Understanding Why Your Dog Won’t Eat

When dogs refuse to eat, it becomes a stressful situation. Before worrying, narrow down when, where and how often this happens to find a solution for the issue. As you read through each reason, note a theme. It’s either stress or illness just like us.

Now, if your dog is obviously sick, then I would immediately bring him to your veterinarian. It’s always a good decision to rule out illness first.

Unsure of Bowl

Believe it or not, it happens more than you think. Some dogs are allergic to ceramic or plastic bowls. These bowls can cause lip and nose infections, which sometimes includes discoloration (lighting of pigment) in the area. Plus, your dog will associate pain with his bowl and hence not eat.

Some dogs see their reflection in stainless steel bowls and it scares them a bit. A few dogs will bark at their face staring back at them, but most will learn to ignore it. However, some don’t, so switch your dog’s dish to glass, if needed.

Another Dog Stares

This is pretty common in multiple dog households. If you don’t know what to look for, it’s easily missed. When feeding dogs, it’s always best to separate them during meals times not only by distance, but visually as well. Having another dog give a death stare at his counterpart during meal times is disturbing and can easily scare a dog away from his bowl. This is called resource guarding.

Try tossing old towels or sheets over the staring dog’s crate. By setting up temporary visual barriers, you’ll likely notice your troublemaker settling down and eating much lower too–you’ve removed his target. Your other dog can now eat in peace.

Once both dogs eat their meals, pick up bowls, lift up visual barriers and allow your “death stare” dog out of his crate. Practice this ritual every meal because your staring dog will practice his behavior again.

Picky Dog

There’s nothing worse than putting a new dog food in your dog’s bowl, he takes one sniff and walks away! When finicky meal behavior rears its ugly head in, we’re at a lost, but do know we’ve usually made the situation worse by mistake.

Dogs hold out for better stuff and so do children. 🙂 Place your dog’s foot down for 20 minutes. If he doesn’t eat it, pick it up and try again that evening. If needed, add a bit of canned dog food to each meal. As I always say, who eats cake without frosting? Check out additional tips for picky eaters here.

Major Life Change

Divorce, new baby, new home, new spouse and even a new dog pal can send your dog into a spiraling spin of stress. And we all know stress can certainly cause inappetence.

When this happens, I highly recommend enticing your dog with added canned dog food or yogurt mixed into his daily meals. Right now, your dog needs a bit more attention. He’s confused and stressed with all the changes, so spend extra time walking or playing fetch in the yard. Also, give him something else to do like licking food stuffed toys.

If your dog is stressed due to a new baby arriving, stash bowls of dog treats in each room. Give your dog a treat every time your baby cries. Treat while the crying is happening, so he learns that crying means treats and that it’s a good thing.

If your dog is uncomfortable with your new spouse, ask your spouse to give your dog treats and bring him for walks to increase bonding. For new dogs added to your home, make sure they get along. Dogs don’t have control over new housemates like we do, so listen to them or seek guidance from a professional dog trainer.

Traveling

Stress is rearing her ugly head again. Refusing to eat during travel is likely due to new surroundings and change in routine. When traveling, keep your dog’s normal eating, walking, pottying and playing routine. This helps keep things predictable, which reduces your dog’s stress. If you travel frequently, your dog will soon become comfortable with traveling. If this is his first time, make sure it’s fun and positive. Again, I would recommend adding some yummy stuff to your dog’s meals to entice eating.

Dental Issues

This is also pretty common. It hurts to pick up, chew and swallow food with dental issues. Dogs eat the craziest things, and those things can most certainly harm teeth.

Usually, you’ll notice drooling and an odor emerging from his mouth. If possible, take a peek and look for foreign objects or obviously broken teeth. Unfortunately, broken, chipped, inflamed or cracked teeth are hard to find. Some teeth crack horizontally (slab fractures). When in doubt, a quick trip to the vet or veterinary dentist can rule it out.

Good luck!