How Long Can A Dog Go Without Eating?

[chooka]

Lucky has always been a fussy eater,I recently took him to vet for a check up and he said he is just the right weight for his size. He just picks at his food, he is showing no signs of ill health. I have tried dry food, home cooked doggy food, tinned food.

He was a stray and the first time I ever fed him he just sniffed at it and walked away. He was about six months when he wandered down my driveway. He is five year old terrier cross of medium size. Should I be worried? He spends his days sleeping or chasing rabbits out of the back yard. As soon as he hears me grab his lead he bounds inside waiting to go for a walk.

Every dog I have ever owned has eaten whatever was put in front of them.

chooka

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Dogs are discerning with food in many cases. When I adopted Molly (mini foxie cross), and put a raw chicken neck/wing in front of her, she had no idea of what to do. She'd had dry food all her life. Once I warmed the food slightly and smashed it up a bit, she got the hang of it.

Some of my thoughts on dog food:

Raw food is often what a dog does best on; dogs can't cook so why offer them cooked foods? My dogs are fed raw but ATM due to our living situation, they're each on a dry food which is specifically suited to their individual needs. Molly is actually doing better on this dry food (it's Royal Canin formulated for toy-sized indoor dogs) than on raw, so I may keep her on this food and continue to give her raw meals a few times weekly.

Canned food - is mostly water - why pay for water? Most canned foods are absolutely devoid of nutrition but do have lots of added nasties such as salt, colours and fats. Ditch the canned foods altogether except canned fish such as sardines, mackerel, salmon etc as they are very valuable in an overall dog diet.

Dry foods - they come in such a wide range from really nasty to excellent and at all prices. Avoid things like Chum, Pal/Pedigree, Supercoat as IMO they're mostly fillers such as grains which dogs really struggle to digest and which can lead to food allergies and sensitivities. Aim for at least a mid-range kibble or better if you can afford it. My greyhound is currently on a Royal Canin formula (Medium, Sensible) and is doing okay on it but will be going back on a raw diet soon. Learn to read and interpret the ingredients lists and the nutrition info and you'll begin to make appropriate choices for your dog based on his needs.

Special needs - my middle dog (mixed breed) has suffered with allergies since we got her from the pound aged 6 mths; now at 9 yrs, we recently discovered food allergies are the most likely culprit. Until a week ago, she had been on an elimination diet to find the sources of her reactions. At the moment, she's on Purina One Turkey formula which is specifically for allergic dogs. So far so good - in fact I'm reasonably happy with this food for her as a substitute when raw isn't available or apppropriate (such as when travelling or if she's boarding). She'll be going back to a raw diet though as I feel it's a better option for her long-term.

Don't cook for your dog - it's just not necessary. If you wish to home-prepare, then offer raw meaty bones, BARF patties are also good (buy them pre-made in frozen packs), veg slop (basically a mix of veg and fruits that you either puree in a blender or better yet juice and use the pulp), raw egg in the shell, raw offal (organs), plain yoghurt, some fish oil capsules, some linseed (crushed), and other additives to suit your dog such as crushed garlic - NEVER give onion to your dog as it's not good for them. You can also give minced meaty bones if you prefer to alternate with whole bones.

Hope this helps.

[Ravyk]

A healthy dog won't starve itself. Serve the dog its meal and if he doesn't eat it after 15 or so minutes take it away and put it back at the next meal time. Don't leave food in his bowl. Keep repeating this until he gets the idea and starts to eat, shouldn't take more than a few missed meals. I did this with my dog when she was being really fussy.

lilysmum has given some great advice

[chooka]

Thanks for the advice I might try the Purina One Turkey. Ravyk, Lucky looks similar to your Peggie.

[Sandra777]

If he's the right weight, obviously happy and really obviously very energetic stop stressing. He must be getting the amount of food he needs. Some dogs can survive on very little, others need heaps of food to just maintain their weight - same as people. Forunately for dogs however, mostly they don't get wound up about eating for reasons other than they're hungry (except for Labradors ) so he eats what he wants and leaves the rest, where a person might eat the whole amount so as not to be rude about your cooking, or for comfort or for some other weird reason.

Make sure what he's getting is good quality (like lillysmum suggests) and just be happy you have a dog that doesn't need much to keep well.

[Guest Ams]

A dog can survive 3 days without any food at all so put the food down if its not eaten in say 20mins then take it up. Do not offer any other food at all until next meal time. Do the same again. Eventually the dog will learn that if it does not eat at the times the bowl goes down he goes hungry.

There are some exceptions to this rule so if after three days your dog still has not eaten ANYTHING then you may need to change tack but as a general statement most dogs will eat after 3 days of choosing not to.

I've had to go through this several times with various dogs and I honestly think it is more worrying and frustrating for me than it is for the dog.

It didn't work on one dog but she had significant issues and was force fed for months before she would voluntarily eat...(as in I would buy Hills Prescription Diet AD cans which is high protein mush and put it in her mouth. It melts a bit like icecream so she had to swallow).