Animal Welfare Professionals

Hi all,

My 2 year old rescue pup Scout (Dachshund/GSP mix) has stopped eating breakfast rather suddenly. This has been happening for the past 4 days. She is about 20 lbs and generally eats 1/2 cup of kibble 2x/day.

The past few days, I have given her breakfast at the normal time and in the normal location, but it goes uneaten until around 4 or 5pm when she suddenly decides to go for it. This is around when she normally eats dinner, so I haven't been giving her a second meal.

Other than the change in eating habits, Scout's temperament and behavior are completely normal.

Thanks so much for any thoughts/guidance from the group.

My best,

Ben

Hi Ben,

How is Scout acting otherwise? Playful? Lethargic? Any other signs like vomiting or diarrhea?

I know that my dogs' appetites change with changes in weather or just randomly sometimes. Sometimes they only want to eat once per day.

If they have other signs of a potential problem like lethargy or vomiting or are losing weight, i'll take them in for a check up. If they don't have other signs and are eating well later in the day, i'll increase the size of that one meal to make sure they're getting enough calories.

So... always safest to go in for a vet appt, but also pay attention to the big picture of your dog's attitude and health as well as how much your dog is eating later in the day.

Sheila

Thanks so much for the advice Sheila. She’s been great otherwise and is definitely eating dinner. We’ll try to amp up that meal as you suggest and see what happens.

best,

Ben

Dogs are wise. If your summer temperatures are rising and it's getting hot outside, dogs tend to eat less in hot weather.

Scout may be avoiding food over load in hot weather.

Thanks I had never thought of that when my animals seem a bit off their food.  They tend to be a older and a bit over fed so I don't worry, but.    I definitely notice when they (we) all tend to sleep late and lounge around on rainy days.