Question:
my 5yr old chiau/lapso mix will not eat her food. she is about 6 pds. she will go for days without eating. sometimes she will eat if we hand feed her . she will not eat dry food. any sugg?

Answer:
what steps have you taken so far? Have you spoken to the vet about this? are there any other symptoms?

Answer:
Depends on the reason the dog isn't eating. I'd rule out any medical conditions first. Have you discussed with the vet.

Some dogs are picky eaters and some dogs may have medical problems. Before suggesting anything I suggest you consult your vet.

A dog so small should not go w/o food/water for days it can dehydrate and die!

Answer:
other than not eating her food she seems fine. she does drink her water and will eat people food. she will take a few bites of her food if we feed her by hand she puts her nose right up when we try and get her to eat. i dont know what food to switch her to . she now eats ceasar can food. wont touch dry food at all.and no we dont over feed her on people food.we just give her small pieces.

Answer:
This is a common problem with very small dogs who get people food. They rapidly learn that if they don't eat their dog food, they'll get something much better.

You say, "We just give her small pieces". Maybe so, but if you do that all the time, that may be enough to fill up a 6lb dog enough so that she can ignore her own food and hold out for yours! This dog is 5 years old, so she must be eating something or she would be dead by now.

If she likes the canned food, then give her that and stick with it. Switching food all the time makes dogs very finicky. Put it down, walk away and leave it down for 15 minutes. If she doesn't eat it, take it away and offer a new portion again at her next feeding. Do not give her any people food and do not feed her by hand.

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This is also common in incredibly spoiled great Danes named Raja
LuckyRescue has given you good advice.
If you insist upon giving the dog human-food treats, use them only as a "reward" for eating the canned dog food. If you are consistant with this, the dog will, in time, eagerly eat up the canned food in order to get a treat.

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i want to thank you for your advice on getting my small dog to eat. you were right on the money. we no longer feed her people food and she now eats her food. thanks a happy dog owner

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Glad to be of assistance, and thanks for the update!!

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Wonderful!!

Thanks for the update!

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How long can a dog go without eating? My dog has not eaten in 5 days.

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Not to be a smart-alec,but probably until he does not need food anymore The dog needs a vet ASAP!

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My 2 cents
does your pooch have an underbite? my female staffy has an underbite and she prefers being handfed too....I think her underbite is a contributing factor.She doesn't like eating biscuits because they fall out of her mouth.

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Ummm....this thread is over two years old and the OP hasn't posted since Nov. 2004.

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This thread is super old.... I wonder about the underbite thing, though. My dog is very picky, at times I've had to hand feed him and other times he just won't eat. He doesn't appear to be starving but doesn't seem to like his food much either and sometime he doesn't eat all day. He does have a slight underbite... I don't know, though. He never refuses a treat. Perhaps it is time to eliminate all treats/snacks.

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Mine holds out for treats I think, we do tones of training with her, we treat her for all kinds of good behavior since she is only 7 months old, and come dinner time I think sometimes she holds out for treats - and as for breakfast, she likes to eat closer to 10 rather then when I get up at 6. Let's call that brunch.

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Originally Posted by Kristin7
This thread is super old.... I wonder about the underbite thing, though. My dog is very picky, at times I've had to hand feed him and other times he just won't eat. He doesn't appear to be starving but doesn't seem to like his food much either and sometime he doesn't eat all day. He does have a slight underbite... I don't know, though. He never refuses a treat. Perhaps it is time to eliminate all treats/snacks.

The underbite thing is silly, unless the dogs mouth is hurting. My pup has an underbite and has no issues eating.

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