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  #1  
Old June 14th, 2015, 04:42 PM
fluffybear fluffybear is offline
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Unhappy Young dog with worrisome eating beahaviour

Hello All,

For the past 9 days, I have been trying to figure out and remedy why my 2 yr. old dog will only eat sometimes, and not from her bowl. She won't go near her food, even when was loving it the day before. It has been up and down with her eating behaviour, and I am very distressed over this.

She in not vomiting and does not have diareah, although she has been eating a bit of grass. I thought maybe she is bored of her food, and needs something different, but when I give her something else, she will only eat it either from my hand, or from the ground. She certainly shows a lot of interest in human food, just not her own.

I changed her bowl, but that did not make a difference. Yesterday, however, she was back to normal and eating with gusto from her bowl. But today, back to the lack lustre interest with her food. Maybe she isn't as hungry as she was yesterday, so she isn't eating, but there has been times when she won't eat for 1-2 days, no matter what I do...!!

Another point of concern is that she has also been running away and hiding from
her food bowl when I bring it to her. I have tried moving her bowl from her usual location to another, and this has not worked.

For the last 2 days I have been staying with her while she checks out her food and eats it, and this is kind of working. I just want her to get the nutrition she needs.

Any ideas??
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  #2  
Old June 14th, 2015, 07:39 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Have you checked her mouth to made sure there is nothing wrong , maybe it hurt to eat food? What kind of dog do you have?
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  #3  
Old June 14th, 2015, 10:49 PM
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hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
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Not eating is a pretty significant symptom, so I'd recommend having your dog vet-checked as a first step. It might just be something behavioral, but it's important to rule out any health problems. The vet might have some insight into what is going on and how to fix it, as well, even if it's not a physical problem.

Check all the areas she's had access to since just before the problem started, as well, to make sure she didn't get into something she shouldn't have.
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Old June 15th, 2015, 06:47 AM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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My first thought is something wrong in her mouth too. A broken, cracked or infected tooth? Or something stuck in her gum? It is typical of animals that they associated the thing the pain was delivered in, ie the food bowl, with the pain. Then in a few days she is so hungry she has to eat so tries again. This is just a guess but I had it happen recently with my older cat and even though the Vet said her teeth were fine I insisted and when examined under sedation she needed to have two pulled. Good thoughts for pup and you.
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Old June 15th, 2015, 02:02 PM
Lynne&Co. Lynne&Co. is offline
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Assuming you're vet has given her a clean bill of health, then it would probably be behavioural. Is your dog timid? Is she fearful of sudden noises or movement? My dog was terrified of her bowl for weeks after it slipped off the mat onto the ceramic floor when she was licking it.
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Old June 15th, 2015, 03:37 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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I was wondering how big or small the dog was . Maybe the bowl is too low or too high . Tall dogs need to have their bowl a little higher to eat more comfortable.
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  #7  
Old June 15th, 2015, 10:56 PM
fluffybear fluffybear is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Barkingdog View Post
Have you checked her mouth to made sure there is nothing wrong , maybe it hurt to eat food? What kind of dog do you have?
Hi Barkingdog, I have checked her mouth, but I will check again.
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Old June 15th, 2015, 10:58 PM
fluffybear fluffybear is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lynne&Co. View Post
Assuming you're vet has given her a clean bill of health, then it would probably be behavioural. Is your dog timid? Is she fearful of sudden noises or movement? My dog was terrified of her bowl for weeks after it slipped off the mat onto the ceramic floor when she was licking it.
Hi Lynne&Co,

My dog is a Norwegian Elkhound, and is definitely not timid, or fearful. She has never had a negative experience with her food or bowl...
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Old June 15th, 2015, 11:00 PM
fluffybear fluffybear is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Barkingdog View Post
I was wondering how big or small the dog was . Maybe the bowl is too low or too high . Tall dogs need to have their bowl a little higher to eat more comfortable.
Hi, Her bowl is in the same spot as always, and there has never been a problem.
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Old June 15th, 2015, 11:04 PM
fluffybear fluffybear is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Barkingdog View Post
Have you checked her mouth to made sure there is nothing wrong , maybe it hurt to eat food? What kind of dog do you have?
My dog is a Norwegian Elkhound.
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Old June 16th, 2015, 12:32 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fluffybear View Post
Hi, Her bowl is in the same spot as always, and there has never been a problem.
OK , I was wondering if the bowl was too low . When my dog got Lyme disease Marty was not able to bend his head to drink water from the bowl on the floor so he drank it from the bowel in his crate which was a higher.
Does your dog show any signs of stiffness ? If your dog refuse to eat off and on for awhile a trip to the vet would be a good idea.
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  #12  
Old June 16th, 2015, 10:56 PM
fluffybear fluffybear is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Barkingdog View Post
OK , I was wondering if the bowl was too low . When my dog got Lyme disease Marty was not able to bend his head to drink water from the bowl on the floor so he drank it from the bowel in his crate which was a higher.
Does your dog show any signs of stiffness ? If your dog refuse to eat off and on for awhile a trip to the vet would be a good idea.
No signs of stiffness. Ya...I will be taking her to the vet.
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  #13  
Old November 17th, 2015, 10:05 AM
Blueheeler Blueheeler is offline
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This is one of those that should definitely be taken to a vet for the best answer. Keep us updated!
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