Dog doesn't eat well

[Blackcurrant]

Hi,

I've recently (within a few days) noticed that my dog doesn't eat well. She comes to the food bowl, sniffs the food, stays there when I leave her to eat, and then goes to her place on the sofa. She has never been that keen on eating, she doesn't gobble her food. Well, I have had her for almost four months, and before coming to us she lived in a shelter with other dogs. There I was told she guarded her food from other dogs and ate very quickly.

Oh, and the dog is almost four years old, large dog, spayed female.

I have a few ideas what could cause this, but I really don't know.

I started trying to enforce recall and waiting by telling her to sit and wait further away, and then call her to the food bowl. At first she didn't understand and I had to go back and start all over again, but now she knows what I expect of her. She sits, waits and then comes. But now she doesn't eat. Maybe she doesn't understand this, or doesn't notice there's food, or thinks it is not allowed to eat (I don't know why she would think it is not allowed, but sometimes she needs a bit of encouragement to start eating). Or maybe she thinks it is too much to do so many things to earn the food she doesn't like that much anyway...

I gave her deworming drug on Saturday, again on Sunday and on Monday it was the last time. Maybe that could cause loss of appetite. It doesn't say so on the instructions, but I'm thinking maybe it's part of the problem. The instructions say the drug may cause nausea, but we haven't seen any of that after giving the drug.

Or maybe she is just not hungry.

She acts normally, she is energetic on her walks, and we went to the forest and she ran free on Sunday, and she seemed perfectly normal, having fun and everything.

A week ago she was a bit nauseous, and threw up on her morning walk. She refused to eat on that morning, but it was definitely because of her nausea. Later in the day she did eat, and was her own energetic self on the forest run. And she also ate normally after that.

Because she refused to eat on Sunday morning, we took the food away and gave it to her again in the evening. She again didn't want to eat. I called her to her food and gave her some food from my hand, but she didn't want it. She went to the sofa. My boyfriend called her to her bowl, and tried to offer her food. She left the food bowl again. I offered her food on the sofa, and that she accepted. Then my boyfriend offered her food on the sofa, and she accepted it again. I told her to come and eat, and she walked with me to her bowl and ate the bowl empty. Perhaps she's just a princess and we are spoiling her...

I'm getting a bit worried about her. Even though a healthy dog doesn't starve if it doesn't eat in a few days, I still worry. I will call a vet if she seems to change her behavior more, or stops eating completely. She does accept treats, if they are good treats, but I don't want to give her a lot of treats if she doesn't eat her food. We tried to give her a bone she usually loves to eat, but she refused to eat that as well.

Yesterday she ate both her foods, but I didn't make her to sit and wait, I did what I had done before, just asked her to sit before giving her the food. I also trained with her yesterday evening, giving her boiled meat as treats. Some of them were frozen, because I keep the meat in the freezer, maybe that could upset her stomach? She did eat her evening food though.

Could she have gotten bored with her food? Or could the weather cause this? We used to have a bit of snow, and now the temperature has risen, and there is ice everywhere. She seems to be puzzled, and doesn't find good places to pee, sometimes she holds almost the whole walk before finally finding a place to pee. Before she peed on the snow, but now the snow is just wet and dirty, or melted away, so she has lost most of her spots to pee.

Would anyone have any thoughts on this?

[JudyN]

Could you say what food you give her, please? Not just kibble, tinned or whatever, but make and variety.

Also, what breed and weight is she, and how much are you (trying to) feed her? Is this very different to what she was like before last week and the first onset of nausea, or was she always a little picky?

Wormers can cause upset stomachs, so this might well be a factor. Which wormer did you use? But I also suspect that as she's not been with you for long, and you're introducing a bit of training round food, she's feeling a little anxious. I would simply put her food bowl down just saying something like 'Teatime!', walking away, and letting her choose whether she wants it. If not, don't try offering it to her somewhere else, or handfeeding. She will sense your anxiety and in all honesty, if I didn't fancy a slice of chocolate cake (not sure that's ever happened... ) and someone kept sticking the plate in front of me or holding morsels to my mouth, I'd feel pretty anxious too.

If she's still not interested then if you're feeding kibble, you could try adding a bit of low-salt stock, or a spoonful of wet dog food or sardines on top. But again, don't make a big fuss about putting it down, or if she doesn't eat it.

If she doesn't eat more within a couple of days (by which time I'm guessing any effect of the wormer should have worn off) then I'd be considering a vet check but it may well still be more of a behavioural thing.

