If the dog refuses to eat dry food. The puppy does not eat dry food: what to do, possible causes and consequences

Dry food is a real godsend for always busy, hurrying owners. They require minimal effort and time to feed the pet, provided they are quality food, contain all the nutrients necessary for a dog's health, and are varied enough to find the ideal diet for your pet.

However, sometimes it happens that the dog flatly refuses to eat dry food - what to do in this situation? Before taking any action, you need to understand the reasons for your pet's behavior.

Why isn't the dog eating dry food?

The most common reason for refusal is an incorrect transfer to dry food from a different type of food. Dogs, like humans, are suspicious of anything new, especially when it comes to food that has an unusual smell and texture. Moreover, the older the dog is, the more conservatism and stubbornness it can show.

The second and most serious situation occurs when the dog refuses the usual food. If you stored the packaging correctly and do not doubt the good quality of the product, then you should take care of the pet's well-being.

There can be many reasons why a dog does not eat dry food that it has been devouring with appetite for the past few months or even years:

problems with teeth or mouth,
metabolic disorders,
digestive problems,
stress,
heat,
infectious or invasive diseases and much more.

It is worth remembering that many ailments in a dog are manifested precisely in a decrease or complete absence of appetite.

Finally, the reason for the refusal of the dog from dry food can be elementary overeating, that is, the pet is simply full or, not without reason, hopes to get something tastier than proper nutrition. Let's say right away: this is the lesser of troubles and the responsibility for it lies entirely with the conscience of the owners.

Let's start with the elimination method - with serious reasons.

Health problems

As a rule, health problems are manifested not only in refusal to eat - the dog becomes lethargic, stops playing and is clearly depressed. First of all, measure the temperature of the pet - its rise will speak of the infectious nature of the disease.

If the temperature is not elevated, examine the dog's mouth - the gums should be pale pink, so a bright red color, especially in the root zone, may indicate inflammation that has begun. Problems with the gastrointestinal tract are most often manifested in indigestion - diarrhea, as well as vomiting, which is also not difficult to notice.

In any case, you should not make diagnoses on your own, and at the slightest suspicion of health problems, immediately consult a veterinarian.

When a healthy dog \u200b\u200brefuses to eat dry food

Suppose your suspicions are not confirmed and the dog is healthy. As a rule, the rejection of dry food occurs when switching to a new diet or even when changing the type of food. Here you have to be patient - it will take time, love for your pet and perseverance.

Gradual training

The main point in this process is gradualness. To begin with, a small amount of dry food is mixed with a regular portion of food and the animal's reaction is observed. Most often, a small addition of foreign food is perceived by the dog calmly and the dry food is eaten along with the rest of the food.

If the process has gone, you can add a little more dry food to the next feeding. If the dog carefully bypasses the bowl, it is better not to rush things and let the pet get used to the appearance and, most importantly, to the smell of new food. A dog's sense of smell is much superior to that of a human, and the smallest portion of food with an off-odor can cause a pet's alertness.

Reduce the amount of dry food in your usual food to the minimum that the dog will not notice, and increase it very gradually, literally a few pellets. Sometimes macerating dry food helps to make it more flavorful and closer in texture to wet food.

After the dog has begun to eat the suggested dry food as part of the regular diet, start gradually increasing the number of pellets while reducing the total amount of the usual food.

With this approach, the dog can be switched to dry food in 1–2 weeks. The term may lengthen depending on the stubbornness of the pet, but sooner or later a positive result is guaranteed.

We show firmness

And finally, the last option. After the festive feast of the owners, the dog, who had received a hefty portion of delicacies the day before, does not even want to look in the direction of the bowl with the usual food. At best, these are whims: it is difficult for an animal to understand why yesterday he got a piece of barbecue, ham and biscuits, and today only dry food. The pet requires the continuation of the banquet and, in its own way, is absolutely right.

One of the main rules for feeding animals is not to disturb the pet's diet. But if such a sin has already happened to you, be firm: a bowl of food, which the dog refused from, is removed until the next feeding. Do not worry: a hunger strike is not able to harm the pet, but will only benefit him.

