A temporary loss of appetite in your dog is not something to become immediately concerned about. Just like humans, sometimes dogs don’t feel hungry or are stressed and don’t want to eat. Diarrhea, vomiting, and a decreased appetite can make it challenging to ensure your dog is getting the right nutrients.
Signs Your Dog Has Lost His or Her Appetite
Signs of loss of appetite in dogs include:
- Eating less food than normal
- Refusing to eat at all
- Refusing to eat treats
- Lack of interest in food
- Trying but unable to eat
- Weight loss
- Weakness and lethargy
- Vomiting
Why Dogs Lose Their Appetite
Refusing to eat for more than two meals is uncommon for most animals. Loss of appetite is a serious indicator of an underlying illness, which can vary from depression to cancer. If you notice a change in your dog’s eating habits, schedule an appointment with your veterinarian immediately. It is especially important to respond quickly to a refusal to eat in dogs who normally have a good appetite.
The most common reasons a dog will lose their appetite include:
- Illness
- Infection
- Disease
- Recovering from surgery
- Mourning a death
- Aging
- Stress
- Sudden change in diet
- Scavenging
- Eating human foods difficult for dogs to digest
- Motion sickness
- Eating too much
- Eating too quickly
- Ear or balance problems
Other, more serious reasons for a dog being sick include:
- Infection
- Worms
- Eating foreign bodies (such as socks or toys)
- Swallowing or licking plants or toxins poisonous to dogs
- Cancer
- Kidney or liver disease
- Pancreatitis
When Should You Contact Your Veterinarian?
If your dog is throwing up frequently or projectile vomiting, you should contact your vet right away. It’s also a cause for concern if your dog can’t keep water down or is vomiting bile, has blood or unusual material in the vomit or is showing signs of lethargy, depression, discomfort or bloating. If your dog is experiencing any of these signs, please contact your vet right away. Other reasons to call a vet include decreased urination, or a combination of severe bloating, diarrhea and abdominal pain.
If your dog has, or you suspect your dog has, eaten something they shouldn’t have, such as chocolate, onions, garlic, macadamia nuts or raisins, call your veterinarian right away. If your dog is attempting to vomit but can’t, it may be dangerous. This is a symptom of gastric dilatation volvulus (GDV), also called bloat, which can be life-threatening.
Read more: The Ultimate Guide to Foods You Can and Can’t Feed Your Dog
What to Feed Your Sick Dog So He or She Will Feel Better
The idea for feeding a sick dog is to give your dog the nutrition he or she needs to recover. A bland diet can help dogs with mild upset stomach, including gas, nausea, constipation, and diarrhea. Be sure to rule out serious health risks and discuss your diet plan with your veterinarian. Also, dogs with health conditions like diabetes, cancer, allergies or senior dogs might need additional nutrition to stay healthy.
Once you have ruled out any major health issues with your vet, here are 10 foods you can feed your dog to help them recover and feel better.
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Chicken and rice
Chicken and rice are primary ingredients in many dog foods, and these mild foods tend to work well for sick dogs. Use boneless, skinless chicken breasts and white rice. Do not use any oils, butters, or seasonings, not even salt. Be sure to cut or shred the chicken so your dog doesn’t choke on the meat.
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Shredded chicken
Shredded chicken is easy on an upset stomach and is usually a highly desirable food for dogs who have lost their appetite. Plain, unseasoned, boiled, shredded chicken is easy to digest. It also contains protein, essential vitamins, minerals, fats and amino acids that will help your pup heal.
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Pumpkin
Pumpkin and sweet potato are good foods to feed a sick dog. These root vegetables are high in fiber and lots of vitamins and minerals and helps dogs’ digestive systems. Adding pumpkin to your dog’s meal helps with constipation. Veterinarians recommend you give your dog one to four tablespoons of pumpkin, depending on your dog’s size. Canned pumpkin is convenient and easy to serve, as long as there are no added seasonings or ingredients. Do not give your dog pumpkin pie filling as the added spices and sugar can irritate your dog’s upset stomach.
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Bone broth
Bone broth is a very mild liquid high in nutrition, moisture and flavor. Bone broth is easy on dog’s digestive systems and is healing. To make a bone broth, cook beef marrow bones, turkey or chicken bones. Cover the bones with water, cover and cook on low for 24 hours. Let the broth cool in the refrigerator and then scrape off the hardened fat on the top of the broth. Be sure to strain the broth and throw away all the bones. Cooked bones are dangerous for dogs as they can splinter in the digestive tract, possibly requiring surgery to be removed.
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Baby food
Veterinary hospitals give dogs certain types of baby food to feed the dogs in their care. Baby food is easy to swallow and digest and is a great way to give oral medication. Baby foods such as chicken, lamb and turkey are good choices. Just make sure there are no added ingredients, such as garlic or onion powder.
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Eggs
Eggs can be a great source of protein for sick dogs. They are easy to digest and dogs usually love them.
