Has your dog’s appetite decreased suddenly? Is your dog lethargic and without energy? Is your dog’s fur lackluster and dry?
All is not lost… you can get your dog to eat normally.
There are four possible reasons why your dog’s appetite may have gone down:
- Your dog may be a picky eater; there is nothing necessarily wrong with this in as long as your dog has enough of what she likes to eat.
- Your dog may have experienced a change in their environment; a change of owner or moving to a different house or city can affect a dog’s eating habits.
- Your dog may have had a sudden change in their eating program and food type; change of eating schedule or the change in the brand or type of food can cause a dog to change his/her eating habits.
- Your dog may have an infection or a disease and may be in need of medical attention; this ia serious as a sick dog may be unable to eat altogether.
I had just bought my dog, Scooby, from my neighbor when I immediately noticed that Scooby’s dish was full with the same dog food I had served her hours before. This happened several days in a row.
Worried, I tried serving her the food that we were eating, which although it was tasty was not very balanced, she ate all of it.
Then I tried changing the dog food brand, to no avail. Scooby completely refused to eat the dog food.
Finally, I decided to inquire from my neighbor the brand of food that they had been giving Scooby.
And only then did I make the discovery that she probably had been refusing to eat the dog food I offered, because I had changed the food she was used to.
I immediately purchased and gave her the food that she had been eating before and vuala… that did it, Scooby started to eat normally.
Since those early days, I have been learning a lot about Scooby’s eating habits, which I am going to share in this article to help other dog lovers, whose dogs are experiencing a sudden loss of appetite find a solution to the problem.
Here are some habits and conditions that may be contributing to your dog not eating:
Eating in between meals
Feeding your dog too many leftovers from your table, treats between meals or when she helps herself to the remains in the trash can, is a major reason why a dog may refuse to eat.
Offering bland, dry food
Other things to keep in mind is that when it comes to food, man’s best friend is a lot like us. We all like eating tasty and wholesome food that smells appetizing.
Also, it is important to make sure that the dog food is soft by adding water or wet food.
You may also offer the dog home cooked meals, once in a while and a little praise will go a long way in encouraging your dog to eat.
Weather Conditions
Just as in humans, when the weather is warm, dogs tend to eat less and when its gets cooler they tend to eat better.
Unscheduled Feeding
Feeding your dog at the same time every day is a good way to ensure that she eats right.
Health Related Problems
In case you have tried all these and your dog will still not eat, then it would be advisable to visit your veterinarian, as it could be a health related problem that is causing the loss of appetite.