But if after a day the dog does not want to eat dry food, it is best to consult a veterinarian, since the option of developing pancreatitis in a pet against the background of excessively fatty food eaten the day before is not excluded.

The answer to this question depends on the reason for which the animal refuses to feed. And only after defining it, it is worth taking any action. All situations when a dog does not want to eat dry food can be roughly divided into two groups. The first category includes cases when an animal, already accustomed to "drying", suddenly abandoned it.

To the second - when a pet from an early age is accustomed to wet food or natural food, and all attempts to transfer it to a dry diet end in failure.

Situation # 1: the dog ate dry food, but suddenly refused it

It is very important to immediately figure out whether the dog has lost its appetite at all or simply does not want to eat dry food. The first may indicate health problems, including serious ones.

Checking health

If refusal to eat is accompanied by other alarming symptoms - lethargy, gastrointestinal tract disorders, fever, it is necessary to urgently consult a veterinarian. Often, the reason why a dog does not eat dry food is oral diseases: cracked teeth, tartar, inflamed gums, mouth ulcers.

These problems are easy to notice: the dog wants to eat and even tries to chew the food pellets, but the pain makes him drop them from the mouth, make several approaches to the bowl and, in the end, completely refuse to eat.

Examine the dog's oral cavity: the gums are bright red, white purulent sores, cracks are visible to the naked eye. You should immediately contact your veterinary dentist for help, and soak the granules with water during treatment. Sometimes, but not always, puppies whose milk teeth have not yet been replaced by permanent ones do not cope well with dry food, so they can also soak it with warm water.

Stressful situations

It happens that an outwardly healthy dog \u200b\u200brefuses to eat dry food - what to do in this case? Loss of appetite can be related to stress-related changes in the pet's lifestyle.

A visit to the clinic, a change of home, a long absence of the owner, the appearance of another animal in the house - all this can affect the psychological state of the dog, which is why it will lose interest in the usual joys of life. Every effort should be made to eliminate the cause of the discomfort, and if this is not possible, give the dog more attention.

Normalize the mode

Appetite may also be absent because the dog is simply well fed, so analyze the feeding schedule and lifestyle of the pet. The most common mistakes owners make:

Too frequent and abundant feedings. Usually, an adult dog needs two meals a day (this rule does not apply to pregnant and lactating bitches, weakened animals). Follow the guidelines on the food packaging and keep an eye on the dog's shape.
Constant access to food. It is not uncommon to observe that dry food is in the bowl around the clock, and the owners complain that the dog "does not eat anything." In fact, with this approach, she simply has no chance of working up a normal appetite.
Insufficient walking. With a decrease in energy costs, appetite naturally decreases. If you want your dog to eat better, try walking with him longer and more actively, and feeding him immediately after walking.

Situation # 2: the dog is not accustomed to dry food

If your pet is already an adult and has never been fed "drying" on a regular basis, in 90% of cases he will turn his nose up from a bowl of granules and give preference to the usual natural or canned food. However, this situation can be reversed with a little patience.

We get used to a new diet gradually

You should not change your diet drastically, it is better if the transition is gradual, within 5-7 days. If the dog flatly refuses dry food, first mix it with the usual food - canned food or natural food in a ratio of 75% to 25%, and then add a portion of the food every day until you have completely switched to it.

At the same time, during the transition period, you can soak the granules with warm water so that their consistency is more like a familiar food.

Follow the same gradual transition scheme in the case when you decide to transfer the dog to dry food of a different brand, of better quality, and the pet refuses it simply out of habit.

Don't step back halfway

What if your dog doesn't eat dry food despite your best efforts? First of all, react calmly. If the dog does not want to eat what you gave, wait 2 minutes and remove the bowl until the next feed.

And be firm, because everyone knows that no dog in the world has died of hunger in front of a full bowl. Sooner or later she will begin to eat, and given that in nature, dogs can starve without harm to health for up to two or more weeks, then you have a lot of time.

Another thing is that the owner's heart is not a stone, and not all of us can bear the begging look of a dog, especially when he sits down to dinner. Therefore, most often, malicious rejection of dry food is observed when the dog constantly drops something from the master's table. Perhaps one of the household could not stand the character and fed her with the usual food.

