Q: Why would my two dogs, out of the blue, and halfway through the bag of dry food, refuse to eat their pellets, even though there is nothing obviously wrong with the food?
A: This is a difficult question to answer as there can be many causes. The fact that both dogs stopped at the same time makes a medical reason for the loss of appetite less likely.
Have you been giving them soft food or lots of treats? This could cause them to become picky eaters. If you think this is the cause, stop the treats and feed only the dry food.
If they don’t eat, pick up the food and try again at the next mealtime. When they get hungry and realise they are not getting treats, they will eat the pellets.
If you do not think this is the case, then consider that there may not be something visibly wrong with the food, but if it got slightly wet, or tainted by something that it was stored close to, the dogs may pick up on the scent or taste and refuse to eat the pellets (remember dogs have a very good sense of smell!).
If this could be a cause, try to buy a smaller, fresh bag of the same food and see if they eat that. If this does not help I suggest a vet visit to ensure there are no medical problems.
Dr Vanessa Mcclure, veterinarian