[Blackcurrant]

She's about 30 kg mixed breed. No one really knows which breeds she has, but we think she has at least a bit of Rhodesian Ridgeback, because she has quite the same build, color and behavior. But I can't say for sure.

She has been a bit picky before, when we were on Christmas holidays, but I think that's because of stress. But we got her to eat when we mixed some wet food with her kibble. She seems to stop eating whenever she feels like something is up. If she is stressed, she doesn't eat.

Oh, and I feed her Royal Canin Maxi Adult kibble. She gets 4 dl in the morning and 4 dl in the evening. That's what we were instructed to do when we brought her home. At the shelter they had given her a bit more than that because her bones were showing a bit. But now she looks like a fit dog, no bones showing, but still thin and fit.

I gave her Axilur vet 500mg tablets.

The normal way of giving her food is either me or my boyfriend bringing the food bowl to the place where she eats, asking her to sit, putting the bowl down, praising her, telling her it's Ok to eat and then leaving. But now she just sniffs and leaves. I have tried to look if she has something strange in her mouth, because she drops some of the kibble if I offer some food to her. But I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary. And she still eats the treats I give her no problem.

I can't say there has been any weirdness before the nausea, or after. She has received the same amount of food every day, and she has had the same food ever since she got to us. I could try and mix the wet food with the kibble again, but we stopped that about a month ago. She seemed to eat her kibble just fine without it, and we assumed it was just stress that made her not want to eat.

Today she ate just a bit in the morning, then nothing during the day. I trained her with the boiled meat again, and she was very attentive and ready to do what I wanted. But she still didn't want to eat.

I really hope it is just the wormer, I don't want to worry more. I'd be ready to take her to the vet right now, but if I stop to think about it, most probably the vet says it is the wormers, and I should stop worrying.

[Ari_RR]

What's a "dl"?

[Blackcurrant]

Dl= Deciliter

[Ari_RR]

Ok... So, our adult ridgeback at about 50 kg gets 4.5 cups, which is according to Google 10.6 dl.
Your 30 kg girl gets 8.
That's not too far off....

Is she drinking water? Not drinking is by far more dangerous than not eating..... I think.

[Blackcurrant]

Yep, she drinks normally, at least. (and eats snow and ice outside when I'm not quick enough to tell her not to eat snow and ice...) Yesterday she ate her food after it was mixed with some wet food. This morning she also ate her food, this time there was no wet food there. It seems like it maybe was the wormer, but I'm not sure yet. Even though she ate everything this morning, it wasn't normal way of eating. She ate most of the food, then drank a bit and then ate the rest. But well, it's dry food so I would be thirsty too if I ate dry food... But normally she eats first and then drinks.

Should I change her food every once in a while? I read somewhere that dogs don't get bored of their food, and that they could be fed the same food all its life, of course as a puppy puppy-food and as a senior senior-food, but still.

Could dogs get picky about their food? Well, she has gotten quite picky about the bones and things we give her. The ones she loved when we got her, she doesn't even touch them now. And she seems to like real bones and the real stuff, not so much those "bones" made of cow skins

[JudyN]

Yes, it's quite common for dogs to be picky and get bored with their food, especially kibble. To be honest, Royal Canin isn't the greatest anyway. Have a look at the website http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/ for opinions on that and other foods.

On this board we tend to recommend grain-free kibble, such as Call of the Wild and Orijen, or raw feeding. Raw fed dogs tend to LOVE their food But I'd wait a few days before changing anything to give you a better idea of whether this is a temporary effect or not. If you decide to change food, we can give you lots more advice on that

[Blackcurrant]

When we got the dog we got some Royal Canin to go from there, and we continued with Royal Canin. It was certain from the beginning that I will not look at the price tag when it comes to feeding the dog, because I prefer healthier food myself too.

I buy the food from a local pet store, and RC is the one with most variety. I know that there is another store that sells raw foods, but I haven't given much thought about the raw food. It seems like a lot of work. And from somewhere I read that I would need another freezer to contain all the meat for one month for a big dog...

I checked the list, I need to take a closer look about the brands they sell here. I don't think all of those are available in my country, but I could check which ones I could get. And of course I like to have advice on foods, this is my first dog, and I haven't gotten to know much about dog foods. I tend to go with the easiest option.

I still have food for about a week, so I have time to think about changing her food before it runs out.

[JudyN]

I put off raw feeding for ages because I thought it would be difficult, but it's easy once you get your head round it - almost as easy as kibble. Yes, you do need freezer space though unless you're able to buy it in small quantities. My dog is just a tad heavier than yours, I buy 40 days' worth at a time, and it takes up half a largish chest freezer.

