same problem.my pet will eat treats(puperonie)out of my hand and still drinks water??She turns her nose up every kind of food!! I guess I’m not alone,Chris
Raw veggie diet, raw chicken
Ice is not good for dogs. Stop the treats, read the advice above , leave the food out for only 15 minutes in the morning 15 minutes at night and no treats her people food in between for three days if she has any after three days you might want to take her to the vet or four days probably
My dog Audrey is a German shepard 12 yrs old very protective and loyal I have 3 dogs the lab had major surgery and I had to keep my lab I. Kitchen by himself for 2 week the German shepard didn’t like the smell of the vet on the other dog being separated and my giving my lab brodie do much attention about 5 days ago I came home and found that the g shepard had attacked my still recovering lab brodie on the shoulder bad I am a female but I picked the shepard up by the scruff and put her on her bed yelling I had to go outside to calm down now today us day 5 no food in hugging her tell her I forgive her she follows me everywhere but with ears down and a slow gait now what, M E too what do we do here think it’s a trust thing. Help! !!!!!
hi i really need your help. this is urgent. my dog is a 4months old ambul/japanese spitz. he was sweet and playful. until one day he stop eating and start vomitting a liquid. we bring him to his vet. the vet said that he is changing teeth and thats the reason why he didn’t eat. he gave me soft canned foods and a so called pain reliever for his gums. but when i gave him his medicine he vomits liquid and still not eating it last for almost 3days. i really need your helps plss.. ???
Its possible that she’s not getting enough exercise while you both are away. Huskies needs a lot, I mean a lot of exercise to stay happy and get hungry. Maybe put her in a dog day care and board her while yur on vacation. We board my GSD over night every now and then because we have an event that night and couldn’t be home for her.
I took my dog out of the house and put him in the big truck with me.he stopped eating his dog food but will eat people food in a heart beat.can someone tell me why this is and what can I do
Because people food actually tastes good! Also, he sees you eat it and wants to be part of the pack and do what you do.
Hi,I have a 5 year old staffy cross ridgeback and for the last couple of days she hasn’t been eating all of her food and burying some of it when she thinks we’re not looking. Her feeding time did change the last few days and I know they hate change so we’re trying to get it back to the regular normal time. She is still active, drinking water, no signs of vomit or diarrhea. Please give me some advice it would be much appreciated as myself & the kids are starting to worry now. Thanks!
my dog has not eaten in 2 days. he is a high energy dog Vizsla who all of a sudden 5 days ago started acting like he is 150 years old — very hesitant to move, shaky at times, looking weaker each day. All blood tests have come back negative. Neuro exam is normal. In the last 2 days he stopped eating although he is drinking lots of water. Chest x-ray showed minor bronchitis so the vet started him on antibiotics yesterday but nothing has changed. Any thoughts????
Hi I have a 6month old female siberian husky who just yesterday started her menstral. She has become less active some what depressed and is not eating at all. How can I help boost her energy and appetite? It’s been 24hours now that she hasn’t ate she is drinking though.
My dog just turned 10 and he started acting funny and there is something wrong with his eye that got hurt about 2 years ago by another dog and he flinches when you go to pet him because he can see but he doesn’t know what’s coming at him, the clear lid they have as part of of their eye is covering half of his eye and it looks bad and now he won’t eat anything. He woofs down anything normally but he won’t eat NOTHING, I even tried to give him a bite of ice cream and he turned his head away from it. I set out a variety of things to eat and he don’t want none of it and he usually will eat everything he is given even if he isn’t hungry. I’m so scared he’s dying because of his age or maybe there is something going on that I don’t know about inside his body. Any suggestions or answers would be appreciated.
I agree,,what a terrible thing to say..the poor girt is upset as it is..so many coldhearted people today..karma!
Agreed!
It would have taken seconds to look Paracetamol up on the net, it clearly says it is poison to dogs…..Please don’t get another pet, obviously your common sense don’t exist
Have you ever thought that maybe if she had taken a few seconds and looked up that med, it would have told her it was poison to dogs…the dogs death had nothing to do with money, everything to do with carelessness
Did anyone ever answer you?! My Jones is doing the same. He has a vet apt Thursday
my 1 year and 9 months old. she has stopped eating and was vomiting white foam and the next day she was vomiting yellow foam now. She has not eat for two days now. She goes into my room away from everyone and sleeps. She wakes up to come out and vomits. Shes not dehydrated. cause she has been drinking a little here and there. but i tried to give her a hot dog cooked. and she smelled it and turned her head away like she was in trouble. but shes not in trouble. I don’t think is the new puppy we have cause we had a foster dog and she was fine. so i don’t think its depression. but i don’t really know. please tell me what you think is wrong with my dog. shes my baby and i have had her sents she was 2 months old. please help. thank u and god bless.
