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Post by Courtney on Dec 20, 2008 15:00:35 GMT -5
I'm visiting my family for the holidays, and have brought my 3-yr old Zoe with me. She's acting normally in every way except her eating habits. She seems completely uninterested in her food, and has barely eaten since we've arrived here (6 days ago). The only way I can get her to eat is to mix something tasty (like salmon) in with her dry food. Now, she's not a food-driven dog at all...often won't even take a treat.
I can keep giving her salmon with her dry food for the rest of the holidays so it's not as if she's going to starve or anything. I'm just finding it bizarre.
Has anyone experienced this when taking their dogs away from home?
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Dec 21, 2008 1:27:28 GMT -5
Is she presenting any stress signs (shut down, nervous, resisting interactions with the "new" people, etc)? Refusing to eat is common when environments change and there's different activity and especially if the dog is in a new environment. She's not going to die if she doesn't eat as much and that may be okay considering her tummy may be thrown out of whack from just minor stress levels. Stress signs can be extremely subtle at times. I'd recommend feeding her in a really quiet, relaxed atmosphere, preferably in a crate if she's comfortable in one. You could also try soaking kibble mixed with mild foods such as cooked chicken and stuffing the heck out of some Kongs or hollow marrow bones and freeze them. The activity of working on getting the food out should relax her and she'll be getting some caloric intake and stress relief at the same time. Try to keep her schedule as close to normal as possible and get her out for exercise regularly to loosen her up. Cajun travels with me several times a year and in the beginning, he would eat much less than usual and would show a bit less interest in eating. Now that he's used to travelling, he's cool with hotels and screwed up routines. If Zoe is new to big changes in plans like travelling and visiting new places, it will take some time to acclimate and become comfortable enough to eat normally. My first assumption is that she is experiencing some stress, at some level. One way a dog deals with stress is to limit their food intake which is instinctual. If their bellies are full, it's harder to fight or flee which are the only options when it comes to self-preservation in stressful situations. Another thing you can try if you have access to a yard is to scatter her kibble. Sometimes the thrill of the "hunt" will encourage dogs to get into searching for their food. And it's great mental and physical exercise. Anything else you've noticed?
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Post by Courtney on Dec 22, 2008 11:54:18 GMT -5
She's not acting any differently than she does at home...not showing any signs of stress or anything (although she may be feeling slightly stressed and I just can't see it). She's not new to travel...we take her travelling often, although she hasn't been at my parent's house in about a year. She's on limited exercise as she is waiting for her second TPLO surgery for a torn ACL. At home she does get a fair amount of play time with the other dogs, but as she is the only dog here right now, she's more sedentary than usual. I'm guessing this has something to do with it also. That's a good idea to scatter food around the yard...however the yard is covered in snow right now LOL! I have been adding things to her dry food to entice her to eat it, and so far that is working...to a point. She's eating once a day, about 2 cups. I don't know how much she normally eats (she's a free-feeder) but the amount of poop has decreased. 2 reasons why the decreased eating is a problem: First, because she's waiting for surgery she needs anti-inflammatory and pain meds on occasion, which I can't give her unless she has a full stomach. Second, she is a very lean dog...there's no extra fat that she can stand to lose. Maybe my worrying is causing her to worry
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Post by RealPitBull on Dec 22, 2008 15:24:48 GMT -5
I take it this hasn't happened before in her travels? Because if this is something she's never done before I'd be a little concerned and probably at least want to have the vet give her a once over. Otherwise, I'd say it's just a little traveling stress (and yes, maybe she's feeding off of mom, too )
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Post by Courtney on Dec 23, 2008 14:05:22 GMT -5
Apparently my other dogs (the ones at home w/ the bf) aren't eating as much either. I wonder if they are missing each other?
She has done this before...not every time we travel, but sometimes. Maybe I'm just overreacting. I'm really protective of her (people have said I baby her) because of her ACL problems and her sensitive nature. Plus I'm a natural worrier LOL. I'll take her to the vet if anything changes behaviourally, or if her eating decreases any further.
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Dec 23, 2008 14:12:52 GMT -5
Apparently my other dogs (the ones at home w/ the bf) aren't eating as much either. I wonder if they are missing each other? She has done this before...not every time we travel, but sometimes. Maybe I'm just overreacting. I'm really protective of her (people have said I baby her) because of her ACL problems and her sensitive nature. Plus I'm a natural worrier LOL. I'll take her to the vet if anything changes behaviourally, or if her eating decreases any further. I think you may have said it all right there ^. Sounds like she's picking up on your stress and worry. As for the dogs back home, I would attribute that to a sudden change in their life. Not only is Zoe gone, but you also. It's normal for them to not behave completely normally.
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