My dog will not eat her food

[angel659]

Hi

We got back from NY on Monday. Since then she will not eat her dinner. She still loves her bonios, but will not eat her complete food. I am starting to get worried. Friends and family keep telling me that she will not let herself starve and will eat when she gets hungry, but for nearly 6 days. She has had a couple of bowls of her food since she came back, but that has been days in between. The kennels gave her pedigree chum complete and she ate well down there. I dont know whether to change her food to pedigree chum or to keep trying with her original food that she loved before we went away.

Has anyone else had problems with thier dogs eating after the kennels?

 

[MrsJobba1]

Hi,
I have 3 dogs - Sally is 14, Ben is 6 and Floss is 2.

Whenever we come back of holiday we always seem to have a problem with Sally. Like your dog , she will eat her 'treats' but just leaves her main meal. It is almost like she is protesting that we left her.

What we do is cook some plain rice or pasta and mix in in with her dry food and add a bit of gravy ( 50 -50) but starting with small portions. Then over a number of days we gradually reduce the rice / pasta 40-60 until we get to all dog food. by that time she has forgotten we even left her in the first place. Its like she is getting a treat but its healthy.

You could try mixing some of the chum with her origional food.

How is her overall temperment?

Hope that helps, let us know how she is getting on.

 

[natalielongstaff]

i agree with mixing the chum with her normal food at 1st then gradually cutting down the chum till she just eats her normal brand

hth

 

[jen_uk]

My dog sulks like crazy when we get back, he wants us to feel bad for leaving him! She is probably just letting you know that she is not happy. If she is still off her food in a few days maybe take her to the vet.

Hope she is better soon.

 

[Minniespal]

Any dog I've had usually has sulked when we have returned from a trip.

I would leave her at the moment ~ As others have pointed out she will not let herself starve. Doesn't sound as though she is sick because she is still eating her bonios. I know it's hard and you can't help but worry about a pet but I would give her another day or two. If she's still not eating food after that perhaps a trip to the vet would be in order.

 

[higgy66]

I bought loads of dog books when we first got Tosca and it said in one of them that they often stop eating and ignore you when you get back as they're "mad" at you for leaving them in the first place.

We've never left Tosca in kennels as she'd probably eat them all!
We have to ask my parents to come and stay at our house. It does mean we can only go away once or twice a year.


Hope she gets her appetite back soon.

 

[angel659]

Her temperment is good but a little over the top and sometimes needs reassurance. She will often come upto me for a stroke on the head and when we come in from works she jumps around all over the place. She is starting to calm down now. She has not eaten her food again today. She just sniffs it and walks off. I think I will try that chum mixing idea to see if that will get her eating if not a trip to the vets.

 

[higgy66]

At least if she eats the chum mixer you know there's nothing wrong with her she's just being fussy about her food.

You know how we can be ourselves - I'll only eat kellogs cornflakes - not other brands!

Do you think she could be missing the other dogs?? It must be strange being around lots of dogs and then going back to just humans?

 

[fizz13]

No good advice here, but hope that doggie is back to normal soon

 

[angel659]

To be honest she is not good with other dogs. She will start barking at them in the park and the vets. She embarrasses me all the time in the vets

We got her when she was 2, she was originally going to be breed, but they said she was not breedable, due to an infection she got in her first season. She has had 2 homes since the breeders before coming here. She was with my mil, but she was so scared of my fil and they had to keep her on a lead when they let her out in the garden, otherwise she would run off (garden is not enclosed). We fell in love with Roxy and she fell in love with me, Bruce and the kids. We took her home. She suffers with seperation anxiety. We try to keep her on her own to a minimum and this was her first time back in the kennels, since the breeders had her. I expect it may of traumatised her, but the kennels said she was eating there.

 

[wickesy]

Maybe she was enjoying her holiday and didn't want to come home. Think how you feel when you have to leave Disney

Seriously, we used to have the same problem with our dog after she had been to the kennels. After a few days when she realised she had to eat what we gave her or she would eat nothing she soon got back into her normal routine.

I'm sure things will be fine.