My four shitzu-poodle dogs at the moment are under medication and the vet told us that they should consume their medicine for a month. Now in order for them to take their medicine, we hide the medicine in a piece of chicken/pork liver (and they have to drink the medicine 4 times a day). When this happened, my dog’s started to become picky eaters. They would rather just eat the liver rather than the food (liver mixed w/ rice) we give them during meal time. But my problem is that if I follow the “just leave the food and they will eat when they are hungry” tactic, they would vomit yellowish liquid (I am guessing it’s a bile). So because of that, we are forced to give them what they want. Because we don’t want them getting sick. Is it normal if they won’t eat a day or 2 and they will vomit the yellowish liquid?
I am really worried for their health if they won’t eat properly while taking their medicines. Any word of advice?
I just discovered that my 5 month pitbull puppy will not eat until forgiven. Today he had an accident and I was a little upset while cleaning his crate. I know it’s not his fault but at the same time it’s important for me to convey its not ok. When feeding time rolled around he sat for his bowl without being prompted but didn’t budge when I tapped my foot near his bowl ( an inaudible jester I use for him to approach his food and water) . He just looked at me with sad eyes until a gave him a little affectionate head pat then he followed the jester to eat.
My dog had a similar issue. His eye was horrible looking and he had no appetite. Turned out the eye was uveitis caused by Lymes disease. We tried a few courses of antibiotics to no avail. I hope this isn’t the case with your dog but the similarity made me share.
My dog had the same issues. It turned out he had uveitis in his eye caused by Lymes disease. We tried a few courses of antibiotics to no avail. I hope this isn’t the case for your dog but because of the similarities I decided to share.
It’s not cold hearted its letting people know you don’t do certain things. If you don’t tell them it can happen again!
I have a 6 year old pharoah hound mix. since the hotter weather started coming around he has stopped eating. He’s usually not a picky eater. I’ve put egg in his food because normally he will eat it with that if i notice he doesn’t eat right away. I’ve walked him to make sure he wasn’t already full for some reason. Im a little nervous as he does have some neurological problems.
You’re right..I deleted my post. People do need to know about any meds etc they give their pets, so many are toxic~
cake
i have a bichon frise who is nearly 11 and she hasn’t had her dinner for 5 days. We have taken her to the vets a few days ago and they cannot find anything wrong. She has always been difficult to feed and will not eat anything other than home cooked chicken, turkey or lamb with a few vegetables. So worried about her, she is very lathagic any ideas please .
my pup refuses puppy food but will eat a mixture of dog food and wet tinned food shes is almost 4 months. her previous owners say she has always been like this
I feel for you, my dog is the same difficult way. My same age Chihuahua is going on three days of not eating.. He is a little “monster”. Only will eat (when he does)by hand feeding, and first barks and bites my fingers. I have to get that first taste of food in him before he’ll eat anything. But he LOVES cat food. THAT could be MY problem.
Somethings I’ve tried. Crushing his favorite treat, cheese, or hamburger on top. That works when he is in the mood to eat.
You are sure her mouth or teeth aren’t the problem? She IS getting older.
My prayers are with you. Let me know how it works out for you.
Hi thanks for your reply. She is fine now. Started eating again, I gave her some lamb out of our casserole and that got her appetite back, she is still fussy and misses the odd meal. Just the way she is I suppose. Took her for a check up at the vets as thought it may be a problem in her mouth, but everything is fine.
Have her spayed.
no it is not important to convey it is not okay….puppies cannot be in a crate very long–no dogs should–but if they go in the crate it is because you left him in there too long…and unless you scold him as he is doing it he will not make the connection,,,it is cruel
I hope you took her to a veterinarian and had her treated. Just because she was drinking water does not mean she wasn’t dehydrated! do you even know how to check for dehydration?
Just because you are poor doesn’t mean you can’t have a dog. People fall on hard times as well. Loss of job etc.
I am going to the vet today to take my 11 year old chihuahua in. He hasn’t eaten in approximately five days either. I’m afraid something really bad is wrong with him but he could just be picky. I don’t know. I will have to see what the doctor says.
My dog hasn’t eaten since yesterday morning, that’s unusual because she used to love food, she won’t take her pills either so I’m sick to my stomach with worry. She’s a 16 year old shih tzu with cancer, dementia, and arthritis. I know her time is near but she drinks and is determined to live. What can I put in her water to make her comfortable until she decides she’s ready to go? any holistic tips please?
