WHY IS MY DOG NOT EATING THEIR FOOD?

Your dog not eating their food can be an incredibly stressful and frustrating time as a pet parent.

Anorexia is a decrease or loss of appetite for food. While hunger is physically driven, appetite is mentally driven.

A decreased appetite that persists for more than a few days, is known as hyporexia. Loss of appetite, known as anorexia, in dogs can take two forms - pseudo-anorexia, when your dog is hungry but has problems eating their food due to physical issues with handling, chewing, and swallowing their food, and true anorexia.

True anorexia is demonstrated by an actual decrease in appetite. While hunger may exist, appetite (may be diminished resulting in your dog avoiding eating or refusing to eat.

So, what are the likely causes of your dog not eating?

The first step is to identify whether your dog has pseudo-anorexia or true anorexia and establish the reason for their condition.

Pseudo-anorexia, when your dog wants to eat but is put off doing so by a physical condition that hampers or prevents them eating it is likely they will have one of the following conditions at the root of their eating problem:

• Dental issues like periodontal disease or loose teeth
• Some form of oral or mouth disorder, pain when chewing from disorders in muscles used for chewing and temporomandibular joint (the two joints connecting the jawbone to the skull) disorder
• Stomatitis, gingivitis, or esophagitis causing inflammation and pain within the tissues of the mouth and throat
• Abscesses or tumours in your dog’s facial or throat region causing pain and obstruction
• Oesophageal blockages preventing or making swallowing painful
• Nausea or gastrointestinal disease

If their lack of interest in food is the reason behind their not eating your vet will identify the root of the problem by establishing the likely cause which may be:

• Emotional stress, separation anxiety, PTSD, change in environment, boredom, fear, or depression – yes dogs suffer from these too.

• Chronic pain anywhere in your dog’s body can result in their decreased appetite.
• Disease associated with organ dysfunction or infection.
• Unpalatable food, which may be associated with inability to smell and disorders of your dog’s olfactory system
• Toxicity
• Immune system disorder
• Cancer
• Gastrointestinal disorder or blockage
• Side effects from medications

Your vet will follow a protocol to identify the cause of your dog’s eating disorder – a physical examination, blood and urine tests and perhaps even X-rays, ultrasound studies, and more invasive diagnostics like endoscopy or biopsies if other investigations have failed to provide evidence of a physical cause for your dog’s loss of appetite.

The first step to addressing your dog’s eating issues is to address any physical condition that might be the cause. Unlike humans, the most likely cause of your dog’s loss of appetite and unwillingness to eat their food is most likely to be physical rather than emotional.

If it is established that your dog has no physical condition preventing, or discouraging, them from eating, the next step is to consider any psychological or behavioural issues that may be the cause of their lack of interest in their food.

Likely causes include:

•          Unpalatable food
•          Eating environment
•          Lack of hunger

These issues can be addressed by attempting the following solutions.

Palatability:

•          Make sure their food smells good
•          Add a low sodium topper, ‘gravy’ or wet food if feeding kibble
•          Changing foods or switching to a super-premium dog food
•          Adding variety by including a novel protein or plant-based dog food to their diet
•          Heating their food to body temperature (approximately 38°C/100°F) if wet or moist food or adding warm water to             dry food both steps that can make food more palatable
•          Mix home cooked food with their usual food

Eating Environment:

•          Change where you feed your dog to a place where they are less distracted and feel secure
•          Change the times of day that you feed them to see if this makes a difference to their interest
•          Remove their food and present it again after a while to see if this activates their interest
•          Wash their bowl or change their bowl as it may be the bowl, or a smell from the bowl, which is responsible for                 their loss of appetite and discourages eating

Exercise:

•          Build up their appetite by increasing their activity levels and providing them with food immediately after they have           exercised

Sometimes anorexic dogs who have underlying metabolic disorders must receive nutrients but are unwilling to eat. In these instances, it may be necessary for your vet to place a feeding tube into the nostril, stomach, or small intestine through a small incision in the skin. Feeding tubes are generally not considered major interventions, but they are nearly always lifesaving. Food and medication can be delivered with very little stress for the dog. If your dog’s gastrointestinal (GI) system is capable of digestion, this step should be taken, even if that means delivering their food through a tube until their eating problems are resolved and they are feeding well again.

If the GI system is not functioning correctly, your vet may recommend what is called parenteral feeding. Nutrition is provided intravenously. Parenteral feeding is a specialised and complicated technique generally performed by a qualified specialist. Tube feeding and parenteral nutrition are most often undertaken as ’bridge’ procedures until the dog can eat on his own.

Changes in your dog’s eating habits merit further investigation. Loss of, or decreased, appetite may signal a serious physical condition that might contribute to a serious health outcome.

It is important to consult your vet at the earliest opportunity to identify the reason your dog is not eating their food.