Why do they go off feed?

Why Is My Dog Not Eating?

Your pet will go off their feed for many reasons. It is important to note that if they are off their feed, lethergic,vomiting, have loose stools or a fever they need to see a veterinarian immediately. If they go more than 2 days not eating, get the dog to a vet. If they are restless, keep bugging you but you can't figure out why they are being pesty, or they pace or go try to hide somewhere, get to a vet immediately because they could be going into bloat or torsion and time is of the essence!

Hormones play a big role in your dog backing off their food - bitches coming into season effect both the females and unneutered male in the house. A false pregnancy, teething around 5-7 months of age, and inactivity all have a hand in them backing off eating.

Food consumption can be directly related to the amount of free exercise your dog gets on a daily basis.

"If we try to offer more food, it just gets left behind and they don't eat all of it."

As long as your dog is not running a fever, lethargic, vomiting, distressed or has diarrhea and you KNOW they are not sick, then it is normal for them to back off on their feed regardless of weather. This is natures way of telling you they do not need it - regardless of their weight, they are eating a nutrient dense diet and they need to take a break from it. Remember, in the wild, dogs would never eat on a daily basis, so they are telling you.."Mom, I don't need it - take it away!". They are not usually food driven like people who eat for a variety of other reasons; celebrations, misery, nervousness, pleasure etc. ...well, that is most dogs aren't. My Pug on the other hand, well that is another story!

How I Handle This:

Every week on one day I cut back on the amount by 1/2 cup each meal or 1 cup per day total - IF THIS IS A DOG THAT SELF REGULATES INTAKE and starts walking away from their food you may have to do this more frequently. My male is like clockwork...once a week he turns his up his nose and I would have to throw out half his food, if I didn't cut back once or twice a week...then the next day he is ready to eat again.

The heat of the summer (Indiana) which means humidity and horseflies, so my dogs are only out long enough to do their "business" a few times a day, then they come right back in the house until the sun sets.

Although they live in an in air-conditioned environment my male will drop down from 7 cups a day total to eating only 5 cups a day total --- and female will normally eat 6 cups a day total, will drop down to only 4 cups a day total consumption. This is because they do not get the free exercise they would normally get in good weather, so their intake is directly related to the enegy they expend. Less exercise means they need less food intake.

The only real exercise they get in the dead of summer is at night when the sun goes down, out the go to play. Their actual expenditure of calories is not as great in the heat or the dead of winter for that matter because of the decrease in exercise - so if you just remember that their intake is directly related to how much exercise they get you will realize you need to cut back at certain times.

If you don't remember they will let you know..they will walk away from their food. During this kind of weather it is not at all unusual for my males to eat half rations, by his own choice, for about 3 days, then back on full rations. This tells me he did not need the calories due to the fact that he is not expending much energy in extreme weather.

Changes in family environment, potential storms, adding a new dog to the house hold can all make changes in eating habits. Just make sure if your dog is off feed that he is not sick - and know what the signs of bloat and torsion are so they don't get lost in the process of you trying to avoid a vet bill.