When this happened to my chowzer dog I was told by the vet that it was because his stomach was empty. It’s common in dogs that eat once a day to vomit yellow or white foam. When he vomits like that I wait a couple hours and than try to feed him. If he refuses I show no sign of anger, or frustrations. I simply pet him on the head wait 10 minutes and remove the food from the bowl. This worked immediately and he begin eating again.
we just brought a new 3 years old shelty mix dog home. He does not want to eat his “Good” dog food, we bought better quality, whithout gravy or sauces or water to make it softer.
He has missed 2 meals as he will NOT touch his “good foo. HOW LONG should we allow him NOT TO EAT? Thanks
I have 6 moth old American Stafford shire terrier that absolutely loved eating and playing with everyone and everything 2 days ago he did a complete 360 and won’t touch his food and stays in his corner all day
I have a 5-6 month old Siberian Husky. Kane is NOT a picky eater. In fact there is nothing in the world that he doesn’t put in his mouth and try to swallow. I feed him Nutro Max Large Breed Puppy Dry Food, and he LOVES it… Well, loved. The food got a bit stale near the end of the bag, and I didn’t notice.. So I bought him a new bag, but in the 3 days it took to ship the bag to me, I had to feed him some of the less fresh food, and so he would enjoy it, I would mix in pieces of frozen watermelon and small hotdog bits.
The new bag came today! And I opened it, and poured out a bowl, but he wouldn’t eat it. He would stand there and howl at the bowl. It’s quite annoying. I put in a bit of chopped hotdog, just to make sure that it wasn’t an appetite problem, and it was just him being a drama queen… And he ate all the hotdogs, leaving the dog food behind. I guess I’ll take the bowl away and give it back after a few hours of exercise, play and sleep. See if he is hungry then.
If it seems as though I’m correct, and that he is just being picky, then fine. But if it seems like I am missing something, let me know, because I’m new to this dog owner thing, and wouldn’t mind some advice.
I have a 9 year old Japanese Spitz… He has not eaten for 2 and a half days now, I tried taking him out for a walk a while ago and see if he will eat now, but he wouldn’t. I tried coaxing him to eat his food, but he just drank some water and was done with it. He would even turn his face away if I brought the food to him…. Any suggestions? What do you think could be wrong with him?
Hi i have a 22 month old shih tzu she is in season and i have mated her she was off her food yesterday so i made her chicken and rice today she ate that then it has come to her evening meal and i have put her regular food down, she has turned her nose up at it. Is she just been picky? Could it be something else. I tryed her with a treat and she ate that. I dont want to go down the road of having a picky eater.
I am watching a dog, because the owner is between places. He isn’t eating much of his food, and I was told he had a good appetite before. Now he isn’t eating doesn’t. He has eaten some but not nearly as much as I have come to expect of a lab. The place he was before might have had other dogs bulling him. He is not eating enough, and a weird thing I have never seen in a dog, he doesn’t want to eat if anyone is looking at him. When I give him something he can not resist, he won’t eat it until I walk him to it a few times, and only when I am in the other room. He is in a new place, he may have had other dogs snapping at him when he was trying to eat in the last place he was, and he is 9 years old. He is not showing any food aggression, but hard to tell really if he really has no food aggression or not, because he doesn’t seem very interested in eating. He does beg when others are eating, obviously someone had been feeding him off their plate in the past. I think that is all the relevant information.
What I am really looking for is how long until I should assume there is a bigger problem than just all the changes, and possible bulling. If it was bulling will he get over it, or should I find a private place for his dishes. Any help advice is appreciated. I would worry more if he wasn’t eating at all, but he just isn’t eating enough, and he is a bit weird about it when he does eat, just the whole not eating if someone is looking at him.
I have a 1 year old Chihuahua and he hasn’t ate in 2 or 3 days. He’s been throwing up but I haven’t noticed any blood. Any reason on what caused this.? And if I need to see a vet?
I have a 1 year old lab that just stopped eating her food. We buy her the Blue Buffalo dog food and have had no problems with her woofing it down. About 2 weeks ago we went camping and people were feeding her people food left and right. When we got home she wouldn’t eat her food. I’m just thinking she got spoiled. My husband and I are not feeding her people food. I do give her 2 to 3 doggy treats a day. She will eat her food if I hand feed her. She will just not eat on her own. Her poops are normal. She still runs after her ball. She isn’t in any kind of pain. Any thoughts? Spoiled pup?
Yes you should go to vet. Chihuahuas can get hypoglycaemia when they don’t eat enough. It can cause death.
