dog won't eat

[cherylanne]

my 5yr old chiau/lapso mix will not eat her food. she is about 6 pds. she will go for days without eating. sometimes she will eat if we hand feed her . she will not eat dry food. any sugg?

[sammiec]

what steps have you taken so far? Have you spoken to the vet about this? are there any other symptoms?

[Luba]

Depends on the reason the dog isn't eating. I'd rule out any medical conditions first. Have you discussed with the vet.

Some dogs are picky eaters and some dogs may have medical problems. Before suggesting anything I suggest you consult your vet.

A dog so small should not go w/o food/water for days it can dehydrate and die!

[cherylanne]

other than not eating her food she seems fine. she does drink her water and will eat people food. she will take a few bites of her food if we feed her by hand she puts her nose right up when we try and get her to eat. i dont know what food to switch her to . she now eats ceasar can food. wont touch dry food at all.and no we dont over feed her on people food.we just give her small pieces.

[Lucky Rescue]

This is a common problem with very small dogs who get people food. They rapidly learn that if they don't eat their dog food, they'll get something much better.

You say, "We just give her small pieces". Maybe so, but if you do that all the time, that may be enough to fill up a 6lb dog enough so that she can ignore her own food and hold out for yours! This dog is 5 years old, so she must be eating something or she would be dead by now.

If she likes the canned food, then give her that and stick with it. Switching food all the time makes dogs very finicky. Put it down, walk away and leave it down for 15 minutes. If she doesn't eat it, take it away and offer a new portion again at her next feeding. Do not give her any people food and do not feed her by hand.

[Cactus Flower]

This is also common in incredibly spoiled great Danes named Raja
LuckyRescue has given you good advice.
If you insist upon giving the dog human-food treats, use them only as a "reward" for eating the canned dog food. If you are consistant with this, the dog will, in time, eagerly eat up the canned food in order to get a treat.

[ahutson]

I have a 12 yr old dalmatian that hasn't been eating. I took him to the vet about a month ago (and I was not impressed with this vet by the way) and he treated him for a kidney infection but at that time he said that he didn't know if that was all that was wrong with him. "What do you mean?" He couldn't really give me a straight enough answer. After Oreo took his meds for the kidney infection he started eating again but only oatmeal and Moist n Meaty. No dry dog food or crunchy things at all. Over the past 2 weeks he can't even keep the oatmeal down. He acts like he has diarrhea but goes out to defecate and nothing comes out. I don't want to take him to the same vet as I really don't trust his opinion. I realize that my dog is elderly but I still think he at least has a few more years to go. Suggestions?

[hazelrunpack]

See if you can find a new vet. Those sorts of symptoms, especially in an older dog, need to be checked out. Is your dog losing weight?