What to do if My Golden Retriever Isn’t Eating But Acting Normal?

Golden Retrievers love their food.

In fact, every dog loves meal time so, you know that there’s something on if your dog isn’t eating like he usually does but acting completely normal. This can be worrisome for you because a lack of appetite in dogs is often linked with diseases.

So, is this something you should be panicking about?

The loss of appetite in dogs is known as anorexia and it’s a completely different thing from the human psychological disorder known as anorexia nervosa.

In this blog post, I’ll answer the question, “What to do if my Golden Retriever isn’t eating but acting normal?” and help you figure out what’s going on.

Let’s start.

What The Vet Has to Say

It’s true that dogs don’t generally eat when they’re feeling ill or have a disease.

Some reasons can be quite common such as having a fever, while others can be a bit worrisome like having the flea flu. So, in this case, instead of speculating what’s wrong with your Goldy, you should visit your vet if you see signs of anorexia in your doggy friend.

This is usually a good thing to do if you want to catch a disease in its initial stages.

This is all the more important if your dog can eat almost anything and everything within seconds but has stopped altogether.

There are various other reasons why your Goldy may not be eating---some aren’t even related to your dog having a medical issue, However, we advise you to be cautious and take your dog to the vet anyway---or also call a vet!

Why Isn’t My Golden Retriever Eating?

These are some of the most common reasons why dogs tend to not eat food. However, I still recommend that you visit your vet anyway, to be sure. Let’s take a look at them!

Doggy Drama: Why Isn’t My Pet Eating His Food!?

Following are a few reasons why your dog probably isn’t eating the food:

• Dental issues: Dogs don’t really let their owners know they have dental issues and don’t show signs of any pain until it is too late. In case your dog hasn’t been eating, you should get his teeth checked for cracked, broken, or loose teeth. You can also try giving your pooch soft food to determine if he’s got dental issues
• The dog wants to be fed: If your dog is high-maintenance and likes you to work for it, he may simply refuse to eat unless he’s fed by you. You need to sort this behavioral issue out if you have a spoilt Goldy
• Travel to new places: This is another common thing that pet owners do not realize. If your Goldy was eating just fine until you took a trip or moved to a new location then, the travel is probably the reason why your furry companion won’t finish his food. Dogs get motion sickness, and some dogs also feel uncomfortable and nervous when they’re introduced to a new environment
• Illnesses: Most often, anorexia is related to sickness in dogs. The illness may not necessarily be a serious one, however, loss of appetite is one of the symptoms of diseases such as systemic infections, cancers, kidney failure, liver infections, pain, etc.
• Senior Dog: Some aging Goldies are known to stop eating because they actually forget to do it! Other than that, your aging pooch may have dental pain and issues so, contacting your vet is the best thing to do
• Vaccination: One of your biggest responsibilities as a pet owner should be to get your dog vaccinated for life-threatening diseases as they prevent your dog from getting serious diseases. But, in some cases, vaccines have adverse effects that may cause your doggy friend to get a little sick and lose his appetite for a few days. So, if you’ve just got your dog vaccinated, you shouldn’t worry too much
• The dog simply not being hungry: Most dog owners don’t realize that some dogs can go a few days without eating so, your Goldy may not be eating his food simply because he isn’t hungry at the moment
• Pickiness: If you have just changed dog food brands, your dog may not be eating his kibble because he probably doesn’t like the new brand as much as he liked the previous one. You can change the dog food to be sure if that’s the case---which it usually is. Adding things that your dog likes (such as chicken, eggs, etc.) to his food to see if that truly is that case
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• Change in routine: Dogs like routine and are excellent at sticking to them. So, any changes in their routine results in a domino effect which means that your dog will need to get used to his new routine and adjust his eating habits accordingly.
• Addition of a new dog in the family: Adding a new member to your family can be exciting and stressful at the same time which is one of the reasons why your Goldy might have lost his appetite. You just need to allow your dog to adjust to the presence of the new dog and you’ll be good to go!
• Other issues: In this section, we have only included some of the common ones. Other issues include problems such as being around a dominant or even aggressive dog, the food bowl being at an uncomfortable height for the dog to eat out of it, an unwashed or bad-smelling food bowl, etc.

Phone your vet to be sure as to why your dog is eating and never take your pet’s health for granted.

What to Do if My Golden Retriever Isn’t Eating Food?

If your dog hasn't been feeling the kibble lately, the first thing you should do is to determine what the cause could be.

We have provided you with a list of the most common reasons why dogs don’t eat their food. Once you know what the root cause of the problem is you can:

1. Determine if your dog needs medical attention
2. Try out a few home remedies

In any case, a simple call to the vet won’t hurt anyone and will be able to calm you down. You must do everything in your power to keep your furry companion happy and healthy.

Still, have any unanswered questions or concerns? Leave them in the comments section and we will help you right out!