Remember that there should be no such exceptions during the transition period. Warn loved ones not to give your pet anything: even a small piece of chicken or a tiny cutlet can negate all your efforts. A sensible move is simply not to let animals into the kitchen during the owners' meal, and to teach puppies to this order from the first days in life in the house.

Proper nutrition is important in a dog's life. A balanced food helps to avoid many health problems that can be a lot of hassle for dog breeders and their pets. For this reason, many of them prefer to feed the dog with dry food, which contains all the necessary nutrients, vitamins and trace elements. Why does a dog not eat dry food: what are the reasons and how to get him to eat?

Health problems

If the question arose "Why did the dog stop eating dry food, if earlier this kind of food suited her," then the first thing to do is to pay attention to the health of his pet. It is important to carefully observe the activity of the animal - lethargy, inactivity, constipation, vomiting are possible. The dog can be hit by ticks, fleas, worms, which affect appetite.

In any of the above cases, you should show the dog to the veterinarian to find out the reason why the dog refuses to eat dry food. If the physical examination did not find anything, and the pet feels great, other possible causes not related to health should be considered.

Pet Life Changes

Dogs react more sharply to any changes in their lifestyle than humans. This may be one of the reasons why the dog is not eating dry food. The following factors influence taste preferences:

Changing the brand of feed. When trying to transfer an animal to a more expensive feed, you can meet with refusal. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that manufacturers mask the absence of natural ingredients in cheap feeds with flavor enhancers and flavors. If you try to give your dog food that is less than usual, it can also react with refusal. Cheap food contains a lot of bone meal or soy, which the dog is keenly aware of.
With regular treats to a pet from a common table, the dog's taste preferences may change. In addition, this bad habit can gain a foothold, and in this case, not a single meal will be complete without the pet's plaintive eyes near the table.
With a sedentary lifestyle, the dog needs less food, therefore, its consumption is significantly reduced.
In hot weather, as in humans, the dog's appetite decreases.
A large amount of food that is poured into the bowl. The dog simply eats and does not feel hungry until the next meal.

Sometimes there is such a phenomenon as manipulator dogs - they will not eat the offered dry food, begging for something tasty. You should not follow the lead of the animal, because the diet should be balanced.

What not to do

Why does the dog not eat dry food, if it used to suit it? There are many answers to this question, as well as recommendations for what not to do:

It is categorically impossible to start feeling sorry for the dog and start feeding it from hands or from a common table. In the future, it will be very difficult to get rid of this bad habit.
After feeding, there should be no food left in the bowl, otherwise the dog will eat it during the day, respectively, the appetite will disappear by the next meal.
The lack of a diet can also negatively affect the regularity of food intake.

How to get your dog to eat

The pet's pitiful eyes and begging for goodies does not mean that he is hungry. A hungry dog \u200b\u200bwill gladly eat the offered dry food. Also, dog breeders do not recommend raising their voice to the animal and forcing it to eat by force, most likely nothing will work out, and the dog will remember this and will avoid the owner. The following methods should be used:

Mixing dry food with natural food, gradually reducing the amount. This way you can "trick" the dog into eating. Using this technique, you need to stop feeding the pet from the common table, if this has been previously practiced.
Hungry ration for 1-2 days. On such a forced "diet" the dog should be left only with access to a bowl of water, completely removing all food. After that, the hungry dog \u200b\u200bwill gladly pounce on the proposed dry food. This method should never be applied to puppies and pregnant dogs.
When teeth decay, the dog begins to experience pain and discomfort when chewing dry food. You should try adding a little water to soften the granules.
Some dogs can be persuaded. Oddly enough, after gentle persuasion in a calm, quiet voice, some pets dutifully go to eat.

Why isn't the dog eating dry food? What to do in such cases? It is important to focus on the character of the pet, the owner who knows his dog well will definitely find an approach and make him eat food.

