My picky dog only eats at night when he's really hungry. Why?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Abby. Is she maintaining a healthy body weight? If so and if she is acting like herself, then I would not be concerned about her food habits. It may just be her preference to eat at night. If she is consuming enough calories, then I do not have a concern. However, if she is continually dropping weight and shows signs of illness such as vomiting or diarrhea, then she needs to be seen by her veterinarian. Some dogs that go close to 24 hours between meals will vomit due to a build up of stomach acid. In these patients I encourage the owners to feed them more frequently. If this is not occurring with her, then you do not need to worry. I hope this information helps!

Since Marshall will eat in general, and is only refusing his own food, I would not believe there is anything wrong with him at this time. I agree it is strange that Marshall would suddenly decide he doesn't like his food. 7 months old is often what can be described as the "teenager time" for a dog. This means he might be asserting his opinions more for a few months. I would suggest one of the following strategies; Try adding boiled boneless chicken breast or extra lean ground beef to his regular food. Over time reducing how much you add until you don't add any or only a small amount. Try a new brand or flavour of dog food. try mixing the new with the old to limit the drastic change, and potentially upsetting Marshall's gastrointestinal tract. Signs that something else may be going on and warrant a vet check; Vomiting Diarrhoea Lethargy Blood in vomit or fever I hope that this answer helps and that Marshall starts enjoying his own food or a new food soon.

Some dogs are just picky eaters or are not very food driven. So we have some dogs, like your typical labrador, that will eat anything and everything within 30 seconds of it being put down, and others that are more picky and graze throughout the day. There are not necessarily medical drawbacks to leaving her food down throughout the day, or at least leaving it down for a few hours in the morning and a few in the evening. Sometimes unfortunately with dogs who are picky we just have to be tough and not offer them a different food every time they decide they aren't excited about their current one. We can predispose dogs to food allergies if we are changing their foods all the time and we do get allergies later in life it is much harder to find a good diet for them. I would choose one food and stick with it, and she will eventually get hungry and eat it. The exception is toy breed puppies which can develop hypoglycemia if they go too long without eating https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952329 , but adult dogs should be able to tolerate this. I am a fan of the purina pro plan line, which is available at most pet stores and is good quality, they also have dry diets, wet diets, and their Savor line has kibbles along with softer/chewy kibbles which my dogs love. If there is some treat that she is very fond of you can mix it in with the food that you want her to eat and slowly decrease the amount of the treat each day so she gets used to the other food. Some people find putting some low sodium chicken broth on the food can entice them to start eating a food and you can slowly decreas the amount placed on the food, or warming food up slightly makes it more appetizing.

Some dogs tend to be picky eaters and learn to wait to eat until tastier food is offered. I'd recommend seeing a veterinarian to rule out a medical problem that could be causing a decrease in appetite and make sure he is maintaining his weight. If everything checks out, it is okay to offer food and wait a day or even two - he'll eat when he's hungry!

Some dogs have their own schedule in terms of eating. We have dogs that graze throughout the day small amounts, dogs that will eat any food in front of them immediately to the point of making themselves sick, and other dogs like yours that may just eat at certain times. As long as your vet thinks your dog's weight is appropriate/ their growth is acceptable and Norik is not having diarrhea or vomiting then I wouldn't be concerned. I would recommend if Norik hasn't been to the vet recently for his vet to examine him and be sure he is of an appropriate weight.

Good Evening! As long as this is not a brand new problem, Bleu is of normal weight (not underweight where his ribs, back bone or pelvis are showing through his skin...) drinking well, bright, alert, not experiencing any other signs such as vomiting, loose stools, it sounds to me as though you may have a dog who simply is not very "food motivated", and you may have a "picky eater." on your hands! The good news about picky eaters is that they indeed WILL eat when they are hungry. If this is a new condition for Bleu, if he is underweight, or experiencing any other signs of illness, please consider visiting your veterinarian for a check up.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Causes of a decrease in appetite are: intestinal parasites, viral or bacterial infection, he ate something gross that is upsetting his stomach, he ate something that is stuck, food allergy/intolerance, Inflammatory Bowel disease, Addison's disease, new treat/food/table food. Sometimes this can be behavioral as well, he is waiting for something better like the Pedigree. If there is not other symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, or lethargy then that is likely the problem. If you recently got a new bag of his food the company may have changed the formula or there is a issue with that bag of food. If you really don't want to feed him Pedigree then hold your ground. Offer his normal food, you can add water to it to make it more tempting, and if he doesn't eat it then pick it up. Do not offer treats or any other food and then he is not fed again until his next meal time. You can also consider feeding him once daily. If he is otherwise sick, please repost with his symptoms and we will provide advice. I hope this helps and I wish you and Puku the best!