What is anorexia in dogs?
Anorexia refers to the dog's total loss of appetite, which then no longer eats at all. It is a non-specific symptom of an animal disease or disorder.
Anorexia should not be confused with:
- dysorexia which refers to the dog's lack of appetite (the animal then continues to eat a little),
- pseudo-anorexia in which the animal's appetite is preserved. The animal is interested in food but it cannot feed itself because it is physically unable to do so.This is particularly the case when the dog suffers, for example, from dental pain which prevents him from being able to eat.
What causes anorexia in dogs?
Total loss of appetite in dogs is one of the symptoms of various dog diseases, such as:
- kidney failure,
- liver failure,
- heart failure,
- hypocorticism,
- ketoacidosis,
- certain cancers,
- distemper,
- parvovirus,
- ehrlichiosis,
- piroplasmosis,
- various respiratory, digestive, neurological or immune conditions,
- poisoning of the dog by toxic and/or medicinal substances.
Anorexia can also be a sign of pain or stress in dogs.
My dog is not eating at all: what should I do?
If you haven't changed anything in your dog's food and your dog hasn't eaten at all for more than 24 hours, it is imperative to go and consult a veterinarian without waiting too long (and that, especially if the dog has other symptoms). In dogs, total anorexia for 5 days becomes a vital emergency: we must therefore react before!
At the clinic, the veterinarian will endeavor to identify the disease or disorder that is causing the dog's anorexia in order to set up an appropriate treatment.
If necessary, the veterinarian may also use assisted enteral feeding techniques for the dog (feeding the dog through a tube) in order to restore the animal's energy intake and/or administer orequip drugs. (which open the appetite).