The Most Frequent Eating Problems

The Dog will not Eat

There are many causes of anorexia in dogs. The most frequent are fever, sexual excitation (for a male near a bitch in heat), or competition for food when a dominant dog keeps another dog away from the dish. Lack of appetite also frequently results from food that has been improperly stored and has spoiled. A dog that refuses to eat for reasons other than the above should be taken to a veterinarian.

The Dog Eats too Much

Bulimia can be caused by the fear of "missing out" (competition between dogs for the food), a neuro-hormonal disorder, boredom, food that has insufficient energy content, or problems assimilating the food during digestion. The owner can help the veterinarian with a diagnosis in this case by determining the amount of food consumed, the amount of excrement produced, changes in the dog's weight, and careful observation of behavior.

The Dog Eats Everything

A dog that eats inedible substances suffers from pica. The occasional ingestion of grass, systematically followed by vomiting, is not caused by any psychological problem or dietary deficiency, and even if the dog seems to vomit on purpose at times, it is merely a game. However, if this behavior becomes more frequent, it often signals the beginnings of gastritis (inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the stomach). In contrast, true pica is indicated if the dog licks walls or the ground, or eats dirt, and usually corresponds to a depressive syndrome. A dog suffering from pica should be treated, and its living arrangements should be changed immediately, as they are often a cause.

The Dog Eats Excrement

Coprophagy is a condition in which a dog eats its own excrement or that of other dogs. Except in bitches with litters, who clean their puppies by licking away the fecal matter, coprophagy in dogs usually arises from the fact that the excrement consumed contains undigested nutrients that may still have some appetizing qualities. The most important thing to look for is thus a problem of digestive assimilation in the dog whose excrement was consumed (often the same dog that was eating it), by analyzing the stool to determine whether parasites or undigested fats or starch are present. This phenomenon can also result from overeating, which causes decreased digestibility because the digestive capacity is exceeded and the passage of the food through the intestinal tract is accelerated. In this case, a simple reduction in the amount of food given will suffice to bring things back to normal. Finally, note that certain breeds of dogs are predisposed to coprophagy. This is the case with large dogs such as the German Shepherd, which frequently suffer from pancreatic insufficiency.

Consult the archives...

All the archives

Breeds    Health / Prevention    Health / Diseases    Nutrition    Behavior    Cat Fancy    The cycle of life    The pet and his owner    Preparing for shows    Cat breeding    Professions and qualifications    History    Cat and law    Art    Encyclopedia