dog wont eat

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nettyjen
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon May 09, 2016 4:14 pm

dog wont eat

Post by nettyjen »

i have been fostering a 5 year old yorkshire terrier crossed with another terrier breed. she has been used as a breeding dog on a small puppy farm. she was rescued with 8 other dogs, never been walked, not much human contact and trained through fear. fed scraps and leftover human food.
when she was fostered for a week by a woman who had dogs she ate dry food in morning and wet at night. since she came to me 23rd december she has refused most foods. she will eat chicken sometimes and loves sausage. she did start to eat some wet dog food but then had an op to spay her and remove a mammary lump. since then she has only eaten a bit of chicken, sardines in oil, sausage and stewing steak in gravy (i had a tin to use for my dinner and she loved it) vet says she must eat dog food.
what do i give her? i think she ate because there were always other dogs but i dont have my own dog at the moment i foster for a local rescue centre.
i would appreciate any advice
Erica
Posts: 2697
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:35 pm
Location: North Carolina

Re: dog wont eat

Post by Erica »

Did the vet check her teeth? When was the operation? How are you feeding her? eg, foodbowl left down all day, foodbowl put down and taken up after 15 minutes, hand-feeding...

Sometimes the intubation can cause a sore throat, so only very smelly, soft, delicious things feel "worth eating" to the dog. It could also be that she has a toothache, which causes her to avoid chewing.

I would stick to wet food, and maybe try putting a couple nibbles of the special yummies in with the wet food. She's probably fairly small, so won't need to eat much.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
nettyjen
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon May 09, 2016 4:14 pm

Re: dog wont eat

Post by nettyjen »

the vet checked her and everything is fine. at the foster home she was at for a week she was eating dry in morning and wet at night with the fosterers 2 dogs but had to be refostered and came to me. she just refused to eat, all the dogs were fed scraps so no proper food. i have tried all sorts and its no, i did get her to eat by hand feeding. i usually leave it down. would it be better if i left the food down but take it away if she doesnt eat it and how often do i do that during the day.
she is the first dog that refuses to eat. the op was 16th jan she has stitches out on monday. she had check up yesterday and is fine.
Annabellam
Posts: 15
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2017 9:26 am

Re: dog wont eat

Post by Annabellam »

Most common reasons a rescue dog would have a problem with diet is either because it is still adopting to the new environment and diet or because there is another underlying problem with it. If it got a check and is medically sound, i think the problem is most likely the new diet. With time it can adjust, and the good thing is you dont have to worry too much because it cant starve itself. I'd advise to leave out the food there, just not sure for how long. Adopting to the new surrounding can be tricky but all will be okay.
Erica
Posts: 2697
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:35 pm
Location: North Carolina

Re: dog wont eat

Post by Erica »

You could either continue handfeeding, or put food down for about 15 minutes twice a day (or three times if you want, to start). Make sure the food is somewhere she feels safe - a quiet place that you often find her sleeping in would be ideal, or if she's crate trained and likes her crate that's a good one - and leave her alone for that time. After that time pick it up and put it back down next mealtime. Leaving food down all the time can oddly enough cause dogs to become more picky and finicky about eating, and it's pretty stressful for them.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
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Nettle
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Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

Re: dog wont eat

Post by Nettle »

Some dogs don't like metal bowls, and plastic ones can smell bad to a dog, so try toughened glass or ceramic and see if that makes a difference.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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Shalista
Posts: 1363
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

Re: dog wont eat

Post by Shalista »

ditto nettle, Bax doesnt like bowls period. his collar clinked against his metal one once and scarred him for life.
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
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