Why won't my dog eat his old food after getting diarrhea from new?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Bentley. Puppies can have a poor appetite due to the stress of coming to a new home. This will typically only last 24 or so hours though. In your case, Bentley may be more accustomed to the raw diet and be wanting that type of food. However, raw food is not an appropriate diet for a growing puppy. It will not be nutritionally balanced to support his growth and development. Imbalances in the calcium and phosphorus ratio can lead to significant bone development problems. Furthermore, raw diets contain a high risk of Salmonella poisoning for both you and Bentley. I recommend that Bentley sees his veterinarian for a new puppy examination and to assess the cause of the diarrhea. This can be contributing to his poor appetite. You can discuss the best diet options for him. In the meantime, try canned puppy food as this may appeal to him. I hope this information helps!

I'm glad to hear that Bentley is still playful and acting normally, even though he hasn't been eating and drinking normally. It is possible that both the stress of leaving his sister and your family, as well as moving to a new home may be contributing to his change in appetite. You can try tempting him to eat with a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken and white rice for a few days (1.5 cups per day, divided into smaller meals). After a few days, transition to his normal dog food by mixing the two foods together over another 5-7 days. It may also be worth looking into calming pheromone collars or diffusers (Adaptil is one example - https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/dog/dog-health-and-wellness/dog-calming-aids/adaptil-adjustable-calming-dog-collar) to try to help Bentley's stress level. If he still refuses to eat in a few days, it is worth a trip to the vet to assure that there aren't bigger medical problems occurring. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

Dexter could have diarrhea for many reasons. It is possible that it is related to the new food. To see if this is the cause, over about a weeks time, transition him back to his old food. If the diarrhea goes away then you know that was the cause. If it continues, I recommend to have him examined by the veterinarian and checked for common things like parasites and bacteria overgrowth. Just like people pets can have diarrhea for many reasons. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

The problem with changing foods too quickly is that dogs can get GI upset (especially diarrhea) with a sudden diet change. If a dog is not eating the old food anymore, sometimes we will use a bland diet (1/2 cooked white rice and 1/2 cooked white meat chicken without any skin or bones) as the other food to mix with the new food to allow for a gradual diet change to the new food to (hopefully) prevent any GI upset, so you might consider that option. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I would recommend trying to order a food off online. There are a lot of companies that will ship you dog food. Even if you cannot find his original brand you can another dry food he might like better than the store brand from the store near by. You can try to buy some canned food too. This might encourage him to eat his new food better. If you absolutely have to you can add a little boiled chicken to motivate him to eat his new food

It is common that dogs will develop diarrhea from a sudden food change, but it can be challenging to do a slow diet change when they stop eating their regular diet. If Chi won't eat a bland diet, adding cooked white rice or cooked white or sweet potato to a diet may be a good option for her. I think at this point, you could continue the previous food since she was eating it well or try to introduce a new limited ingredient diet if that was what your vet had recommended. Sometimes 95% meat diets are too rich for dogs alone, but Chi may tolerate it with white rice or potato. However, you may also need to talk to your veterinarian about medication for the diarrhea since she has IBD and those dogs will sometimes have a harder time getting their diarrhea to resolve with diet change alone. I have included a handout with more information on IBD below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=598 Good luck! I hope that was helpful and that Chi feels better soon. Thanks for using PetCoach.

You may want to try mixing a little bit of his old food in with the new food to gradually transition him to the new food. If he still doesn’t want to eat it you could ask your vet if there are any other foods to try for his condition.