Preventing food refusal

In order to prevent rejection of food and not to think about the question: "Why does the dog not eat dry food", you should adhere to the following rules:

Feed manufacturers produce products in several price categories, and the quality of feed also differs. It is not recommended to abruptly transfer the pet from one feed to another. Mix them, gradually reducing the concentration of the old feed.
When choosing a dog's diet, you need to focus on which category of dogs the food is intended for. There are food for different breeds of dogs, for pets with different mobility and different ages. All these points are important to consider when choosing a feed.
When feeding dry food, the dog should have a bowl of water freely available in order to wash down solid food.
It is important to walk your dog, not only so that it can satisfy its natural needs, but also in order to frolic and play. With such a daily routine, the appetite increases, so the portion of food after a walk should be slightly larger.
It is important that the dog eats all the food offered. If, 15 minutes after feeding, there is food left in the bowl, it is worth removing it so that the dog does not have the opportunity to finish eating it in between feedings.
Too frequent refusal of a dog from dry food can be a reason to switch to natural food.

Experienced dog breeders carefully monitor their pet's diet and try to prevent food refusals, which can be harmful to the dog's health.

Features of feeding puppies

It often happens that the puppy eats food from the breeder, and after moving to new owners has stopped. What does dry food not eat at all? How to feed your puppy?

It is important to train the puppy to feed immediately after mother's milk, experienced breeders know this, therefore, the first time after the purchase, the owner should also offer the puppy food of the usual brand.

Feeding errors

Some mistakes in pet feeding can lead to nutritional problems. Why isn't the dog eating any dry food? Abrupt failure can occur in several cases:

alternation of food with natural food;
frequent and abrupt change of feed;
lack of free water;
inadequacy of food for the dog's needs.

You should consider all possible options, as well as ask your veterinarian for advice.

Natural reasons for refusing to eat

Why does my dog \u200b\u200beat dry food badly? There are a number of natural reasons for this:

teething in puppies;
pregnancy and childbirth;

teenage years;
mating period;
vaccinations or medication.

If there are assumptions that the dog does not eat food for the above reasons, then there is nothing to worry about, after a while the diet will be restored.

Dogs and cat food

Some dog owners mistakenly think that since dogs and cats are predators, they have a similar diet. The danger of the misconception is that buying the same feed for two different animals can cause irreparable harm to health. The feline diet should contain a lot more protein, and the cat should eat a little, but often. A dog whose need for proteins and glucose is much lower receives an excess of these substances. Over time, improper feeding leads to kidney problems, gastrointestinal tract, allergies. It is important that the food is suitable for a specific type of animal, then there is no need to worry about the health of the pet.

Conclusion

Thinking about why the dog does not eat dry food, and how to train it, you should check all possible reasons for refusal. The reasons for refusing to eat are so varied that it is not worth taking the dog to the vet for every occasion, most often the problem is in the wrong food.

Most often, a dog, in whose life there is a minimum amount of stress, rarely refuses any food offered by the owner. It is important to love your pets, and then they will not bring unnecessary problems.

What if the dog is not eating, how can you find out the real cause and watch out for the symptoms of the disease? Below we will analyze all these issues, but we will immediately indicate that we will talk about a sharp refusal of food. A gradual decrease in appetite leading to a complete refusal to eat most often indicates a developing disease.

A very common scenario that causes true panic among owners is when the dog stops eating or has an illness. The owner sees that the dog is on the mend, looks active and abruptly refuses to eat ... really a warning sign. However, before you panic, make sure that the reasons for ignoring food are not related to your behavior.

While the pet is sick or comes back to normal after the operation, the owner surrounds him with care, pampers, regrets. Dogs are very intelligent, they can build logical chains and draw conclusions. So, when you feel sorry for the dog and persuade him to eat a treat, she concludes that if you give up the usual porridge, you can get a treat. Of course, the pet needs to be pitied and supported, but the measure is important in everything.

Many owners find themselves in such a vicious circle when the ward develops a conditioned reflex (habit) to extort goodies with manipulations. Let's make a reservation right away, if something like this has already happened to you and your ward, you need to solve the situation gradually. You yourself taught the dog this trick, so punishment and rudeness are inappropriate here. If you decide to overcome the situation with pressure, then in the future, the dog is unlikely to agree to be trained under your guidance.

