Raising a puppy is like raising a child of your own. You need to put so much effort to make sure the puppy lives well and does not get affected by any condition. Well, it is even tougher as you can not even communicate with them. The pain and misery they go through are beyond our imagination.
Following the below tips and information regarding 8-year-old puppies and what to do when they are not eating would give you ideas on feeding them.
8 month old puppy not eating
An 8-month-old puppy not eating can be caused due to their ill health, digestive problems, losing appetite, and many others. Main reason is having health problems. If the puppy is not eating and feeling sick or vomiting and having diarrhea, a quick consultation with the veterinarian should be done.
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Puppies are one of the favorite friends of humans. They play well and keep their loyalty toward humans. They also get ill and due to the lack of communication often owners do not know what is wrong with their dogs. Before it becomes too late, you should also focus on the health of your puppy.
Treating the puppy is not an easy task and even detecting the problem. 8 month old puppies often do not eat food when they are sick of eating the same food. Well, it is not common either. In most cases, they go through disease or infection which leads to losing appetite.
Reasons why your 8 month old puppy not eating:
Puppies are not actually choosy about their food. But not even too stubborn. Puppy not eating can be a cause or indicator of a major problem. Though starving is not too harmful to them, frequent starving can cause great damage to their health.
There are several reasons why an 8 month old puppy starves or does not take a glance at the food. Some of those reasons are highlighted below.
Stress:
Stress can cause stress eating or no appetite. Stress is indeed one of the harmful emotions to any animal and also to humans. Too much stress can lead to having no appetite. As a result, if it continues, it does not take too long to greatly affect health.
Due to stress puppies might lose appetite and eat nothing. You should make the surroundings stress-free for them. If they are always with kids or other animals, make sure they are feeling safe. Most importantly, make sure they are not alone. Loneliness can lead to greater stress.
Food not being appealing:
Like humans, puppies also get tired of having the same food. But it does not happen often. Puppies are not too picky about what they are eating. Yet, some may be stubborn. You should try feeding them new dog foods. An 8 month old puppy can be fed dog food.
You should change the food and see the reaction. Moreover, let them do exercise to have the appetite to eat food. A bit of roaming around would not harm them. Instead, increase their appetite.
Infections or disease:
The most common reason for an 8 month old puppy not eating food is because of infections or disease. If they are having problems with digestion or infections, it would lead to no eating. You definitely would not know if your puppy is going through from disease or not.
When the puppy does not eat for too long, it is often due to disease. You should then immediately concern a doctor. You should not be sitting at home as you can not treat them. Often, the disease might be a bigger one or just some infection.
Sometimes, allergic problems can also lead to loss of appetite and a rise in discomfort. You should make sure the food the puppies are eating does not contain any allergic matter. Otherwise, it can lead to disease and upset stomach sometimes.
Should I be concerned about 8 month old puppy not eating?
The 8 month old puppy is young and adorable. Also enthusiastic and tried to do everything they can. You can play with them and try new things. Suddenly they can also get ill in this phase. Taking care of their eating habits is a must then.
Not eating as much:
If your dog is not eating much of the food, it might be because it did not like the food. Apart from that, you must have given it more food than he can eat.
Not eating breakfast:
Well, a puppy not eating breakfast is like having no appetite. Either they do not like the food or they do not have the will to eat. It is just their changing eating habits, you do not need to worry about.
Not eating kibble:
A puppy not eating kibble is most likely, it does not like the food anymore. Dry foods often can be a pain to eat and create uneasiness in the throat. While providing kibble, make sure there is plenty of water.
Not eating and throwing up:
Well, it is a sign of having a hidden disease or infection. It can be because of indigestion in the food. The puppy might have eaten some allergic foods which must be causing the vomiting. There are multiple reasons behind it.
Not eating and lethargic:
Not having enough food can make the puppy feel weak. Sometimes, it refers to stress as they would reduce their food intake during stress. Moreover, it can also indicate a disease that is creating weakness by making the puppy lose its appetite.
Solutions:
You can solve the problem going on with your puppy if it is not having food. As long as it is not a major problem, you can find the solution by yourself.
Try new foods:
Usually, it is not common that an 8-month puppy would stop eating just because they do not like the food. Still, you should try changing the food and adding new ones. You can also mix up foods. New foods would help them feel curious and cause them to eat. If they like the food, there would be no further problem.
Make the food appealing:
You can make the foods appealing by adding different colored foods. Try putting the food with decorations that would draw the attention of your puppy. Moreover, you can try putting attractive bowls of food. Well, it is the common method of attracting their attention to the food.
Try playing with them:
The 8 month old puppy is cheerful and would definitely love to play and roam around. But when they are stressed, their daily activity would reduce as well. Try walking with them, playing with them. Make them feel safe when you are around.
The less stress they go through, the more healthy they will remain. Try to feed them while pretending to play. Make it seem enjoyable. As a result, you can keep them happy and feed them at the same time.
Consult a doctor:
After trying numerous ways of feeding if the 8-month puppy does not eat at all. You should better consult a doctor. Often, due to infections and disease, the puppy loses its appetite. To bring back the appetite, treat the disease. Sometimes, it is a sign of a major disease.
Mostly, not eating puppies occurs if they eat allergic food. That’s why to be careful while providing them feed and not give them foods that are not good for them. The rest is better known to the doctor. Do not be stingy while consulting a doctor soon.
How long can 8 month puppy go without eating?
An 8 month puppy can go 3 to 5 days without eating. Not eating is not good for puppies. 8-month puppies are still sensitive and should be treated with care. An 8 month puppy would not go around not eating as they are not too picky.
But if they are in a new place and growing is kind of exhausting to them, it can lead to no eating. Though a puppy can survive 3 to 5 days without eating, it can cause major harm to its body. Better if you resolve it soon.
Final remarks:
Overall, an 8 month puppy not eating is quite unusual. Most probably the reason is always related to the occurrence of disease or infection which leads to digestion problems and having no appetite. If the puppy is not eating food and it continues for a long time, better to consult a veterinarian.