For an anxious dog, see if feeding them in a quiet corner of your kitchen helps them to remain calm and focused on their meal. For a very active dog, try incorporating games into mealtime or using a food-dispensing toy that makes them work (or more accurately, play) for their meal.
Instead of feeding them near a sunny window, for instance, move their feeding spot to a cooler corner of the room. If you can increase the air circulation with a ceiling fan or open window, that may help even more. If your dog is eating outdoors, make sure you provide them with a shady, breezy location.
Most dogs prefer to eat with their head dipped down while standing straight. If they have to crouch, lie down or crane their neck upward, they may be uncomfortable. Use metal or ceramic feeding bowls if possible. Plastic bowls tend to crack and chip, which can result in pieces of plastic mixing in with the dog’s food.
Some dogs, however, might get either too revved up or too worn out from a walk before mealtime. In this case, it may be better to walk with them after they eat.
Unfamiliar settings or other changes in routine—such as going on a trip or moving to a new home—often lead to appetite issues for dogs. Expect this to happen and do your best to establish a new or temporary routine for them. It’s possible that a dog might get bored with a certain food or certain routine and need a switch to spur their appetite, and in that case, you should try making adjustments. But you’ll often find that once you find that “Goldilocks” (just right) eating routine for your dog, they’ll want to stick with it permanently.
Always call the vet if your dog makes it into a third full day without eating, even if the dog shows no signs of illness. Loss of appetite in dogs (known as canine anorexia) can be caused by a range of illnesses, including cancer, infections, liver or kidney diseases, dental problems, and others. Try and get as many clues as possible as to what might be wrong. Follow the dog out into the yard to see if they have an upset tummy or not. Be vigilant for signs such as increased thirst, lack of energy, coughing, or sneezing. Giving the vet the full picture in this way will help them reach a diagnosis.
The prescription diet will typically be a specially formulated dog food that you may be able to get from your vet directly or from pet supply stores. The vet may recommend that you mix some of the prescription dog food with the dog’s regular food in order to get them to eat it. Let the vet know if your dog refuses to eat the prescription diet.
Make sure the vet tells you exactly how and how often to give the medication—ask them to demonstrate the process if possible. It may be given by oral syringe or in pill form. Also make sure you know what side effects to watch for and whether you need to contact the vet if you recognize any of them.
Most dogs won’t be eager to eat this way, so you’ll have to show a lot of compassion and support and give them lots of praise during and after feedings. As a last resort, your dog may have to be connected to a feeding tube in order to get nutrients. This will usually occur only in an animal hospital or similar facility, however.
Take a good whiff of their dog food when it’s fresh to get an idea of what it should smell like, then use this as your basis of comparison to know when it has gone bad.
Blend the added food in well so that they can’t just pick out the add-ins and skip their regular food. The added food should make up no more than about 10% of the total food amount. It’s fine to do this every day if it succeeds in getting your dog to eat. Never give dogs table foods with bones—which are a choking hazard—or other indigestible components.
For instance, you might give them 90% old food and 10% new food on Day 1 and keep adding 10% to the new food amount (and reducing the old food amount by the same) over the following 9 days. If your dog experiences vomiting or diarrhea during the transition, contact your vet for advice.
Senior-specific dog foods also have nutritional profiles that are better suited to older dogs. Contact your vet for dog food recommendations for your older dog.
At first, your dog may resist this new approach, and may refuse to eat. But stick with it. This “tough love” approach may work better on some dogs than others, and may not be suited to all owners. Get your vet’s opinion on whether this seems like a good approach for your situation.
Avoid hand feeding or fussing over the dog.
30 minutes is a good starting point, but you might use 20-minute or 40-minute limits based on your dog’s eating habits. The key is to be consistent with the timing every day. After a few days, most dogs will get the message and will eat their fill within the 30 minutes. If they consistently eat two-thirds of the food for a week or 2, you can reduce how much you give them to that amount. So long as they’re maintaining a healthy weight, that’s likely the right amount of food for them.
This will further motivate the dog to eat their food at mealtime in a timely manner. If this “tough love” approach isn’t working for you, or if your dog is losing too much weight or seems less healthy overall, get in touch with your vet for guidance. Keep in mind that treats are more filling for small dogs. [18] X Expert Source Brian Bourquin, DVMVeterinarian Expert Interview. 20 December 2019.