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Oatmeal
Oatmeal is high in fiber and contains helpful nutrients, minerals and antioxidants. Oatmeal contains Vitamin B, which helps maintain a healthy coat and linoleic acid, which is a type of omega-6 fatty acid helpful for dogs skin. Just be careful to not feed your dog too much oatmeal because too much fiber can lead to an upset stomach. Also, make sure to cook the oatmeal in water as many dogs have a hard time digesting milk.
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White fish
Sometimes dogs don’t want to eat because he or she is suffering from pain or can’t smell the food. Scent plays a big part in motivating dogs to eat, so something smelly, like fish, can encourage your dog to eat. Fish provides protein and key vitamins and minerals. Be sure to skin and debone the fish before you offer it to your dog.
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Potatoes
Potatoes are nutrient rich root vegetables and provide important vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, B6, iron and magnesium. Be sure to cook potatoes thoroughly and do not add any seasonings, even salt. It is best to peel potatoes before feeding them to your pup.
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Plain yogurt
Yogurt is high in calcium and protein. It can also act as a probiotic, which can be good for your dog’s digestive system. Be sure to only feed your dog plain yogurt, free of any sweeteners, especially artificial sweeteners.
Ultimately, your dog’s health should always be discussed with your veterinarian. Consult your vet on what he or she recommends for your dog and based on your dog’s symptoms.
What do you feed your dog when he or she experiences an upset stomach? What foods should be added to this list? Please comment below…
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Thank you so much for your blog information I have a 13 year-old Westie (Wilson) who kept throwing up mostly in the mornings. His tummy will also squeal like a kitty cat or squeak like a mouse. I thought it was because of gas or empty stomach.
After an expensive vet visit they could not come up with anything except that my dog is old and probably needs a bland diet.
They wanted to do stomach x-rays and blood work for an additional $500 which I could not afford.
Long story short after reading all of your blogs I started to give my little buddy Wilson who is under 30 pounds 1/2 teaspoon of plain pumpkin purée. It was hard to find at the store way at the bottom shelf in the back because they say do not use pumpkin pie mix.
He is also already on a O M canine dog food from chewy.com
I then proceeded to make some original jasmine white rice cooked gently and soft. Then I mixed in a very small amount of beef bouillon just for flavor because he is allergic to almost everything except beef.
I put the rice in a plastic container so it will stay moist and poured the bouillon over the top and mixed in well.
I fed him the pumpkin half a teaspoon first thing in the morning or would just mix with his water and then he would get a half a cup of rice mixed with a half a cup of his dog food up to three times a day.
UPDATE!!!
By the end of the first day he was already feeling better and seem to have his appetite back.
By the second day there was no more throwing up and no more tummy sounds.
Now it’s been the third day and he’s back to his normal happy self.
I learned a few lessons with this one thanks to the blog.
1) A normal dog temperature is 101.5 if higher than one02 he has a fever and take him to the vet immediately!
2.) if you can’t afford some treatment recommended by a vet you can call animal control or animal shelter in your county and they could refer you to someone who might be able to charge on a sliding scale.
3) when trying something new with your pet make sure you try one thing at a time over a two day period so you can check for any allergic reaction.
HOPE THIS HELPS
I’m so glad the information in the blog was helpful and Wilson is feeling better! That is good news indeed! Thanks for letting us know and for the helpful information you have shared here. I hope Wilson continues to thrive.
I spent the $500 you mentioned for the X-ray to check for blockage and medication and it didn’t do any good at all!!! Thank you for giving me some hope for saving my precious mastiff Oscar.
Becky,
So happy to hear your Oscar is doing better! Thanks for stopping by and sharing in the discussion! Hope to see you again soon.
I’m happy that nothing was found on x-ray, but caution about assuming it to be wasted money. I’ve had giant breed dogs who’ve had bloat (GDV), and the only chance at saving them is quick diagnosis and emergency surgery. Ruling it out. That is just one emergent condition that an x-ray can diagnose or – happily – rule out. If left untreated, bloat is fatal. You did the right thing!
I have a 10 month old pit bull terrier she started to throw up at 6 am and cant keep water down . She showing interest in eatting but everything i have tryed giving her she wont eat it. Im at a loss I cant afford to take her to the vet right now. Can you please help
Charlieann, it’s so scary when your pup is sick because they can’t tell us what they’re feeling. I hope your dog is feeling better by now, but if not, she needs to be seen by a veterinarian. If you’re strapped financially, I suggest you contact your local Humane Society or other animal shelter and ask for referrals to local veterinarians who will see dogs on a pro bono or sliding fee scale. Take care and thanks for stopping by the Canine Campus blog. Hope to see you back again soon and let us know how your pup is doing!
I am surprised the vet did not comment that beef bouillon or any bouillon product for humans has an exorbitant amount of salt in it and would be bad for the dog. Wow!
That is certainly something to take into account. Of course, you can always make your own beef broth so you can control the amount of salt in it. Thanks for a great point! Hope you visit our blog again soon!
I can’t begin to thank you enough for this helpful information. My dog got sick from a reaction to some allergy medicine and had antinausea and antiacid injection which helped stop the vomiting & diarrhea but for 3 days he has not eaten. So back we went to the vet and they gave him Entyce food stimulative which didn’t seem to help at first. I tried everything but couldn’t get him eating, that is until I found your suggestion about baby food. He finally licked my fingers which is the first interest he’s shown in any food. Fortunately he has been drinking water so didn’t become dehydrated. I am looking forward to his next feeding session even if it’s only a few licks cuz I know this is the start to his road to recovery.