You noticed that the dog eats poorly, you are sure that the pet was not sick and you did not spoil him, what is the reason? Any dog \u200b\u200bmanagement guide has recommendations for making a daily routine. Are you following these guidelines? If you do not understand what is at stake, answer the following questions:

Do you walk your dog at the same time?
Do you feed your dog at the same time?
How many treats do you feed your dog during your walk? More or less than half the weight of a normal feed?

If the answers to the first two questions are negative, and the third is positive, you completely ignore the recommendations on adherence to the daily routine. Let's figure it out right away the question of goodies... The daily food intake is calculated taking into account everything eaten. If a dog does not eat from a bowl, but receives a pound of cookies during a walk, he compensates for more than half of his daily food intake and this must be taken into account. You walked well with the dog in the evening, fed it with sweets and it refused porridge - quite naturally.

Now about walking and feeding schedule... The digestive system of the dog, without exaggeration, works by the clock. It takes about 6-8 hours to digest meat porridge, if the dog eats dry food, the time increases by about 2 hours. If you feed your dog in the evening after a walk, and in the morning after waking up, his digestive system starts up. Digested food debris moves from the small intestine to the large intestine and the dog wants to go to the toilet. After recovering from the need, the small intestine is completely emptied and ready to digest morning food.

If you break the schedule, that is, if the dog has to endure or you feed him out of schedule, the gastrointestinal tract may not be ready to digest a new portion of food. The body is designed so that the dog will not feel hunger as long as there is food in its stomach... If the pet cannot go to the toilet, it will be worried about more tangible problems - intoxication and pain. Naturally, in such conditions there can be no talk of a good appetite.

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You can notice that a dog eats little if there is always food available to him, no, this is not a paradox. All pets animals tend to eat out of boredom, especially if they are at home without an owner... As a caring owner, you leave treats or dry food for your pet when you leave for work, in case your pet gets hungry. In fact, you are pushing the ward to constant snacking out of boredom, which fundamentally violates the recommendations for regular feeding. Snacks, like constant access to food, negatively affect appetite, since the dog does not feel true hunger, it just eats when it pleases.

There is another reason that many owners overlook. If the dog does not eat anything (we are talking about a male), it is possible that he met or just smelled a bitch during estrus. A hormonal surge can deprive a male of his appetite for several days and these are not the most tangible consequences. If your pet does not represent breeding value, in order to preserve his health and sanity, it is better to resort to castration at an early age. Please note that a dog is guaranteed not to react to females if castration is done during adolescence and before (spontaneous) mating.

There are also more banal reasons for refusing food, or rather, not banal, but obvious. For example, a dog needs to feel confident and stable, so the bowl should be placed on a support and the feeding area should be covered with a non-slip mat. A bowl that is deep or too high can be intimidating or uncomfortable. Some, especially dogs rescued from the street, may being afraid to eat in the presence of humans or other animals... This passes, but at first you need to show understanding. There are a lot of similar examples and they are all obvious if you observe your pet.

Adult dogs can starve for several days without good reason, arrange so-called fasting days. If the pet stays awake, drinks water and walks willingly, do not worry. For a puppy, a hunger strike is harmless if it lasts up to 12 hours; for an adult dog, this period ranges from 24 to 48 hours, and sometimes longer. Hunger is really dangerous in some diseases, for example, diabetes, in which case the dog should be under the supervision of a veterinarian.

How to increase your dog's appetite

A dog's refusal to eat may be associated with poor appetite or the development of an illness. If your pet is lethargic, whines, does not drink water, vomits it, or she loses weight quickly or is constantly lying, you can skip this section. It's not about reluctance, but about the discomfort that prevents the pet from eating. A clear sign of poor health is refusal to walk, even if the pet was not too happy to walk before, complete ignorance of the street speaks of apathy. The first thing to do is to take the pet outside in your arms. If the dog is standing still or lying down immediately, an urgent need to consult a doctor.

