The Totally Psychological Reason Why My Dog Refused to Eat
Back in November, we adopted a cute little mutt and named him Bruiser. Yes, he's the black and tan version of Elle Woods' little pocket puppy. When we adopted him, he thought he had died and gone to heaven because we feed our dogs a nutritionally complete raw meat blend with a dog food chaser (if they want it).
A month ago, we had to put our older dog down and though he never seemed to grieve Kodi being gone or only sharing the house with the cat, his eating became very sporadic. He'd go for days at a time without eating and it became kind of worrisome for me.
I looked up the various reasons why he wouldn't be eating. Of course, there are plenty of medical reasons but he was drinking, playing, and pooping normally so I didn't think it was a medical issue. It turns out - it was completely psychological and I was really shocked at the reason why.
When Kodi was alive, I'd feed both dogs in the kitchen. Kodi LOVED dinnertime and would beg for it starting around 4:30. So when 5:30 rolled around they were READY and waiting. After he died, I moved Bruiser's bowl into the laundry room where he'd hang out during the day when we were gone. He didn't seem to be as into eating as Kodi and I just wanted to get the dishes out of the kitchen. Looking back, the sporadic eating started then but had recently gotten much worse. Then one day, I went in the laundry room to do laundry and I noticed he raced in after me and gobbled up a bunch of food. Hmmm.
I decided to do a little experiment. I put his food down next to us while we were eating breakfast or dinner and so far, all week, he hasn't skipped a meal. He likes eating with the family! Totally psychological.
So, if your dog is being picky - look for the reasons why. Of course, consult your vet if you think there's a medical reasons but don't rule out psychological. Dogs get stressed and can be finicky too!