my dog won't eat

[pauline brod]

My jack russle dog is refusing to eat, she seems to associate food as bad (her tail goes between her legs) She's getting very skinny but her energy levels are still high - I'm at my wits end as to what to do.

[Diane]

It may be that she has some pain. Have you taken her to the Vet. That would be my first point of call. She may have a tooth or gum problem that would not be evident to you, even as a close and caring owner. She may be putting her tail down as she wants to eat but can't. I had this problem with one of my cats. Different species but same problem.

Try giving her the things that she has previously liked but not at her dish. Give her these as a reward after she has had a cuddle. Then if she is associating food with "bad" she may start to change her attitude. If she eats this way, move her food to where she has eaten the treat and gradually over the next week or so move her dish slowly back to to wher you would prefer her to eat.

Good Luck.

[woofgang]

Take to vet NOW when my dog had these symptoms it was bowel blockage

[cassimer]

This is exactly the start of how we lost our dog - he had a tumour around his stomach. Not saying yours is so serius but again would say go to a vet. Hope she feels better soon!

[woofgang]

cassimer, didn't want to say, but that was what was wrong with ours too and yes, we lost her

[pauline brod]

Thank you for your comments, but there is nothing physically wrong with missy, this appears to be a attention seeking disorder, she will eat if we play with her food, ie we through and she chases.  I need tips on getting her back on track.  This seems to be a classic motion of her being spoilt!  Any ideas would be very welcome, but rest assured she is otherwise in good health.

[woofgang]

well that's a releif, sory to have jumped to a scarey conclusion and thank for posting, pauline

[landie]

You didn't say, pauline brod, whether or not you had consulted the Vet as yet. I would recommend that you do this if you are worried about the loss of weight.

[lalalaland]

my friends dog did this when he was sick. you need to get a big syringe from the vet and make a mush of his food(you might have to water it down to make it flow) and inject into the side of the mouth holding her mouth shut so she swallows. it saved my friends dogs life

[kitchy]

 I read a great book recently called "The Dog Listener" by Jan Fennell, and this explains a lot of weird dog behaviour and  she mentions a dog that wouldn`t eat. It seemed this dog associated food with control and power thinking it was the Alpha dog. I am not suggesting this is the same problem but you may need to seek help with an animal behaviourist if there is nothing physically wrong with your dog. I know this is an old post but just found this web site!