Not that I'm trying to put pressure on you - I just wouldn't like you to rule out raw feeding because you think it'll be more work than it actually is.

[Blackcurrant]

Hmm, this seems to be quite interesting eating-problem we have here. During the weekdays she ate normally. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday there was not a single sign of the dog not liking her food. We thought it was the wormer, because she just stopped eating after that.

Then, on Saturday, she refused to eat. Well, she threw up in the morning, there was some bits and pieces of wood with the slime she had thrown up. She was fetching sticks on Friday (well, to be honest, I threw her a stick, she ran after it, gave a huge growl, picked it up, shook it and carried it away, not to me...), so she must've eaten some of the sticks. But she ate perfectly well on Friday evening. I took her to a training class, like every Saturday for a month now, and there she was herself, doing everything possible to get the treats, being excited to see the trainer, trying to play a bit with the other dog there.

In the evening she seemed to be very hungry, and when we gave her food, she ate everything happily. And this morning she didn't want to eat. Could it be because our routines are a bit different during the weekends? Normally I take her for a walk in the morning, but during weekends I like to sleep a bit longer, and my boyfriend takes her to her morning-walk. And I don't go anywhere during weekends, during weekdays I go to work after I have taken her to a walk and given her food and made myself something to eat at work, and my boyfriend works from home.

I just don't know what is her problem. It's frustrating, because she just can't tell what's her problem. We try to offer her food a few times in the morning, and leave the bowl there for an hour, and then offer it again in the evening. We still give her a bit of wet food so that she eats her medicine (for incontinence). And, of course, if I train her, she gets treats.

Maybe she wants something better, and thinks that if she refuses to eat she gets something better. Or at least something better mixed with the kibble. Or maybe the change in the schedule during weekends is way too much for her. Well, it could also be a bit stressful because yesterday my boyfriends parents came for a visit, and she is a bit shy around people she doesn't know that well. She didn't run and hide, but she wasn't relaxed either. Now she seems to be tired, because she didn't have a chance to rest as much as usually.

I think I need to think a bit more and make some calculations about the raw feeding. I do know that once you get used to it, it doesn't take up time or effort as much as in the beginning. But it seems like the food isn't the issue here, it seems to be some other things. Maybe physical, maybe mental.

[JudyN]

It's possible she had an upset tummy from eating bits of stick - I'd avoid throwing sticks for her, as it can be dangerous, and take a toy instead. But yes, stress and change in routine could be a factor too.

As long as she's eating well in the week you don't need to worry about her becoming malnourished (of course it's worth keeping an eye on her weight & general condition). Some dogs do naturally fast on some days. The important thing is for you to stay relaxed as possible, as otherwise your anxiety is likely to transfer to her.

[Blackcurrant]

Hmm, it's been a while since I wrote here, but I decided to tell our situation right now, because it seems to be better.

I believe it was the wormer that made the dog refuse eating. It lasted for less than a week, and then she returned eating quite normally. We have noticed that sometimes she just skips her morning meal, and eats in the evening. It happens one or two times per week. Maybe she has learned that she will get food every day, so she doesn't have to eat because she doesn't know when the next meal is coming. And there is no one who would take her food away. Well, we take her food away if she doesn't eat, but she doesn't seem to mind.

I decided not to try raw foods, but I didn't buy Royal Canin either. I spent ages in the pet store looking at the foods, and then the saleswoman came there and recommended a new kind of kibble. She told me she has Cockerspaniels, she is a breeder. She didn't feed her dogs Royal Canin either, and she told me she was very happy with this new food, Pure Natural. It contains mostly chicken and fish. We have tried that for two weeks now, and it seems to be good for the digestive system at least. It smells worse that Royal Canin, but the dog eats it with good appetite. Well, she still skips some meals, but it looks like a normal behavior for her.

She has actually gained a bit of weight from the time she came to us. We assume it has been a few kilos, but I would love to weigh her. Maybe she was a bit too thin back then, but now she is in a very good shape. She has muscles, she looks like a fit dog, and that she is. I can remember how she was in the beginning. She ran for ten minutes and slept two days. Now she can run, I'm guessing, for hours and she rests one evening and she's ready for more. She just loves running.

[JudyN]

That's brilliant news - if she's gained weight, she must be eating enough for her. Well done, and thanks for the feedback

[emilywollsl]

Something might be bothering him. You have to trace what happened before he loss his appetite.