Have you noticed your dog has not eaten for 24 hours or more? There are many causes for a dog’s loss of appetite. Luckily, the problems are usually not too serious. Here are some common causes and solutions if you dog will not eat.

Vaccinations

There are many vaccinations for dogs to protect them from serious illnesses. However, this does not mean they don’t have adverse effect. Some vaccinations have side effects of a temporary loss of appetite in a dog. If the dog had recent vaccinations, ask the vet about the side effects of the vaccine that was given to your dog.

Surroundings

New surroundings affect a dog’s behavior and appetite. If your dog is new, then it may have not have adjusted to life in a new home. It may be depressed after leaving its previous home and refuse to eat. To help the dog be comfortable with its new surroundings, play and walk the dog frequently. For older dogs, trips and moving can affect their appetite. They may become nervous or uncomfortable in their new surroundings. To help a dog feel comfortable with their surroundings, take them for a walk before mealtime.

Pickiness or behavior

Sometimes it as simple as the dog just does not like the food given to it. If the dog has stopped eating after a change of food, then this could be the problem. Just go back to the dog food they were eating before or something similar to solve the problem. The dog may also be uncomfortable with the height of food bowl or an aggressive dog that is nearby when it eats. To resolve these problems change the bowl and let the dog eat alone without any other pets around it.

Illness

The worst cause is an illness. If there are symptoms along with a loss of appetite (including but not limited to having trouble urinating, coughing excessively, or coughing up blood/is vomiting), call a vet immediately. Use TalkLocal to find the best vet in your area to attend to your ill dog.

The size of the work is going to be dependent on the size of the dog you are grooming. But learning how to groom matted dog hair is nothing like mowing a lawn or raking leaves – you are tidying up something that is alive and sensitive to your moves. You must be careful as to not to upset the dog when grooming it.

Grooming the Dog

Get into a comfortable position for you and your dog first. A big dog should lie down at your feet, and a small dog should lie down on your lap or on a table. It is generally recommended that you start with the most sensitive area to get it over with. The most sensitive area for the dog is the under and around the ears – but be careful as to not rush the process. Do a small area at a time.

Use a metal comb to smooth out the knots – when you see a cluster (or a knot), approach it from the boundaries (the ends of the knotted area) and slowly work your way into the center of the knot.

But be careful as to hold the roots of the knotted hair firmly when undoing the knots – holding it at the middle and running the comb through will only unsettle the top hair, which will become knotted with time as the roots are still knotted.

Do not attempt to undo too many knots at the same time as it may cause too much friction for the dog to stay still. If you feel as if the dog is agitated, give him something to calm him down in the process – like a dog treat.

If you feel as if appearance of your dog in some areas really won’t make a difference, you can even cut out some fur. The fur will grow over time. Be careful, as always, that you are not hurting the dog by an accident or cutting unnecessary hair.

Give the dog a treat after all this is finished.

Additional Help

If you feel like you need professional help on grooming your dog, TalkLocal can help with finding the correct local experts in this case, saving you time and energy in what may be a stressful situation.