Why does my dog stop eating his food when I leave home? Is it normal?

I think you should be very pleased that lola is so well house trained. As long as she goes to the toilets and it seems normal I wouldn't worry about it. As for not eating she may be getting enough at breakfast and dinner. Potentially she could be playing up because you are out at work.

Hello, sorry to hear about Rocky. It sounds like he is feeling unwell but these signs are non-specific. It may be caused by multiple reasons, most often a dietary indiscretion, ingestion of foreign material, or in puppies this young an infection with a virus or parasite may cause this. If Rocky is not eating by tomorrow, or if he begins to vomit, have diarrhea, or lethargy then he needs to be evaluated by his veterinarian immediately. You can offer him a bland diet tomorrow of plain white rice, skinless and boneless boiled chicken and cottage cheese low fat. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Since Asuna was willing to eat and is not having any vomiting or diarrhea I wouldn’t worry too much. Not eating for a couple of days because she was stressed and missing you should not affect her overall health. However, if she continues to appear to lose weight despite eating well and being home with you, then you should take her to be checked out. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

It's very common for some dogs to be more motivated to eat right away when there are other dogs present, since there's an element of competition involved in a multi-dog household - she likely knows that in that environment, if she doesn't eat right away, it may not still be there later! With dogs who are picky eaters, the major question I always ask is - is the dog a normal healthy weight, and acting normal otherwise? If so, then I don't worry about it. Some dogs are naturally "grazers" and may not be all that motivated to eat right away as soon as food is offered. Or you may be feeding more than she really needs, and she may simply not be very hungry sometimes. If the dog is underweight, or showing other symptoms of illness such as vomiting, diarrhea, acting lethargic, etc., then a medical work-up would be indicated to help figure out what the underlying problem is so it can be treated appropriately. But if the dog it not overly thin and otherwise acting normal, then I don't worry too much about it - she'll eat when she's hungry! I'm also not a big fan of dressing up the food with tasty "extras" to entice the dog to eat, since this is generally not necessary and can teach the dog to hold out for better and better things over time if she learns that you'll keep adding extra treats if she doesn't eat right away. So you could certainly take your girl in for a check-up to make sure she's healthy, if you're concerned - but if your vet doesn't feel that there is a genuine medical issue present, I'd just put her food down at her regular mealtime and leave her alone. A healthy dog won't starve themselves, so she'll eat when she wants to. :)

If Mia is eating enough and growing normally I would not worry too much about this behavior. If however you feel like she is becoming undernourished because of this then I would be concerned. Try strictly meal feeding her. Put her food down for 10-15 minutes and if she doesn’t eat it pick it up right away. Then do not allow her to ha e any food until her next meal. This will encourage her to eat her food when it is available rather than play with it.

Even though Beorn is a big dog they don't always eat very much. If you are able to leave the food down and just let him pick at it through the day that is fine. Many dogs have a sense of how much they need for their activity level and won't eat if they don't need the calories. As long as he's eating some throughout the day and he is normal weight or lean but fit this is nothing to be overly concerned about. The other thing you can do is feed him in a quiet place or in the crate where there are no distractions. Some dogs are too busy with what's going on around them that they don't take the time to eat. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Beorn.

Thank you for sending your question and the photo of Oakley - he is very cute! Sometimes when our pets suddenly change a behavior, we are (naturally) inclined to look at other evernts to see if there might be a connection. While dogs do mourn the loss of people they are very close to, this typically happens when dogs and their people have lived together for many years, so I’m not sure this is a realistic cause of his sudden loss of appetite. There are just so many things that can cause a normal young dog to stop eating - parasites, a blockage in the intestines, infectious diseases like parvo or leptospirosis- it’s hard to say what is going on, but your instincts to go to Oakley’s vet are 100% correct. I encourage you to get him in and get him checked out - exam and blood work at minimum - to see what’s going on.