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Why doesn't a dog eat?

Pet Knowledge
This article is provided by Veterinarian Dr. Alexander Smith
Dogs not eating may be caused by stress response, picky eating, disease, etc. First of all, if the dog has recently changed its environment or been frightened, causing a stress reaction, it will not eat or hide and not move. Secondly, if the dog just doesn’t eat, but will eat snacks and meat, it may be caused by picky eating. Finally, if the dog does not eat and is not in a good mental state, it may be due to some disease problems such as colds, serious infectious diseases, gastroenteritis, oral diseases, etc. It is recommended to consult a pet doctor for treatment as soon as possible.

1. Stress response

Changing environment, being frightened, sudden changes in weather, sudden changes in food and other factors may cause dogs to have a stress response and become unwilling to eat. In this regard, the owner can soothe the dog to relieve its nervousness and fear, and feed it an appropriate amount of probiotics. The dog will regain its appetite after it becomes familiar with the environment and its anxiety is relieved.

2. Picky eating

If the dog just doesn’t eat, but will eat other foods, then the main consideration is that it is due to picky eating. In this regard, owners can choose some more palatable dog food, mix some canned food appropriately to increase the dog's appetite, and at the same time take appropriate methods to correct the dog's bad habit. For example, if the dog is fed at regular intervals and is taken away regardless of whether it eats or not, it can generally be improved after a long period of training.

3. Causes of diseases

Many diseases can cause dogs to lose their appetite, such as serious infectious diseases, gastroenteritis, oral diseases, liver and kidney diseases, endocrine diseases, etc. Diseases can cause damage or even pain to a dog's gastrointestinal mucosa, causing loss of appetite or even loss of appetite. Owners need to pay more attention. Once they find that their dog has other abnormal symptoms, such as cough, runny nose, diarrhea, vomiting, etc., they should take it to the pet hospital for examination and treatment in time.

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