My wee dog hast not been eating in5 days…was bringing up vile ad being sick for a couple of days..worried:(
I have two pups, about 4 months old. When we got home they didnt touch they bowls during the day. I gave them new food to see if it will make a difference. This morning there was vomit in the kitchen. I checked their gums. Still pinkish. The only reason I can think of they got hold of a trash bag outside and there was a container with a little of raw sausage that was old. Can that upset their stomachs? What else could it be?? Any suggestions?
We have a lab mix male and a boxer mix female. We feed them dry food. The male will gobble down his food and hers also if allowed. We have to keep an eye on him.
The female is very picky. She might go a day without eating her dry food. When she gets hungry enough she will eat. I learned that if I mix a half a can of wet food with the dry she will gobble hers down every day.
My dog, shes a 2 year old Samoyed and American Eskimo mix. A few days before we went on vacation she started not finishing her food. Then we sent her to a friends house (who also has a dog) since we were going on vacation. It was about 7 days. When we came back our friend said she was eating normally, but when we took her home, the next day she wasn’t really excited to eat, (but normally she would be) and she didn’t finish her food. We always feed her 1 cup of “Ultra” dog food. Before she would always eat it up really quick, so we’re a bit worried. Should try giving her a different type of dog food? She’s not a picky eater though…
You shouldn’t keep him in a crate then. Who the hell invented these doggy prison cells anyway. If you don’t want your puppy/dog to mess in your house or chew up your furniture then you should supervise him/her better. And for those who say I have to go to work or whatever the answer is simple don’t have a dog. You wouldn’t leave your baby/young child home alone would you!
I would be ashamed to say such a thing Aubrey. A lot of people love and take the best care they can of their pets and fall upon hard times and the Vets charge you so much just for walking in the door to have them to be seen 100-200 dollars it’s ridiculous if you are not as fortunate as you seem to be. She is probably doing all she can to help her dog. Talk about rude and insensitive, I can’t believe you said that to that poor girl.
I just got a new 1yo female chi for a companion to my male 1yo chi. He is all over her, constantly in her space and she often gets anxious. I keep them seperated thru certain time of the day to give her a break. It has been 3 weeks and my male “Jojo” is not letting up. Constant crying and barking, and peeing. HELP!! I need some peace..
I’d try n get him in the vet. Some work with you. I tend to panic n put myself in debt but it sounds like after such a long week for your furry friend it may be the answer
Omg I didn’t notice how old these are
Wee dog passed away..
I’m so sorry Janet. I should have looked at the date. I’m sorry to drudge it up again also. So in both aspects I am terribly sorry
Fought hard to stay.. renal failure..died on the 5th of December hun
But thank you
I wish you all the best Janet. My lil guy Is better now . He had not eaten or drank anything all day. The next day he was over it thank goodness. He’s going in for his rabies shot n license today.
This is the kind of horrible insensitive thing that people just say without thinking. Let me answer this question, because I have a dog and I don’t have $5 either. —- MY dog is SIXTEEN and 10 months. And she is not a 20 pound dog. She weighs 60 pounds. I GOT her 16 years and 8 months ago, when my life was still ‘normal’. About FIVE years ago I fell on hard times, and then I had stroke. But my dogs are not disposable. I still have her, and had her sister (who was larger, 75 pounds) until her sister passed away a year ago and she was 15 and 10 months — so I must be doing something right. —- But to answer your thoughtless question. I have no money, YET still have a dog because I GOT the dog when I DID have money, and I am not ‘dumping’ my dog because I am broke any more than someone would ‘dump’ their kids. I am committed to this animal and it is a priority to me to keep her as my family until she lives out her natural life. That was my intention when I got her, and that remains my intention even though I am struggling through life right now. I can’t imagine the additional struggle if I didn’t have her with me. Unlike ‘people’ the dog doesn’t care that we are poor now. She is just happy to be with me, wherever I am. —- So now that you know that there is not just ONE way to look at a situation, maybe in the future you won’t say such horrible, thoughtless things. —- It’s simple. I wasn’t born poor. It is a ‘new thing’ for me. And the dog is old.
Did u take him to the vet.?
So sad😞
I didn’t either. Don’t get on the internet much anymore. My dog and I are both elderly.
How’s the dog. I noticed this. It was four months ago. I’m watching a dog too.
How’s your dog. I know this post is old.
It’s not. It’s history but I never display it because someone might be offended by it. We all must remember that some people are offended by every da**ed thing on Gods green earth. OMG. I mentioned God…sorry if i offended anyone.