Refusing food does not affect the pet's mood, is he cheerful and happy to go for a walk? In this case, you need to try several methods to improve your appetite. Start by skipping one meal, such as your morning meal. In the evening, offer your pet a regular serving of the usual food. If the treat is eaten with pleasure, the reason is the violation of the feeding schedule. We talked about this above, the dog has a poor appetite, since it really does not feel hungry.

The second method is not to skip feeds, but cut the portion in half. If the dog ate the food offered, he behaved normally all day and licked the bowl again in the evening, the reason is overfeeding. Check yourself carefully if you are not exceeding the daily feeding rate for your pet. Consider all snacks, treats, follow the dog, perhaps she begs for treats from other family members.

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One important caveat: before you convict your dog of overeating, make sure you feed him well. Reluctance to eat the entire offered portion may be due to the fact that the dog doesn't like the taste of foodfor example, a dog does not eat porridge because it is stale. The second option is allergies, the pet may refuse food that is harmful to him. You may not have guessed that porridge causes abdominal pain or bloating in the pet, but the fact remains - the dog feels discomfort. If the dog does not eat dry food, there are several possible reasons:

A sharp change in diet - you have always fed your pet with natural food, but decided to transfer it to drying in one day. The dog, most likely, will refuse to eat, because the food for it looks inedible, unusual, not appetizing. Dry food does not have the aroma of natural food, and this is a very powerful argument. If the dog has always eaten natural food, the rejection of dry food may be due to the fact that the gastrointestinal tract is not able to digest the pellets. In any case, the transition to a new type of feeding should be carried out gradually.

Poor feed quality - cheap drying is made on the basis of beans, soybeans or corn. All of these products are useless for the dog, so they do not cause an obvious appetite. Manufacturers of cheap feeds are tricky, adding flavors and flavor enhancers to their products. This does not make food more useful ... quite the opposite, but this condition makes it possible to force a hungry dog \u200b\u200bto eat pellets.

Chewing problems - we are not talking about diseases of the oral cavity, but rather about the conventions that you missed. It is difficult for puppies to chew on pellets because their teeth are loose. Older dogs may refuse to dry due to thinning of the enamel and discomfort when chewing hard food.

Active walks help increase your appetite. Naturally, the dog does not need to be exhausted to the point of exhaustion, but if you have not paid attention to active loads, it is worth trying. All dogs love to play, the type of activity and motivation may differ, so you will need to find an approach.

Even elderly dogs, who, it would seem, are not interested in anything, are happy to accompany their owners on unhurried but long walks. Your pet may not be playing with a ball, but it will enjoy finding tasks. With the right load, the dog returns home tired and hungry. Usually the pet drinks, eats and lies down to rest. After that, it is advisable to take the dog out for a short walk to empty the intestines and bladder. Like humans, it is bad for dogs to endure.

Dogs are distinguished by their consistency in tastes, but sometimes they get bored with the taste of familiar food. You can check this assumption and make sure that the refusal to eat is associated with it in several ways:

Offer your dog frozen or cooked meat (no porridge). If the treat is eaten willingly by the dog or is tired of porridge, or has a protein deficiency.

Replace cereals with buckwheat, and if you feed buckwheat, then in rice. In the first case, the food will have a more attractive smell. In the second, if the dog is tired of buckwheat, rice will be more readily accepted, since it is neutral.

Add stewed vegetables to the porridge - grate vegetables on a track and simmer with plenty of water. You should have a fine stew or sauce. Season everything with a little oil and add to the porridge. Vegetables give the porridge a tempting aroma and enhance the flavor of the meat (if the ratio is sufficient).

Dry food has long been a common food for pets. This is due primarily to the practicality and rationality of its use. Many dog \u200b\u200bowners find it more convenient and more profitable to feed their pets with dry food than to prepare a special dish for the animal. However, it may happen that the pet stops eating his usual food. If the dog stops eating dry food, the first step is to find out the reason for the change.

An unexpected refusal of a pet from food can be a serious problem for the owners. In this case, you will most likely have to resort to cooking. However, dogs, as you know, are not omnivores: and if one pet loves millet porridge, then another may not like it.

