Approved by Dr. Dwight Alleyne, DVM Dog Won’t Eat? 6 Common Causes For A Dog Not Eating
It can be scary when your dog won't eat, or when your good boy or good girl's just not acting like themselves. Discover the common reasons for a dog not eating below plus tips to get them eating again.
Estimated reading time: 13 minutes
When a dog won’t eat, it’s normal for a caring dog parent like yourself to get worried. So if you’re finding yourself wondering, “Why won’t my dog eat?”, we’ve got you covered. Here are the main 6 reasons why – including when to head to the vet, how your dog’s activity can help you pick up on a sickness early, and how you can get your dog’s appetite back on track Let’s get started.
Why won’t my dog eat?
Temporary appetite loss in dogs is not serious. Just like us, dogs occasionally may lose their appetite due to lack of exercise or a change in the weather. However, if your dog won’t eat for more than two days, it’s best to contact your vet immediately¹.
When your dog won’t drink water, or even when they drink too much water, there is likely a serious problem. There are also several dangerous reasons for a loss of appetite in dogs. Including:
Let’s cover each of these, one by one.
1. Stress & anxiety
A change in environment can be stressful for anyone. So if your dog won’t eat after you’ve just, say, shifted apartments or taken them out for a drive – it could be due to stress or anxiety. So their appetite may decrease until they feel relaxed again. Separation anxiety and fear are other similar reasons why a dog may not eat.
What you can do: If possible, find out what is causing your dog to get stressed or fearful and keep them away from those triggers. Else, try keep your dog calm by playing, cuddling, and talking to them. Keep things in your dog’s surroundings as normal and consistent as possible. (Even changing the food bowl might be a source of stress or confusion for senior dogs.)
💡 In more serious cases, you could also get in touch with your vet for calming or anti-anxiety supplements.
Read more: Why Is My Dog Scared Of Everything? Our Expert’s Take
2. Injury & pain
Your dog not eating can mean they’re trying to tough out pain. (Especially dental pain.) Dogs may not want to eat because something in their mouth is hurting – or they could be suffering from:
- Problems with their teeth, tongue, gums
- Infection, especially from parasites, which can cause them stomach trouble
- Broken bones
- Poisoning
- Depression
- Allergies
- Tumors
- Organ issues
- Autoimmune or neurological diseases
What you can do: Check your dog for mouth sores, broken or chipped teeth, oral tumors or any other bodily injuries. If your dog seems more lethargic or tired than usual, it might be a sign that something is wrong.
3. Medical treatment
If your dog has just had surgery and has been under anesthesia, this can often cause a loss of appetite. This is a normal reaction. But if your dog isn’t eating after a couple days, you’ll need to take your dog to the vet. Vaccination can also cause a temporary loss of appetite in dogs.
What you can do: Monitor your dog’s behavior and eating habits while on medication or in recovery. If your dog does not resume their normal eating habits within a few days, take your dog to the vet.
4. Illness
When a dog won’t eat, it is often a sign of sickness. Bacterial or viral infections, urinary tract infections, kidney failure, cancer and other illnesses or diseases can make your dog pick at their food or lose their appetite altogether.
What you can do: Seek veterinary support immediately if your dog is not acting like themselves and you suspect they might be ill. One of the first signs is if they seem less active than usual. Often, dogs might mask any signs of discomfort or pain – or might even seem normal – while still struggling with an illness or infection.
💡An Activity Tracker for dogs can help you pick up on a drop in your dog’s everyday activity – which could signal the beginnings of lethargy, tiredness, weakness, or even painful conditions like arthritis. (We’ll cover it in detail a little further below.)
5. Aging
If your dog is getting older, you may see a change in their eating habits. A senior dog may get less exercise and burn off less energy. As a result, they may need to eat less than they did as a younger dog. Your dog may also get more picky about their food.
What you can do: Choosing dog food appropriate for their age and the changes they are going through can help with appetite issues. Know the signs of dog dementia, which can cause a loss of appetite in older dogs.
6. Diet
Did you recently change dog food brand? Or have you been feeding your dog the same food for years – and maybe they’ve just become bored with it? Or do you (or your family members) feed your dog too many snacks or table scraps? Any of these factors could be the reason why your dog won’t eat.
What you can do:
- Switch to a new food or a better-quality dog food
- Ensure that the dog food you’re feeding your pup is not spoiled or expired
- Ensure food is the right temperature for your dog
- Add variety to your dog’s diet so they’ll be interested
- Don’t feed your dog table scraps
- Only give treats as a reward
Read more:
How to get a dog to eat
We want to make sure that you will never have a dog not eating on your hands – this can be deeply concerning. To ensure your dog eats regularly, we recommend to do the following:
- Monitor your dog’s activity. Exercise regularly with them – and keep an eye out for if they seem more reluctant or tired than before. With their activity data at hand, you can more easily spot a drop in their regular movement.
