Hello all, Our 10-month old bitch Luna has recently gone off her usual food. It started a few weeks ago when she stopped wanting to eat it out of the slow feeder, so I resorted to scatter feeding which worked for a while. But for the last few days she won’t touch it at all - she’s barely eaten any of her food allowance for the last three days. We took her to the vet as we were obviously worried, but they told us that she’s just being a stroppy teenager and that she also may be having a phantom pregnancy as she’s recently been through her first heat. We do have some other types of kibble, which she seems to eat fine (though not with her usual level of gusto), so I’m wondering if it’s just this particular brand she’s suddenly taken a disliking to (for info, it’s Gentle cold pressed - she was on Orijens but that gave her loose stools so we switched about 4-5 months ago). The vet told us not to pander to her and to just persevere until she starts eating it again, but I’m growing increasingly concerned with her lack of appetite, especially for a such a food-motivated breed. She’s obviously hungry as she’s begging for table scraps (which we try our best not to give her, but difficult with a toddler in the house!) and whining. Has anyone else been through something similar and can offer some advice? Should we keep trying with her current food, or try switching her to something else? She has quite a sensitive tummy so I’m reluctant to change her food as the last time we did it resulted in 3 weeks of terrible diarrhoea... Help!
Hi Luna, welcome to the forum. I'm sorry you're having such a stressful time. Pippa has written about dogs who stop eating in this article on our main site - I hope you find it helpful!
I'm going through something similar at the moment. He would eat if hand-fed, but he would fuss at the kong or bowl. I believe he's getting too many treats during the day and also table food. So no more "excessive" treats or table food for the meantime. I will try to put some chicken broth with his kibble if he continues this. He is eating, just not his kibble.
How long ago was her season? Does she seem well in herself besides not eating? Does she have a temperature at all? Aside from that, what is her weight/body condition like?
