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How many days do you wait for a dog to eat?

2K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  GoSailGo 
#1 ·
My dog was sick and at the vets for a few days, and then wouldn't eat anything so I start giving him canned. Now he won't eat anything but canned. I tried mixing his kibble in with the canned but the bugger sorted the entire bowl out! Picked the kibble out and put it on the floor and ate the canned!!! So now he is just being offered kibble (2 kinds in 2 bowls) and refuses to eat. How many days do you wait before you try a new brand of kibble? He is getting probiotics as well but only because I make him swallow it.
 
#2 ·
I guess I'm hard-hearted. My shih tzu would get that way and I would just .. let him have his little hunger strike. Eventually, he would break down and eat and then the pickiness would be over. I would say 2 or 3 days. Offer the food, if he doesn't eat in 15 minutes, take it up and put it away. My pup has shown a little disinterest in his food in the past few days. One thing that helped was crating him and giving it to him. Less distractions meant he focused more on the food.
 
#5 ·
I don't coddle. You eat what I serve, and if you don't want it, fine. You don't eat. I've never had a healthy animal that willingly starved itself to death. And surprise, I've never had a picky eater, either! :)

I have had a few boarding dogs that refused to eat for 2-3 days, but when they get hungry enough, they eat. People create picky dogs.

Now, if the dog is ill, or suffering from a digestive upset, I might give a special food during that time. But if the dog is healthy, active, and not losing weight, I don't fuss over them if they occasionally turn up their noses at a meal.
 
#9 ·
Agreed 100%. I had a dog who sometimes skipped meals. Never more than 2 days in a row. Healthy dogs will not starve themselves.
When the top dog died it was an entire different issue. They were actually starving themselves and I had a heck of time keeping meat on them. It took about three months before they went back to their normal routine. Never knew that the surving dogs would grieve so much.
 
#6 ·
If the dog was recently hospitalized for digestive issues I would do bland diet for at least a week. Bland prescription canned or white rice with broiled chicken. After that slowly reintroduce kibble mixed in. If it's been longer than a week, and he is otherwise doing well, my motto has always been you get what you get. Berlin was a picky Eater when I first brought him home. You eat, or you don't, your choice. But switching up foods with recent digestive issues isn't the best thing to do

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#7 ·
Just read your other thread. I don't think what your vet did was off at all. Large gas patterns could mean obstruction, or they could mean gastroenteritis that is basically causing the gut to stop moving. Either way the best thing to do is iv fluids. Not only is the pet likely dehydrated, but iv fluids will help open the gut up and cause it to start moving again.

Sometimes we NEVER know what causes an illness. I understand being frustrated but don't get mad at your vet. Btw barium studies are pretty worthless and a waste of money IMHO. X rays should be sent off to board certified radiologist to review though always, again IMHO. I've never worked at a clinic that doesn't send them off.

I would try the rice and chicken. He may not be eating because he still doesn't feel well. If he continues to not eat, get him back in for a recheck. Maybe they'll want to try an appetite stimulant. There's a difference between a picky dog not eating because it knows you'll cave, and a recently sick dog not eating.

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#12 ·
Just read your other thread. I don't think what your vet did was off at all. Large gas patterns could mean obstruction, or they could mean gastroenteritis that is basically causing the gut to stop moving. Either way the best thing to do is iv fluids. Not only is the pet likely dehydrated, but iv fluids will help open the gut up and cause it to start moving again.

Sometimes we NEVER know what causes an illness. I understand being frustrated but don't get mad at your vet. Btw barium studies are pretty worthless and a waste of money IMHO. X rays should be sent off to board certified radiologist to review though always, again IMHO. I've never worked at a clinic that doesn't send them off.
I know they did what they could it was just frustrating not knowing. Definitely not the vets fault. I would have appreciated a heads up on the Clavaseptin side effects though! I talked to someone at the dog park that I usually go to and he said his dog got sick too possibly from the puddle water. There is very bad drainage at the park so there are a few big nasty puddles that tend to form...and for whatever reason dogs LOVE the puddle water way more than clean. Yuck.
 
#8 ·
I agree with Anubis,,I have had some "mystery" illnesses at one time or another with my dog(s), and even the specialists couldn't figure out the underlying cause, vets can only work with the information they get..Yes frustrating, but not only to us, but usually the vets.

With that, since he has been ill, I would be happy for him to eat whatever he wanted!:)

I just went thru this with a senior aussie, he stopped eating, big red flag, tried all kinds of things, finally went with premade raw which got him eating again.

If your dog was a good hog prior to his illness, I would consider that he still doesn't feel good, and would just be happy he's eating at all:)
 
#11 ·
He's getting slippery elm and probiotics now. AND....eating! A bit anyways. He wouldn't even eat the bland diets. Seems like everything I tried to feed him while he was on his meds he now associates with meds. I would love to put him BACK on his California Naturals, but I may be S O L. Yesterday was the 3 day mark and he finally started nibbling his kibble again. I might try and add some kidney beans or mashed turnips to it, but rice isn't acceptable according to him. Neither is Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach and Skin. That food must smell REALLY bad because even the cat was trying to bury it like it was something smelly in a litterbox.
 
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