ShihTzu goes days without eating - worried

We had this problem towards the end of our last shepherd's life. She unknown to us had a tumour on her spleen so I don't want to worry you but I would suggest asking your vet for another checkup. The tumour was only detected through a scan. There was no other sign prior to that other than being reluctant to eat her food (but not treats|) and sadly it was so advanced the only option was to have her put to sleep straight away. I so hope this isn't the case for you.
I would think that if you are leaving her food down for 12 hours it becomes rather unappetising. The advice I've had in the past is to pick it up if not eaten within the hour though I confess I've never been able to follow it, too soft hearted. Perhaps as an elderly lady she likes a varied diet and 'little and often'. I have always fed my current rescue GSD, who is now 12 1/2, on Lily's Kitchen. It's not cheap but the ingredients are good (Prince Charles feeds it to his dogs!) and I give her something different every meal and every day. She loves it and eats every scrap. Plus a few treats of course and a special meal of freshly cooked chicken or beef once a week, her Sunday treat. Good luck!

Sorry, the dog is a she!

mumofmadboys

Could you weigh her once a week and see if she is losing weight? Hold her on human scales and then subtract your weight. Are her energy levels normal? Is she passing urine and faeces normally?

I used to do that with our adopted dog.

His previous owner had died and he didn't want to eat at first.
I sat on the floor with him and fed him his own food from my fingers (daft, probably, but I wanted to make sure he ate something)

Perhaps sticking to the same food might be the best idea, chopping and changing isn't good although tempting to do.
Pasta is good, however, if they do have an upset tum.

See how he goes but take him to the vet after Christmas if he doesn't improve.

Occasionally our Boxer bitch won’t eat for a few days because she gets a sore stomach. Acid indigestion type thing so we make sure she eats nothing but a fish based diet. If she eats anything which is not fish/venison based she seems to get poorly. Vet investigations also prescribed a grain free diet.
It’s not difficult to get grain free dog food. It might be worth a try.

Good luck. This little doggy is very lucky to have found such s kind caring home. Little monkey though!!

We’ve always advised to put food down and remove it if it’s not eaten in 30 minutes.
She’s a senior animal, so won’t need as much food. Does she get exercised enough to work up an appetite? Don’t forget they’ve little tummies, so sometimes a few biscuits can equal a meal.
Try not to worry - get her checked out if you’re concerned - perhaps she has teeth problems. That breed is prone to ‘wonky teeth’ but I’d try not to become a slave to her feeding - if she liked the original pouches, I think I’d try them again. My DD2’s older (12) Shitzu has gone down to only eating an evening meal, so half of what he was having before. He’s quite happy with a morning Bonio now.

Little monkey! (the dog, not you! )….

I think I will start picking it up if she hasn't eaten it within half an hour.

I don't believe it! I have just been in the kitchen and she has eaten every scrap of her food.

I have come to conclusion that this must be her normal eating pattern.

Thanks for the advice anyway.

To be honest I think leaving the food down from 9 to 9 gives her the idea that she can eat at any time if the food was put down and left for only an hour she would soon be trained to eat in the allotted time or else it’s gone
Think child if you left there dinner on the table they d probably just graze a bit here and there because they would know they d never go hungry as the food is always available
If they knew the food was going away they d make sure they d ate it up
No tidbits from the table either
At 10 she may not need so much food, is she getting exercise ? because if not she won’t build up an appetite

Thank you for your comments. She had a full MOT at the vets when we took her on six months ago. Everything is fine.

She seems very settled with us. I was worried when we got her at first as the daughter of the owner had been trying to find a new home for a couple of months. She could not keep her as she had two large bouncy dogs. Our dog did stay with her for the interim.

To be honest, she is fatter than she was when we got her.

I think I will try what Maybee70 suggested and pick her dish up if she doesn't eat.

I do think it may be a pattern (as EllenVannin suggested).

I also need to retrain my DH to not give her food from the table

Some dogs are notoriously fussy. I think maybe you should just put the food down for a short time and take it away if she doesn’t eat it. Boil up some chicken water which she will probably drink so you know she’s not dehydrated. Give no treats whatsoever. If my dog has a treat she expects the same treat at the same time every day and only eats half of her dinner because she wants the teeth cleaning fish stick she knows she will get afterwards. Three o’clock is Bonio time. 8 pm dentastix. It might be that she has a problem of some kind, so it’s always a good idea with dogs of that age to have a kidney function test and have their teeth looked at. But it does seem to me that she prefers her treats to her food.

Could you weigh her once a week and see if she is losing weight? Hold her on human scales and then subtract your weight. Are her energy levels normal? Is she passing urine and faeces normally?

I wonder if she is still mourning her previous owner?

Please, ring a vet and make an appointment - there could be something wrong, so start with a check-up.

If you can't get an appointment soon, ring a breeder of this particular breed and ask advice.

I have no knowledge of this breed and anyhow know more about cats than dogs. A ten year old cat behaving like that is either in an enormous huff with her owner, or having trouble either with her teeth or her digestive tract.

Hope you find out what the matter is.

Unless she appears ill, i.e. vomiting/ diarrhoea or is coughing ( furball ) then I'd take it that it's her normal eating pattern. Obviously they slow down with age as is natural with most animals----and humans, but if she seems happy with her present regime then I wouldn't worry too much so long as she's eating something.