Thanks a million! Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much for letting us know the blog post was helpful! I hope your pup is feeling much better by now. Thanks for visiting our blog and hope you’ll stop back by again soon!
My 5 years old frenchie Stella is on apoquel for a year now, and she has been having bloody stool for a couple of days (like pink jelly) she’s allergic to almost everything but fish (Cod) I make her food everyday brown rice, pumpkin, and cod, sometimes I give her lentils. I give her pre and probiotics everyday I also give her a spoon of organic Greek yogurt every other day. The vet doesn’t find anything wrong with her she got 3 pictures X-rays and full panel blood work also ultrasounds and full panel checking for parasites and she’s all good. She acts like her normal self she eats like her normal self but she has that dark pinkish jelly in her stool. Please help? Thank u in advance
Liz,
I’m so glad to read you’ve taken Stella in to have her checked! What treatment did your vet recommend? Maybe try eliminating the lentils for a while. They can be hard to digest. It sounds like you’re a wonderful “Mama”. Thanks for taking such good care of Stella and for leaving a comment on our blog.
How did things turn out?
Thank you for your advice since I have a sick dog who needs attention and having this article, I have gotten some really helpful information to apply.
Samuel, I’m so happy to know our blog was helpful! I hope your dog is feeling better! Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you back again soon!
Great info thank you so much
Lauranne, I’m glad you found the information helpful! Thank you for visiting our blog and leaving a comment. Hope to see you back again soon!
I make my dogs food and to it over some higher grade kibble. Yesterday they were out of kibble so I added oatmeal to thicken food. Hours later one dog(both German shepherds) threw up for and oatmeal made it like a brick. She threw up twice this morning (watery) so I’m putting rice on stove now. Thank you for your article, I guess I’m making pumpkin pie today to take out a few tablespoons of the pumpkin.
I hope your pup is feeling better by now! Hopefully the pumpkin will help. Let us know how your dog is doing. Thanks for stopping by the Canine Campus blog!
Hi my dog is angel she has an Australian Shepherd border collie mix. She is my service dog she’s my life we went back east. We were stuck in that terrible airport situation and she had to eat different dog food as we are stuck in extra six days coming home she seem fine. I know my stress is high, so her anxiety was high, then all of a sudden she was throwing up. It’s very hot here. I’m trying to take her out when it’s cool I kept her on grilled turkey and rice. She was fine. I added back in her kibble, which is diamond natural with a little bit of blue buffalo, which is the only thing we could find back east And I thought she was doing good and today she threw up again her respirations are fine. Her breathing is fine she wants food. She’s gone to the bathroom she’s peeing. I wish she would drink a little bit more water. I’m not sure at all what food to actually buy her I’m gonna give her a week of just plain chicken and rice But where do I go from there again? She is my service dog she’s my lifeline. I need advice. Thank you so much.
Sometimes travel can wreak havoc on a dog’s stomach. I hope your dog is feeling better by now. But if not, you should definitely take your dog in to be examined by your veterinarian. Thanks for stopping by the Canine Campus blog!
I have an eight month old Shih tzu/poodle mix puppy. At seven months old she started eating her poop. I have seen other dogs do this, but never my own. It is so gross. Please tell me how to stop this.
While poop eating is a behavior most people would find repulsive, it is quite common in puppies and female dogs. In puppies, it is seen as a way they explore their world. These puppies want to put everything – literally – into their mouths. This behavior generally wanes over time in puppies, but resurfaces in the behavior of most canine mothers as a way to clean their puppies and keep the den clean.
Eating their own poop is not a health hazard for puppies but eating the feces of other dogs can cause health issues due to contamination from parasites, viruses and toxins.
Make sure your puppy is receiving all the vitamins and minerals she needs. Often, adding a vitamin supplement can help clear up the issue. Some dogs respond well to an enzyme supplement including some supplements that contain plantain, and enzyme that aids in digestion. You can also try using a bitter tasting spray (like Grannicks’s Bitter Apple) as a deterrent. Good luck with your puppy and thanks for writing in!
When your beloved furry friend is feeling under the weather and has lost their appetite, it can be a cause for concern. Proper nutrition is vital for their recovery,
My 9 year old min pin has been throwing up off and on for the last week. He has bad teeth and swallows the kibble whole! I switched him to eggs, chicken, pumpkin and rice. I’m praying that this helps. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to him.
Thank you for sharing your experience here on the Canine Campus blog. I hope by now your min pin is doing better. If not, I do encourage you to make an appointment with your vet to make sure nothing serious is going on.
Thank you for this info! I have a 11 year old pit bull who vomits like something from a horror movie! She has no other symptoms. Like she would eat right after tossing her cookies! So I came here and recieved some great ideas of what to try. I will let you know how she is in a few days.
I’m glad you found some helpful ideas. Yes, be sure to let us know if anything helps!