What To Do If Your Dog Has No Appetite
Feeding a dog is extremely important. As with people, health can enter through the animal’s mouth, and also disease. If the animal has healthy eating habits, it will be a strong dog, which will hardly get sick. However, if you are one of those furry people who do not have a balanced diet, but rather full of excesses, you will surely get sick frequently. What happens when your dog has no appetite?
Symptoms of disturbances
When a dog loses its appetite or stops eating, it is a sign that something is not right inside its body. Whether due to an emotional problem, a drug, or a disease, stopping eating can have serious consequences for our dog, even causing death.
It is important to know if your dog really does not have an appetite, or we are exaggerating the situation. Although the indications on the feed bag indicate a quantity of food, it is normal for the dog not to consume all of it. You can consume an approximate percentage of 60 to 70% of what the instructions indicate.
Reasons why your dog has no appetite
The first thing to do when noticing that your dog has no appetite is to identify the cause. For this, it is ideal to consult a specialist, since he will know exactly what is happening, and thus we will avoid false diagnoses.
Some of the reasons you may have lost your appetite are:
Inadequate diet
A dog’s diet should vary as the years go by, as his body evolves, and his needs change. For example, an older dog should no longer consume the same amount of fat as a young canine or puppy. It is normal that we do not vary the diet of our dogs, because we are simply too busy and we forget.
Routine
One of the most common reasons why dogs lose their appetite is that they get tired of the routine. That is, they lose interest in food, since they would like to vary the flavor.
Diseases
Sometimes the loss of appetite is a symptom of a physical disease, such as cancer, kidney failure, intestinal problems, liver problems … It can also happen that there is some psychological lack of control, caused by depression, anxiety or stress. In the same way, it can be a consequence of some pain, or fever.
Some drugs, such as antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, can cause loss of appetite. If our dog is in treatment, and consumes some medications, we must consult with the veterinarian. Loss of appetite could be a side effect.
Changes in the environment
Changes in climate or social interactions within the family nucleus can cause the dog to become unstable, causing it to stop eating. This is the case of arguments, fights, or problems between families. There are psychological treatments for dogs that can help us control these types of situations.
Vaccination
During the vaccination period, it is normal that our dog has no appetite. Changes will occur within your immune system, causing an imbalance in your body, resulting in loss of appetite.
This situation should not last more than 48 hours after receiving the vaccine. If it exceeds that time, you must go to a specialist.
Depuration
Dogs sometimes stop eating to detoxify themselves, thereby freeing themselves of accumulated toxins in their bodies. In addition, if a dog does not have an appetite, it can go up to 2 days without eating, without having collateral conditions. More than that time, it can bring risks to your health.
Hydration is important. Even if the dog does not have an appetite, it must be well hydrated.
What to do if the dog has no appetite?
- You have to take him to the vet, so that he can prescribe drugs that help to awaken his appetite.
- Meals will be made at a suitable time, twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. In this way, we can see if it is a matter of a moment of the day, or at any time.
- We will avoid the excessive use of sweets.
- If the dog does not have an appetite, it is necessary to consult with the veterinarian, to carry out a correct change of diet.
- We will give our pet all the love we can. If you are sad or depressed, you may stop eating.
- If our dog does not have an appetite, we may need to encourage him to eat. This can be achieved by mixing your food with broth, or by placing small pieces of meat without seasonings.
- We will create an exercise routine, especially before meals, so that our friend has more appetite.