Thanks hun
Hopefully this might help out other dog owners and dogs.As our dog was not eating and thought it was something bad. Liver,cancer…. BUT it turned out to be her gall blader/gall stones. Short summary: So our dog was hardly eating.We would make her boiled meat, left overs and wouldn’t eat that or if she did wouldn’t eat all over it. Over 3 months lost like 30% of her weight. Took her to the first vet and they couldn’t find anything wrong. We then took her to another vet who did an ultrasound and said yes it looks she has gallstones. In humans with gallstones, we were told, you feel very nauseous, and you don’t feel like eating. I guess it’s a newer ‘condition’ for vets and that maybe not all vets are aware of. We gave her some medicine orally, as well as some pain medicine, and it has gotten amazingly better. It did take a few weeks to really notice but now she is like a puppy again. Running, playing, annoyingly begging for food. Ask you vet or get a 2nd opinion from another vet. I hope this might help someone!
I was just worried about my dogs not wanting their breakfast this morning – fresh chicken, their favourite – and found this article. While I was reading, the pup blocked in the kitchen climbed the barrier and started eating the other dog’s meal; the other dog then reciprocated. Must be that I mixed up their (identical) bowls and they knew? Now they are both happily chomping away at their chicken legs and livers!
As for the section saying to stick with just one food, I must disagree. My ladies get bored towards the end of the bag (who wants shreddies for breakfast every day for their whole life?) so I buy a different kind every time. I do, however, rotate between only four different kinds of kibble and supplement with raw, whole animal whenever possible. On days that they don’t get raw, I top their kibble off with 1 to 4 (depending on what I have for surplus) fresh eggs.
Jodi, did you ever find out what was wrong with your little dog – my has developed similar symptons?
I have labra,My dog is 3 year older .I eat my dog food by my hand every morning n evening. What I do ? How my dog train to eating food from himself?
Same here last Sun ? gave my Pin a piece of Pork knuckle that hard rubber type stuff & here I’ve been making his food every week for years & years & try to Not give him things could make him sick so before I had time to grab that pork knuckle my dog ate it w ham pieces & he was sick next day throwing up,runs day after day he didn’t wanna eat so I drove my disabled butt all over to a rescue which said we can’t help goto this old Vet he’s nice guy so drove more miles so I found this Vet & he said he’d see him,took his temp gave him a shot & 3 pills 1/2 2x’s day & I was worried he wasn’t eating but this Vet said was more important he gets fluid than food & yes he still was drinking but w be a week Sun his Bday he’s not eaten much at all & it worries me but Reg Vet charges so much but few miles away so I tried set up a go fund me acct to try to raise some money for Vet bill so far nothing but worth the try & SS dose not pay much & it’s hard when U have an animal you Love & had for years but I’m doing ? I can looking for help in the boonies it’s not easy,I wish all of U having hard times keep trying I know it’s not easy..
Love your post Thank you, I’m in the same situation and feel the same.I wasn’t always poor and my dog isn’t disposable he’s 18 now and I’ll have til the day he dies.
Well said Kathleen. I’m also in the same boat. My dog is 13, blind & now going deaf. Also he’s not eating like he used to. I’m so torn about taking him to the vet. Money is one reason, but mostly how they take advantage of your fears for your pet & charge a fortune for unnecessary things. By the way, did I mention that he went blind after a vet operated on his mouth? So $1,500 for that surgery, & another $1,000 in specialists to try to figure out why he went blind. I’m not really trusting the profession & thinking maybe our pets live longer staying away from the vet???
Is your male fixed? If not, he will continue this behavior..if not is she? If they both are than you have two puppies that not being excercised enough, I have a 10 month puppy, I wear her out every day, she is so tired she can not move at night until morning than we start over again..I dont have the usual puppy issues, shes to tired!!
Help me please my three month old Chihuahua is not eating she’s just drinking water she has been like this t going on four days I don’t know what to do and she shaking too please help
My 7 month dog ate yesterday and but he didn’t in the morning he had a lot of energy and in the afternoon he didn’t eat it is about to be 7:00 and hasn’t ate he seems sad his stomach has been growing a lot and he won’t eat anything we trying snacks and different food but nothing
I have the same problem with mine I wish I can help you 😐
hi, i need your good advise guys. my seven month old lab just suddenly stop eating his food. or whatever food that we gave him he just won’t eat it. and i am not used to this kind of behavior that he is showing right now.
he does not vomits nor diarrhea please help me what to do right now. because i don’t have a penny to take him into the vet.
Great…Let’s fix my dogs 16 year old teeth for $400. Not this year!