- Give your dog plenty of attention and affection. Be patient and supportive, rather than angry, towards your dog when they won’t eat. This can help them feel more relaxed and comfortable around you.
- Feed your dog at regular meal times. A consistent routine can help them feel more secure around you.
- Feed your dog a consistent, balanced and healthy diet. Opt for balanced, vet-approved options. Dogs can safely eat a number of vegetables, including celery. We’d recommend only giving your dog treats as a reward (especially during training.)
- Spice up your dog’s meals with food toppers. These can enhance the flavor of your dog’s meals and stimulate their appetite. Popular flavors include sardines, anchovies, eggs, and bone broth. Food toppers can also add some moisture to your dog’s food and keep them hydrated.
- Stay informed on what foods to avoid. Keep an eye out for if your kids or family members are secretly feeding them table scraps. Here’s a comprehensive list of what can dogs not eat.
- Keep your dog’s food and water bowls clean. Your dog might be reluctant to eat or drink out of a dirty bowl – so it’s always a good idea to give it an extra rinse or two.
Where an Activity Tracker can help you detect an illness early on
If your dog won’t eat or just seems more reluctant around mealtimes, you can help prevent a possible health condition from worsening. Because even a dog who might seem normal otherwise might still be struggling with an injury, pain, or illness. And one of the first red flags? A drop in their everyday activity.
It’s why vets recommend:
“Keep track of your dog’s energy levels, especially how long they are able to walk.
If you notice significant declines, it could be a sign of pain, heart disease, or other illness.”
– VCA Animal Hospitals1
Which is where you could jot down your dog’s symptoms in a journal to share with your vet – or go for the actionable data you get from an Activity Tracker for dogs instead.
💡 With its built-in motion detector, your trusty Tractive GPS both monitors where your dog’s off wandering – and also how often they’ve been on the move. Logging in your dog’s movements as “active minutes.”
Which, with time, can help you figure out in numbers:
- How active your dog is on the regular,
- How much quality sleep your dog’s been getting,
- And if there’s any weird change in your dog’s sleep or activity habits – that might signal something’s wrong.
So you can catch on to an illness before it has a chance to worsen, have a more meaningful conversation with your vet…and potentially save your buddy’s life, while at it.
Get your dog’s appetite back on track again – with these tips
The best way to address why your dog won’t eat depends on what your vet figures out is the cause. It could be due to:
- Stress & anxiety, like if you’ve majorly changed your dog’s routine by shifting houses or bringing home a new pet or baby. Your dog’s appetite might return once they feel “safe” with this change.
- Injury & pain, which might make your dog eat less as they try and tough it out.
- Medical treatment, which might include appetite loss as a side effect.
- Illness, which – like pain – can put a damper on your buddy’s appetite until they’re better again.
- Aging, with senior dogs generally eating less because they’re also less active.
- Diet changes, especially if you’ve switched up your dog’s food brand and they’re not used to it.
No matter if your dog’s decreased appetite is a behavior problem or caused by illness or pain, it’s always best to contact a professional. They might prescribe your dog a special diet to help get their appetite back on track again – or specific medication to deal with a secondary infection or pain, if any.
💡 Plus, by tracking your dog’s activity, you’ll have their health data at hand.
A drop in your dog’s activity can often be the first red flag that something’s not right. It could be a sign they’re trying to tough out pain, infection, sickness – or even a more serious health condition.
But with an Activity Tracker for dogs, you can pick up on a drop in your buddy’s active minutes much in advance. Helping you catch on to a sickness early, take action, and figure out when to head to your vet before your dog’s health worsens.
“Absolutely love this tracker…it gives great insights on (our dogs’) activity and sleep levels.
I’m comforted knowing that if they started acting strangely or the data shifted drastically that we could take them to vet potentially before we would notice something wrong.
Can’t recommend this tracker enough!“
– Eva, US (Source: Trustpilot)
Stay on top of your dog’s wellness
See how they’re doing at a glance with Wellness Score. Set goals. Compare with dogs like yours. Monitor sleep. Detect issues and keep them healthy.
Here are a couple of other tips and tricks to hack your dog’s hungry hormones in this video by Bio Rep Animal Health:
And if you’ve found this post helpful, share it with a friend or a loved one – and let’s help build a safer, kinder world for our furry friends together.
Your furry friend’s health and wellbeing means as much as to us as it does to you. So we’ve made it a priority to only share medically-relevant content on our blog.
This post was checked, double-checked, and medically verified by Georgia-based vet, Dr. Dwight Alleyne.
Originally from Long Island, New York, Dr. Alleyne began his career at a no-kill animal shelter before becoming a licensed veterinary technician. He graduated from Cornell University Veterinary College in 2006 and completed an internship at Purdue University.
Now practicing in Georgia, Dr. Alleyne specializes in soft tissue surgery and ultrasounds. He also writes pet health articles on his website, “The Animal Doctor Blog” (www.anmldrblog.com).
