Have your dog’s eating habits changed? Is she fussier than she used to be? Is he turning up his nose at used-to-be favorites?
Cause for concern
It’s an old joke that “habit is the most powerful force in the universe.” But there’s also a lot of truth to it. And dogs are even more entrenched in habits and rules than people! Dogs love schedules. They love rules. And habits make them happy.
Changes in eating habits are significant. The reason may not be serious – but it’s always worth checking out.
Seasons & reasons
The cause for the change could be anything:
- Normal appetite suppression in hot weather
- A bitch coming into heat
- Food recipe has changed and isn’t as palatable
- Toothache
- Tummy ache
- Feeling ill
- Stress
- Parasites
- Age
- Disease
- Schedule change
- Travel
How do you know?
One of the reasons we’re not fans of “free feeding” (leaving food out all the time) is because it’s hard to judge exactly how much the dog is eating and whether there’s a change. If the household has more than one person feeding the dog, it may be impossible to judge. Same situation if there’s more than one dog – how do you know which one’s eating what? Other than seeing one get fat?
If a free-feeding situation is the one that works for your family, try to put some controls in place so you know if there are changes. Have only one person in charge of feeding the dog. Use a measuring cup to judge exactly how much is offered each day. And take notes on a calendar to chart any changes.
Up or down matters
We’re lucky that most of our dogs have been good eaters. There have been a couple of exceptions, and they both fall into the category of “when you know better, you do better.”
As young people, we had a Boston Terrier named Daemon. He needed to be coaxed to eat, and we got pretty creative (and desperate) to make it happen. Because we were convinced that he “had to” eat kibble, we actually wound up resorting to adding people-food toppings. His favorites were Chunky Steak and Potato Soup and Dinty Moore Beef Stew. Neither is something we’d recommend for dogs now, but we didn’t know anything about dog nutrition at the time. It turned out that Daemon had liver cancer. We tempted his appetite enough to keep him strong as long as he was comfortable. It may not have been an ideal solution, but it worked for the time and circumstances.
Picky puppy
The other dog who didn’t want to eat was Fran’s Booker. When she picked him up as a puppy from his breeder’s home in Virginia, he didn’t eat much of anything for the first two days. As a new mom – it drove Fran crazy. Booker’s eating issues were resolved when we switched to a different food. He just didn’t like the first one. At home or on the road, he’s been a champion eater ever since.
Do not pass “Go!”
For the rest of our dogs – we have a house rule. If the dog doesn’t eat, go directly to the veterinarian. Do not pass “Go!” Do not collect $200. And step on it.
If your dog’s eating habits change – pay attention. It may be nothing. One of our dogs had a bad case of gas. Another had a tooth ache. That started us on brushing our dogs’ teeth and it hasn’t been an issue since.
But if it is “something” – your diligence may help save your dog!