What would u assume is wrong if my dog who is almost 3 all the sudden today has not ate or drank anything or well little to anything today what can i do
Hi, I have a year and a half old Chihuahua. She is a little bit under weight due to the previous living conditions. She doesn’t eat very much, however I have her on high protein wet food diet that she normally has no problems eating and her finicky eater medicine. Recently I think she might have got into Borax. She is not eating anything I give her, ham, her normal food, dry dog food, and egg. Her feces are not completely solid but still a little runny. I can’t tell is she is fatigued because she is a very calm Chihuahua and loves to have little naps through out the day. I am monitoring her right now. She is up to date on all of her vaccines except for heart worm. (I have to wait a little until I get paid because I also need to take my Great Dane in for his heart worm also.) Should I be worried? I have been watching her closely. She doesn’t have any blood in the stool and she hasn’t been vomiting or dry heaving recently. What should signs should I look for? I don’t want to lose money taking her to her vet if she just has an upset stomach. Any tips?
Many you should change his food or put left over food in it.
My GSD hates kibble. He was a horrible eater. I have been feeding him a prey model raw diet for years. He loves raw food. Mealtime is a breeze and not stressful anymore.
My dog is a picky eater. She never enjoy eating food. But since her mother died is not eating or nothing!! . I tried to give her any type of food but she refuses . Also i took her to the vet but things still the same or worst not eating at all. Aa a dog she seems happy and she os 13 years old. I think her mother dead affected her. What can i do to make her eat im afraid she will die. Pls take note she is not slim, normal weight.
I hope everything has resolved itself now, Susan as I just saw your post now and I notice you wrote it 21 days ago.
A dog will self regulate their food and water intake if they have a little tummy upset, from time to time. Sometimes they’ll vomit up yellowish bile, or have the runs too. Check the vomit and the droppings – if there is blood – its an emergency, go straight to a vet. If no blood, its OK, just a little tummy upset.
Keep offering food to the dog at the normal mealtimes and fresh water etc. If your dog is still refusing food and water after a day and a half (3 meals straight), then go to the vet as there’s probably something more going on there and they need checking over, just in case.
This advice works well for most dogs, but if its a little puppy, or a old or very sick dog who is skipping meals and water – go straight to the vet with those dogs. Puppies who refuse food and water, like the elderly dogs and very sick dogs can find medical issues quickly escalating to very serious levels – but a otherwise healthy, normal dog who has eaten well prior – give it a day and a half.
Hey music n all other ppl having hard times getting their fur babies to eat. The best thing I’ve found to get a dog to eat is moose or venison burger, slightly cook it but not too much it’ll dry out. And have it in little bite sizes nothing that’ll discourage them from eating it. The meat is rich in iron and it drives the dogs instincts to eat even when they don’t seem like it. Just don’t feed them too much it’ll make them go a little wild as they say in the old days. Hopefully once they eat a bit of the meat it’ll settle the stomach n they continue eating good luck n hope it helps
I also have fallen on hardship…would you rather have these animals put to sleep than be LOVED so much by people like us doing are best to make it ourselves and still thinking of our animals like our children.
Here is a recipe my OLD DAYS VET GAVE ME FOR CATS AND DOGS WHO WONT EAT THERE FOOD OR HAVE HAD SURGERY RECENTLY.
Cook up some rice, hamburger and some beef or chicken bullion.
Try feeding this too them for 2 days.
If they wont even touch this mixture…its best to try and find some way to find low income or help on getting them seen by a vet if at all possible.
My father raised black labs and they didnt spend $250 on an ear infection that a dog has back then…thats what it cost me last time i brought my dog into the vet. In these times trying to keep a roof over my head after my husband of 20 years ran off with ANOTHER women and i have lupus. I dont know what i would do without my dog to love me….How dare
anyone judge another for not having!!!
Life can be cruel…
I hope this helps other! Best of Luck
I usually feed my dog rice and meat, but i want him to start feeding him dog chow, and he refuses to eat, he eats a little of it and then leaves it and does not eat for the day once i give him the chow. I mix the chow with meat, so i dont get why he doesn’t want it.
Very,very well said.
Just because you don’t have 5$ at that moment dosen’t mean you should not have a dog. Like Kathleen posted our pets are not disposable. It’s really sad that people have to always make personal attacks on others when there are others reading. If you have anything positive to say….go away.!
I have a 6 month old puppy and he has missed 3 meal time I keep putting his food down for 15 minutes and he’ll look at it and walk away any ideas on how to help me him start eating again.
My dog is 10 years old chihuahua. Last night he didn’t want to eat his food. It’s like he had diarrhea. His poop was not like watery but it was so soft. Later on I gave him just rice and he ate it. He seems okay. Went to bed and in the middle of the night he wants to go out again. This morning he seems okay. I gave him rice and I add a little bit of his wet dog food and he ate it. Now he seems tired and his tongue was hanging out. Tomorrow I’ll take him to the vet but I want to know if there is anything I can do for him now. Please help me.
Thank you very much.
