Puppy refuses to eat any food

[Olga1]

Hello, my puppy (7 months old) stopped eating her food 2 days ago and I do not know how I can feed her. She acts like she is very hungry and goes crazy from my food smell but as soon as I put her food down she jumps from the bowl. i also tried to handfeed her - same reaction, she would just run from me if she sees food in my hands (tried her regular dry and canned food, boiled chicken breast). But she eats treats with no problem.
It looks like it is a phycological issue, and I even know what exactly I did wrong, I just do not know how to fix it now... I had to go at her dinner time. Usually I put her food down for about an hour. But that time I could not wait that long. I waited for a little but she did not show any interest. So I decided to put her in her crate with her bowl and leave her there for about 30 minutes. When I put the food in the crate she looked like she was comfortable and was going to eat. So I closed the crate door and left. When I got back home she was sitting in the far corner of the crate from her bowl and she did not even touch the food. Since then she refuses to eat - does not matter if it would be from another type of bowl, or hands, or different food. Boiled chicken did not work too I did not expect that it would be so stressful for her if I leave her - she was okay before. I just have never left her locked with her food.
I am looking for an advice - how I can get her to eat ... she is getting very skinny
Thank you in advance!

[emmabeth]

Eek, thats quite a dramatic association shes formed with the food there, food = mom is leaving me!

It goes to show. ANYTHING can become an aversive, even accidentally so, depending on the dog and what they associate that item with!

Have you tried changing the bowl?

How come she eats treats but not her food - what are you doing differently there? Is it the same brand of food you used the time yo ushut her in the crate with it?

Is she ok being left now? Do you have to leave her can you take her with you or have a dog sitter over or take her to a doggy creche?

[Olga1]

Yes, I tried to change the bowl - I tried almost all bowls I had at home, even mine. I also tried to leave dry (and even canned) food just on the floor.
I am surprised that she eats treats. I guess because they are tasty and she can't resist))
I have tried all the dry and canned food I had at home - Royal Canine, Marrick-Puppy plate, Eukanuba, Wellness, Taste of wilderness, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance, Science Diet, I tried to add warm water, chicken broth, Iams gravy, shredded cheese to her dry food. She also did not eat just boiled chicken breast without any other food there. I tried to leave her food for longer then an hour, tried to sit with her, stand next to her, tried to leave her alone in the room - nothing worked I think handfeeding made it worse because now she checks if I have food in my hands - she is afraid that I will ask her to eat i guess...
I left her in the crate with Eukanuba dry food but she stopped eating any food in general, not just that brand ((
I did not leave her alone since that time, and usually I do not leave her - she is with me all day long. The only time she is without me is when she is at her "doggie playcare" - where she plays with other dogs. She is really fine without me there but sometimes I stay with her there to play together. I just did not realize how stressfull it was for her when I leave her alone at home.
And now I really do not know how I suppose to feed her... it is very sad to see her hungry.
Maybe there are some special tricks or food to get her to eat...? I would try anything now

Is she ok being left now? Do you have to leave her can you take her with you or have a dog sitter over or take her to a doggy creche?

[Nettle]

Prior to that, was she eating well? I'm going on your mention that you put her food down but could not wait for her to eat. It might be that there is a different reason for this and that whatever it is started before you went out. Or has she always taken a long time to eat?

Has she had a full vet check? You say she can eat treats, but I am wondering if she has a tooth or jaw problem. Is she still teething? Are the treats soft? Have a think around that. Are bladder and bowels working properly? Might she have swallowed something that has led to a blockage?

I really do think she needs a vet. visit.

[Olga1]

She has always been a very picky eater (that's why I have so many different types of food at home). Sometines, if she is hungry and really likes the food she eats it right away, if she is not that hungry, then it takes her long time - she eats several pieces and walks away, then may come back for more. It has alreaqdy happened in the past that she almost stopped eating (but not completely like this time) and I took her to vet. They did urine/fecal/blood tests and x-rays and kept her there for a day to watch her. All tests results were normal and the vet did not find anything wrong with her that time (it was about a month ago).
Her treats are bison chips and cheerios (her favourite) - she never stopped eating them. We tried different treats before but switched to these 2 because they have no calories (almost) and she would still be hungry enough to eat her regular food. I inspected her teeth and jaws - they look normal. And she stopped teething about a 1,5 months ago (she is ~7 months old now, we can't say it for sure since we adopted her from a shelter).
I find it very strange too that she does not eat but pees and poops on regular basis (just very small poops, no diarrea or anything unusual).

And good news is that she ate a little bit this morning! She finally decided to eat dry kibbles I left on the floor. Not much and enough for her, but still - this is better than nothing. I guess she got hungry and finally decided to have a little snack.

Anyway, I am still going to take her to vet to make sure that there is nothing phisical happen and she just can't eat.
Will post the update on her later...

[Nettle]

I hope you have good news from your vet visit Be sure to let us know.

The dogs I breed often go through an I don't want to eat phase, which can last for months, and then it adjusts itself and they eat normally. And I have one that would not eat out of a bowl for her first year but she's fine now. So as long as yours isn't underweight, and the vet check goes well, it may just be one of those things some puppies go through. But the vet check is very sensible, as some conditions do have a dramatic impact on appetite.

[Olga1]

I have great news!! We went to see the vet and they did several tests on her. Nothing bad was found, as expected. But her blood test for food-related allergies showed they she had several It was unexpected. So, the vet made food recommendations and I bought the "prescription diet" dry and canned food. The result shocked me when I got my puppy home - she ate more than a cup of this dry food right away, from her bowl!!! She really loved that food.
I find it very strange though - how the puppy would know that the other food was bad for her.... But it is not that important since she started to eat normally! I guess dogs know better than us what is good or bad for them. I am just very glad to have my puppy back to her normal self. Hopefully, she will continue eating this food and be a happy dog
Thanks to all of you for your support! I really appreciate it.

[***Melissa***]

I'm glad pup is sorted with food now, that's really good news And, at least now you know what the problem was.

I'm not an expert, but I wonder whether puppy will remember the smell of foods he ate that left him not feeling well, and that's why he didn't want to eat it?

[emmabeth]

I have a friend who has some severe allergies - she can tell by smell very frequently what contains those ingredients and what does not, because those smells remind her of feeling extremely ill. (Her allergies would kill her!).

Shes that good she can sniff two different brands of chocolate and tell you which contains traces of nuts, and which doesnt - regardless of the packets saying both may.

Given a dogs sense of smell is far better than our own - I do think a LOT of cases of dogs being fussy, picky, reluctant to eat up to the extreme point blank refusal to eat, are to do with the dog recognising that the food will make them feel ill.

[Olga1]

Just wanted to give an update - my pup eats just fine! Actually, like NEVER before! I have never seen her eating with this speed No need to even leave the food for an hour - it is gone in 3 minutes. It gets better every day - in the very beginning, when I just changed her food, she first was not sure about it but started to eat. Now she actually sits and waits for the food. I am so glad that she is happy and healthy now and I know the root cause of her eating problem.

It still makes me wonder why she stopped eating completely only after I left her in the crate...
But I feel like I am even glad that it happened sooner than later (if I can say it like that) - it could have taken us many months of her pain and me trying to find the food she likes.

[***Melissa***]

It is wonderful news! I'm so glad for you