Visiting dog won't eat

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Hubby and I are babysitting his dad's boxer. We were given cans of the food she eats at home and have offered her food over the last 48 hours at normall feeding and other times but she does not seem to even be interested in eating. She drinks plenty of water, is quite active, follows us around and seems generally happy she just will not eat no matter what we do. We shut her in a bathroom with her food for a short period of time but she didn't touch it.

We've tried feeding her alongside our labrador and seems a bit interested but when we point towards her bowl she doesn't even sniff it Sad

. She is not even interested in her treats. We've nursed many sick dogs and cats over the years so we are pretty creative at trying different methods and identifying when something is 'wrong' with an animal but nothing seems to be working. I'm of the mind that when she gets hungry enough, she will eat but hubby is quite worried about it.

I know that fat cats can get fatty liver disease from not eating for a few days. (we have been through this with our cat) Hubby is contemplating taking her home (an hour drive away from where we live) so that he can stay at his dad's house until they return but they don't come back until later Monday and it seems kind of silly to take the dog home just because she won't touch her food.

Any advice?

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Is an intestinal obstruction a possibility? I've no idea, myself, but surely calling her own vet to ask makes more sense than driving her home right away.

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High Seas wrote:

Is an intestinal obstruction a possibility? I've no idea, myself, but surely calling her own vet to ask makes more sense than driving her home right away.

I honestly don't think there is anything wrong with her. Her behavior seems normal (no vomiting or other issues) I've seen other animals with intestinal issues and they typically have some signs that clued us in to a potential problem...listlessness, whining, sleeping/laying down a lot, vomiting water, etc. None of those signs seem to be there.

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Yes, I understood that from your first post, but why not call the vet to be on the safe side?

My family has always had Siberian Huskies and I know they can go for days without food without ill effects (water is obviously fundamental but you said that's no problem) as of course can wolves and humans - whether this applies to your breed I've no idea though. Fatty liver exists in dogs, same as in us, but due to obesity, alcoholism, or other medical problems, not fasting.

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I'd boil a bit of hamburger and mix it with cooked rice.

If that doesn't get her to eat, call the vet.

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High Seas wrote:

Yes, I understood that from your first post, but why not call the vet to be on the safe side?

My family has always had Siberian Huskies and I know they can go for days without food without ill effects (water is obviously fundamental but you said that's no problem) as of course can wolves and humans - whether this applies to your breed I've no idea though. Fatty liver exists in dogs, same as in us, but due to obesity, alcoholism, or other medical problems, not fasting.

Thanks for the suggestion. It certainly can't hurt to call the vet.

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Good luck, Magic Black Cat - btw, following Boomerang's advice prior to calling the vet can't hurt either.

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Do you have her regular food bowl?
My German Sheperd is the same way.
He wont eat out of anything except his regular food bowl.

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Aw, boxers are so .....ummmmm.... love-sick without their people. I bet she starts to eat today. And she needs to eat soon.

Have you tried sitting next to her while she's at her bowl? Sometimes my babydog needed some encouragement. I'd pluck at her kibble (not that you can do that with canned food) and eventually she'd join in.

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mysteryman wrote:

Do you have her regular food bowl?
My German Sheperd is the same way.
He wont eat out of anything except his regular food bowl.

Yep, we brought her bowl from home.

Boom: Hubby tried your hamburger/rice thing this afternoon. No luck Sad

littlek - I suspect this is the very first time she has stayed away from home. Her humans are older/infirmed and do not leave the house for more than a few hours at a time so I suspect she is love sick to some degree. I'll try your idea of 'pecking' at her bowl some. I suspect too that she is used to having her bowl down throughout the day and nibbling on it. We have a Lab on a strict diet so we can't leave it down too long.

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I wouldn't be too terribly worried until she starts showing symptoms of being in distress. My dog does the same thing when we are not around. I had to leave him with my parents for 2 weeks and it was a week before they saw him eat anything. He also stopped using the bathroom. My parents got pretty worried and then he finally ate a little bit. When we picked him he began eating regularly that same day. He didn't seem to suffer any ill effects. Some dogs just get thrown off when their people are not around. She will eat when she gets hungry enough.

If you are concerned enough then a phone call to her vet certainly won't hurt.

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no eating = no pooping.

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Update:

Silly dog. She ate yesterday late afternoon. Apparently she is such a people dog that she will not eat unless she is right next to a human. Hubby was watching TV yesterday and put the dog bowl at his feet by the couch. At first she just sniffed it. A few moments later she was using her nose as if it bury it (maybe save it for later or something I dunno) Rolling Eyes

A few minutes later, hubby looks down to see the dog scarfing the food down. It was gone in seconds.

Apparently our 'mistake' in feeding her was not leaving her empty bowl down on the floor. We talked to boxer's daddy yesterday and he said she will bring her food dish to them when she wants to eat. Her humans keep cans of food near where they sit and watch TV so they just drop some of the food in her bowl and put it at their feet. Heh, funny how the little thing just needed us to act more like the humans she is familiar with. Laughing

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Yay! Happy to hear it!

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That's a relief.

Is this a fat dog?

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No, actually she is spot on with her weight for her size. Very trim in the rear with muscular front. Very well defined. Smile

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MagicBlackCat wrote:

No, actually she is spot on with her weight for her size. Very trim in the rear with muscular front. Very well defined.

That's good to learn. I was not sure about the "fed on demand" comment earlier.

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Yeah one might think she would over eat if given the food whenever she wants it, but that doesn't seem to be the case with her.

Now if it had been my Lab...that's a different story entirely. -lol

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Just like my Boxer used to be. When she was finicky I'd have to get down and sit with her so she'd eat.

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littlek wrote:

Just like my Boxer used to be. When she was finicky I'd have to get down and sit with her so she'd eat.

I wonder if it is something unique to the boxer breed..?

I've had to spoon feed cats baby food so I sort of know what that's like. I don't think I'd enjoy sitting in the floor though, that must have been a little annoying.

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Visiting dog won't eat

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