I know Kathleen, I can identify with you. My dogs are 15 and 10 and I got both when I was seeing better times. Now I’m on my own after a terrible divorce, and it’s hard to make ends meet. However, my doggies eat good nutritious expensive food. But the older girl is slowing down with eating and I’ve taken her to the vet, only to find out she is having kidney failure.When she gets to the point of not eating at all or being in pain I will have to put her to sleep. But at present she eats when she wants, as much as she wants, and I am thankful for that. She still runs through the house, jumps up on me and wants to be picked up and petted, and i love her enormously. i am on food stamps and am okay with that, the extra money I scrape up goes towards my dog’s food. Take care …
Try routine starvation modes. Hide all foods one day then. Let the dog have food the next day. My moron animals go through these spells and get corrected after the first srarvation exercise.
I have one hound that bullys the cats. The dog hates eating its food. But when it sees the cats coming at its food, it goes after the cats like they are criminals. Barking loudly and growling.
Then it eats up the food and their food too like it diesn’t want anyone to take it
I am at a loss as to what to do for my schnauzer..Hes 13 and up until now has been ok..he stopped eating yesterday..We have a very nice diet for the dogs of rice and Hamburger or turkey and they have loved it..Ive tried warming it up. cheese, hot dogs, Turkey meat..anything…doesnt work…He is skinny and im afraid of losing him..HELP
my 9 months old shih tzu is not eating well. sometime he does not eat at all. so soak his dry food and blend it into a pudding and feed him. i do not know if what i am doing is bad and i am scared because when i am not around no one will do it and i’m scared he is getting use to this and i do not even know if force food down his throat is bad
Cathy i can relate i posted some few hours ago about similar issue. i do not have any option but to force food down my shih tzu throat because i don’t want him to loose weight or fall sick. i do not know if it is right or wrong. so i soak his food in water until soft and blend it into a pudding and feed him like a baby, he eat it all surprisingly. i do not know if this helps but funny enough it does for me.
My dog Judd he doesn’t eat his food or drink water at all we had a family member gone and from then he has not been eating or drinking why
This is a question for any one with advice.I have a group of puppies 4 of them an 3 are sick.They arent bad sick but they wont eat they arent popping blood or anything but wont eat an they still drink water.Any advice I thought about mixing some stuff in there water so when they drink it they can get food.I figured its some kind of bug that will pass eventually an that I just gotta keep them hydrated until they feel better.
My aunt had a dog that would only eat canned biscuits and bologna. She tried to break him from it at the vet’s suggestion by offering only dry dog food and nothing else, but he actually went hungry so long (2 or 3 days if I remember correctly) that he fainted and had to go back to the vet. So the vet finally just told her to keep feeding him what he would eat.
My dog (longhair Chi) is getting really weird about food ever since we got two kittens. They would all fight over food at first, but now she’s terrified to eat anything. Even if we feed her away from the kittens, she won’t eat ANYTHING that isn’t people food anymore. Even the canned meatball dog food I just got her. She refuses, even if hand fed. She’ll accept table scraps one bite at a time, but that’s it. Put it on a plate, and she runs away and hides.
My chi puppy isnt eating or drinking he always in his bed
It’s been about 4 days already. My dog, chopper, was active and he would eat almost the whole bowl. But now he’s not.
I have 4 dogs. 2 boys, 2 girls. One of the girls is in heat, chopper & his dad do share crates but we keep them separate. Sometimes it’s fine & sometimes his dad would growl & attack him.
Now chopper isn’t active like he use to be & he doesn’t eat the whole bowl, only a little. He sleeps, drinks water and just lays down.
He looks sick & tired. I would take him to the vet but my dad can’t afford it because he’s having issues with the car & the act unit.
I wish I could do something, anything, to help him. I hate seeing them in pain & I just feel helpless about it. I don’t want him to die either. What can I do to help him be the way he use to be?
I have a shih tzu as well and see a decrease in the amount of food that she eats. what worked for mines is I added freeze dried raw to their kibble.
Jeff maybe the dog is just settling down, if you haven’t had him for a short time. He is getting used to his new surroundings and owners. Maybe he’s still just nervous and is finding his feet. Hope he’s better after a while.
