Not eating , again.

[Jeanine Bandini]

This is not a new issue for Wally but he had been eating TOTW for several months and doing well. Lately he won't eat (maybe half of his recommended amount per day) AND I think he is eating his poop (as well as the bunny poop in our yard). He is also showing some signs of separation anxiety (just with me, not other family members) I have recently gone through a miscarriage and he has been following me around from the beginning of the pregnancy. Should I change his food or give it some more time. (I have been back to normal for several weeks now) Not sure what to do?

[Lindsey & Cocoa]

I have no advice for Wally, but wanted to say how sorry I am about your miscarriage (I have had 4 myself).

I do think our furbabies pick up on things in our life. When I was pregnant with my daughter I had a yorkie that started acting weird.

On the food issue could he be getting board with it?  Have you tried the different flavors?  I am not good with the food stuff since Cocoa is very limited on what she can eat.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I am so sorry about your pregnancy loss.  Thinking of you.

 

Taquito my chihuahua will not eat when I am upset.  He is a very emotional guy and picks up on all of our troubles and will just fast here and there. 

 

How many days/weeks has this been going on?  Is he throwing up or anything?  Sometimes dogs do go through different phases of eating.  If this were to continue, I would consider taking him in for some bloodwork just to rule out anything like an infection.

 

Also I 2nd Lindsey's idea about the different flavor...

[Erin & Maizey]

Very sorry about the miscarriage as well. 

Maizey is not a great dry food eater (she's on blue buffalo puppy) and she will just kind of graze at it, but if I mix a spoonful of wet puppy food and some warm-ish water, she eats the whole bowl.  Have you tried that? 

Re the poop-eating, I've read that if you give them a bit of pineapple to eat, it does something to the poop to make it un-appetizing. 

Good luck!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I am so sorry for your loss, Jeanine. Hugs to you.

Loss of appetite coupled with behavioral changes can be signs of illness. It is possible that Wally is reacting to your own sadness and hormonal changes, but if it continues, I think Allyson's suggestion to have him checked by the vet is a good one.

I would not change foods right now. You can often tempt a dog to eat with the novelty of a new food, but if the inappetance is caused by illness, it's not a good idea. There are certain illnesses which can be made worse by tempting a dog to eat when he really doesn't want to. If it's just behavioral, it will resolve on its own.  

[Jeanine Bandini]

Thanks for the good wishes. I am good now but has been a while (almost 3 weeks) and Wally doesnt seem to be getting back to normal. With the TOTW recall I switched the "flavor". Not sure how to tell if its the food (warranting a food change) or more of an emotional thing. I will try the pineapple and some wet food mixed in. (that has worked in the past but I wanted to make things easier for me!)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jeanine, maybe instead of the wet food mixed in, you could try switching back to the old "flavor" if there are new bags not affected by the recall available, and see if that makes a difference? If you add other things to the food now, you will not be able to tell if the food is what's causing the problem.

[Anne G.]

Murphy is also and on again off again good eater. It does help to switch it up so they don't get bored with the food. Sometimes I'll add a scrambled egg to her kibble and sometimes a spoonful of cottage cheese. When we have salmon I will peel off the cooked skin and cut it up in small pieces and add a tablespoon of so to her food. She really loves that.