My Dog Is Sleeping Alot and Not Eating – What Should I Do?
If you have seen your senior dog sleeping a lot and have lost appetite. This is a major problem. In these cases, you should know how to cope with the issues. Listed below are certain tips you can use at home to encourage your dog to eat and sleep well.
Reasons
The reason might be that your dog is aging and may be suffering from problems related to health. It may be a major or a very minor problem. So, if you see that your dog is losing its appetite and has been sleeping a lot then you need to make further investigation.
Aging In The Elder Dogs And Weak Metabolism: Firstly, you need to understand the difference between not eating and loss of appetite. A dog who is not eating like before but is healthy, is a lesser concern than the one which is losing weight consistently, regardless of the appetite. If you find that your dog is not eating one fine day and does not want to eat, you need to consult your vert immediately.
There is a difference with an old dog who is a very picky eater and the one who is a lover of food but has stopped intaking any items. There can be another situation which is a bit more concerning then the previous one. As you all know that appetite can fluctuate on a regular basis. Dogs might eat less food a given day when they are in pain, anxious or stressed or if the weather is warm. Senior dog eats less than the puppies. However, if the senior dog is not eating at all you should consult the vet. The dog is sleeping more and eating less, this may be because the metabolism has slowed down due to age and thus makes your dog feel a bit more tired and thus it wants to sleep more. It is aging that brings affect to the appetite and sleeping pattern of the dog.
Medical Condition In Your Dog: There are many medical conditions which can cause eating and sleeping disorders in old dogs. Problems such as pancreatitis, dental problems and infections can cause your dogs to eat less and sleep more. Even issues in liver, kidney, dementia and even cancer can affect the condition of the dog.
Many times dogs experience nausea as they have one of the above medical conditions and thus would not want to eat. Sometimes the vaccines and the medicines also lead to these disturbances in the dogs natural eating and sleeping habits. It is advised to consult a vet when these conditions are observed.
Stress Related Problems: Old dogs also suffer from stress. Hence, sometimes it is observed that they choose to sleep more and eat less to get out of the stressful situation they are in. The reasons which might trigger stress in a dog are a change in the living environment, argument in the house or may be a new owner. This may cause stress in your dog. You can keep your dog company so that they can get accustomed to their new environment easily.
Sometimes changing the diet or feeding time can also lead to a stressful dog. It might sound a very minor change for you but to a dog it is a meal which they have waited for many hours. Sometimes ingredients also make the senior dog.
How To Encourage An Old Dog To Eat More?
The senior dog owners can follow many ways to encourage their dogs to eat. Thus, making sure that the old dog is getting the nutrients and vitamins which is required for them to live during his senior days. You can do this by making the food smell good and with different flavors. Start with a chicken broth which has very less salt to it. You can include egg whites and some flavored dog food along with some gravy to make the portion filling for the dog.
Most old dogs do not eat their food at once. So, you can come back in frequent intervals and feed them in small amounts. Old dogs can be fed 3-4 times in a day depending on the amount of food they can intake. If you still think that it is not helping the dog. You should contact the veterinarian. Sometimes changing the gravy of chicken with a bowl full of vegetable soup can help. You can try giving the vegetable soup and the chicken broth alternatively making the food taste different. When the dog starts eating properly the sleeping disorders also start to reduce.