My Small border collie is usually good eating her food but since the snow fall she doesn’t seem to want to eat, She has been eating snow could this be the reason
My terrier mix, 10 years old, stopped eating 5 days ago. She was throwing up bile, her urine was thick, dark and strange smelling, she stopped walking and couldn’t stop panting and shuddering. Her temp was sky high. I took to a highly recommended vet. After blood work and urinalysis, they called me to say her white blood cell cot was higher than normal. They sent me home with anti nausea pills and antibiotics. Nala is somewhat improved, but still not eating after 5 days. What’s to do? I called the vet back and they are talking about body scans, x-rays, more blood panels, ultrasounds, specialists, etc. I already gave them half of my monthly Social Security! I am at a complete loss.
a chance to live and be loved
Maggie is a 11year old schitzu to she wants to eat cat food she has her teeth pulled 3 yrs. AgoA. What can I give her. She is getting family
My dog is 12 and she has not eaten or drank any water today. She also thew up some yellow stuff. AhoShoi be considered
We have a senior dog with terrible dental issues. We tried to get them taken care of but the vet found that he has heart worms and she felt due to his age treatment wasn’t an option. His mouth always hurts but we manage to get him to eat once a day at best. Is there any other options available to us for him to have a pain free mouth without constant giving him antibiotics when he gets really bad?
Try feeding him what he had before you got him…some dogs don’t like the stuff that is better for them…I’d try what he was used to and see what happens.
I have a little Maltese and when we got her she was abused and skinny . She is 2 years old now and she is very picky with her food. She stopped eating it and so I made chicken for her and she ate that. But then she stopped eating it. she will eat her goodies if given to her and she will eat the other dogs food but if given her the same food as the others she won’t eat it. She is very healthy . what can I do or what should I do?
Praying your mix terrier is doing better. Our dog had also almost the same symptoms, couldn’t hold anything down, nor did he want to drink water. Our vet drew blood, started him on an antibiotic, SamE vit, Vit E 400mg, and something to help stop his vomiting. After about 3 days the vet called said he had hepititas which is not rare. All dogs get it in their puppy shots, ours is almost 14 and the vet said they can contact it through other dogs, stepping in or smelling poop from an infected dog. Our dog is fenced, he gets walked about 3 times a week. However their are dogs on our dirt road that do roam, use our yard as a bathroom,. His copper level was extremely high, so they started him on a antibiotic to help fight the infections after they found the problem. He told his to cook chicken, in chicken broth low sodium, after chicken is done, remove it, shred while cooking the rice, carrots,& peas frozen until rice is cooked then add the chicken mix all well and let completely cool before feeding him or refrigerating it. We made enough for a week and he ate it everyday twice a day 1 and 3/4 cups. Praise God. BUT I ordered milk thristle because it of the ratings helping his copper levels to lower them. BUT it actually worked opposite on my dog, it made him stop eating again, so I no longer gave it to him. We just started adding his hard dog food back with about 1/2 of his said chick & rice and now we are just hard dog food and he’s not wanting to eat again. The vet said if he doesn’t eat for a 24 hr period to bring him back in. He does eat a little bit but not at all like he use to. Praying everyone on here who posted something about their dog not wanting to eat, Pray, and try the chicken, rice & carrots & peas for about a week, then start adding back the old dog food with 1/4 to 1/2 of the chicken & rice eventually no chicken & rice just dog food. If anything your dog will get some form of nourishment. Praying for ALL of you, especially those who cannot afford to take your dog to the vet. I would never give my dog up, I have a wonderful vet who allows me to make monthly payments until the bill is pd in full. God bless all of you & your fur babies!
Thank you for all this valuable info. Who would have ever guessed that a dog could get hepatitis? I hope your furbaby is doing well. Our Dr. Sondhi saved Nala’s life. She had one bad relapse, but rallied and seems to be fine now. She doesn’t have the energy she did before the liver infection blew up. She sleeps a lot. But, I’m so grateful I didn’t lose her.
Thank you Christine (and everyone) for all the prayers and good wishes. I am doing a bit better than I was a year ago, and I have a safe place to stay, and have food. — My sweet dog that I referenced passed away two days after I posted that comment last year. — I was on this page because she was not eating, and the vet confirmed that she had kidney failure. — She had a wonderful long life with me. I got her at 11 weeks, and she was 16 years and 10 months when she passed away. —- A very long life for a 60 pound dog. :o)
As I said in the comment: when I fell on hard times, my dogs did not care that we had nothing. We slept in a car that didn’t run for 2 months. (with a 75 pound and a 60 pound dog, and they were SUCH good girls.) We slept in a vacant derelict house (with permission). —- No matter what happened, the dogs did not care, they were happy as long as they were WITH ME. — I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have them to comfort me during that stressful time.
My dog is a tiny toy poodle. He starts to eat and then brings a mouth full to the room where My husband and I are. I think a mouse scared him and that is why he won’t eat by himself. I caught the mouse and I thought he would start back to eating. My husband feeds him treats because he will not eat the same food he has always been on. He is 9 years old and I am ready to give up. Help!!!!!