Help! My Dog Isn't Eating

Help! My Dog Isn’t Eating

Is your dog not eating his food like he usually would? Or maybe you’ve just adopted your first puppy and he won’t eat. What do you do? We have created a guide to help you find reasoning and solutions.

There are a variety of reasons for loss of appetite in dogs. It’s important to determine the cause first, in order to get the best treatment plan.

If you’re concerned because your dog isn’t eating as much as the guidelines state on the food you purchase, remember that these are only averages. Many perfectly healthy dogs eat only 60% to 70% of the amount stated on the packaging.

Reasons Your Dog Won’t Eat

  • Illness. Although a loss of appetite in dogs doesn’t necessarily indicate serious disease, prompt veterinary attention is important because it could be a sign of significant illness, including cancer, systemic infections, pain, liver problems, and kidney failure.
  • Dental disease. Your dog may not want to eat because something in its mouth is causing pain.
  • Recent vaccination. These injections sometimes have adverse effects. The majority of these are minor and brief, including a temporary loss of appetite in dogs.
  • Travel and unfamiliar surroundings. If your dog’s appetite was normal until you went on a trip with them or moved to a new location, it may be that your dog won’t eat because of traveling or the unfamiliar surroundings. Some animals may get motion sickness and others become nervous or uncomfortable in new places.
  • Pickiness or behavior issues. Some dogs are just picky, or their refusal to eat may be caused by feeding them in situations where they aren’t comfortable.

What to Do When Your Dog Won’t Eat

What you can do to help when your dog won’t eat will depend on what you and your veterinarian determine to be the cause of the problem. If your dog’s loss of appetite is caused by illness, the vet may recommend a prescription diet to meet your pet’s nutritional needs while the underlying disease is being addressed.

f your dog’s decreased appetite is a behavior problem caused by pickiness or a discomfort, there are a number of things you can do to encourage your pet to eat:

  • Cutting back on treats and human food
  • Feeding your dog on a regular schedule, twice a day.
  • Try making meal time a fun time, such as playing with a toy that dispenses food.
  • Taking your dog for a walk before mealtime.
  • Try a different kind of food, such as canned food if you normally feed your dog dry food
  • Add some warm water to his kibble to make it more appealing.

We hope this guide helps you! If you have any suggestions about this topic, we would love to hear from you!