The reasons for the strange behavior of a pet can be completely different. The problem can be associated with both the food itself and the physiology and health of the pet. Common reasons for an animal to refuse dry food include the following:

Another brand of feed... Animals have a tendency to get used to a certain type of food. Despite the visual similarity, many dry food have completely different composition, taste, smell, at least, this applies to the flavors included in the composition. Therefore, changing the brand of the finished ration, as a rule, will provoke the refusal of the animal.
Poor feed quality... As you know, dogs have an excellent sense of smell, therefore, if suddenly the usual packaging of dry food suddenly turns out to be unusable, then the animal will immediately feel it.
Dry food is boring... While it is believed that dogs are not particularly picky about food, they also sometimes need variety. Moreover, the consumption of dry food alone can contribute to the appearance of various diseases in the animal.
Stress... It's not a secret for anyone that animals, like humans, can experience and get into a state of stress. This may be due to both environmental factors affecting the nervous system of the animal, and physiological, occurring directly in the pet's body. It should be noted that this situation usually implies a complete refusal of the animal from food.
Reduced physical activity... Many dog \u200b\u200bbreeds are among those animals that constantly require physical activity. Lack of physical activity can lead to changes in the animal's behavior, in particular, to loss of appetite and refusal of dry food.
Cold or runny nose... As you know, the attractiveness of dry food for an animal is due to the presence of a special nutritious smell. However, if the pet loses its sense of smell, dry food is no longer perceived by the pet as potential food.
Physiological features... The physiological features include periods such as heat or binge. At this time, the pet is far from eating. It should be noted that in this case, there is a general loss of appetite in the animal.

What to do and how to help your pet

Having found out the reason for the refusal of the animal from dry food, you can take any measures that contribute to the return to the usual food or to change the diet. In general, the subsequent actions depend on the initial factors.

So, if the reason for the refusal is a new brand of feed or its poor quality, then you just need to change the packaging. You can return the brand familiar to the pet, be sure to check when buying a diet for compliance with the quality and expiration date.

If the animal lacks variety, then it is recommended to give up the usual food for a while. There are many simple pet food recipes to suit your pet. In addition, you can dilute the "drying" with wet food or canned food with different compositions.

In case of stress, it is necessary to eliminate negative factors. As already mentioned, both the environment and disturbances in the animal's body can contribute to a stressful situation. In the case of environmental factors, it is necessary to change the environment of the animal, to be more sensitive, affectionate and attentive to him. If the cause of the stressful condition is unknown, then you should contact a veterinary clinic.

In case of reduced physical activity, it is necessary to normalize the daily routine of the animal. The pet should be occupied with something, offer longer walks with various active games, training. But the simplest and most convenient way out of this situation is to buy toys for your pet, with which he will play in the absence of the owner of the house.

If your dog is suffering from a cold or runny nose, it is recommended that you give your pet warm or hot food. This will contribute to his speedy recovery. You can also ask your veterinarian for help to prescribe special medicines for colds or runny nose.

Veterinary specialists have their own opinion on this matter and suggest following these recommendations:

Periodically, you should resort to a variety of pet's diet. Everyone knows that monotony can get boring from time to time. And in the case of animals, consumption of dry food may even contribute to the development of complications such as renal or liver failure.
Sometimes it is recommended to add kefir or just water to dry food to add moisture to the contents. The fact is that soft soaked food pads do not damage the body, unlike dry ones.
If you change the brand of dry food, you should wait until the animal sniffs it, gets used to it, or, if possible, return to the previous brand.
Some dry foods are made for dogs of a specific breed or character. For example, there is a nutritional product for both sedentary and active breeds.
Large pads are not recommended for small dog breeds, as the large size of food consumed at one time can contribute to indigestion.

Some owners may start sounding the alarm if the pet has a decreased appetite. However, inexperienced dog owners, instead of addressing the root cause of decreased appetite, begin to look for possible diseases in the animal. In fact, things may not be so bad.

Naturally, refusal to eat, in particular dry food, does not always indicate any violations. It is possible that the pet is simply bored with the monotonous food, or, on the contrary, the pet is so used to its food that it will not allow it to be deceived by substituting it.