# Won't Eat When Boarded



## caroline429 (Mar 5, 2012)

I went away for the weekend and when I picked Cali up this morning, the dogsitter told me Cali hadn't eaten one thing all weekend. This is not the first time this has happened. Of course, as soon as I got her home, she inhaled her food and passed out and has barely moved since.

She is a picky eater when it comes to kibble but since I've switched her to homemade, she licks the bowl clean in two minutes flat at home. I send the homemade food with her to the sitter's.

I'm not sure if this is separation anxiety or distraction or what. This morning I realized if I fed her and then left the room, she leaves her food and follows me. If I go out around one of her mealtimes though, I can put her food in the xpen with her and she'll eat it while I'm out.

The sitter has tried feeding her with other dogs around, leaving her on her own with her food, staying beside her and, as a last resort, has tried handfeeding her. Nothing works. 

So far, the longest I've been away is 3 days and while it isn't great she's not eating, she does drink and apparently jumps around and plays nonstop the whole time she's there. I'd like to go away for a week at the end of the month. Everyone says a dog won't starve itself and while that may be true, after 3 days of not eating and playing nonstop, she's usually lost a pound. I don't want to think how much she'd lose or what would happen if she took it longer than that. 

Has anyone else ever run into this or does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can get her to eat at the sitter's?


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

yes my kids will not eat if we are away. Well actually after like 3 days they do start eating a little but very little. They will still take treats from the pet sitter but not food. Lila was always the worst with the hunger strike. She would refuse to eat until we got back. If I put food down and then run an errand it is still there when I get back. They dont drink water either.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

caroline429 said:


> Has anyone else ever run into this or does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can get her to eat at the sitter's?


Very common, Caroline. I see it all the time. I have 'strange' dogs in my home on a fairly regular basis. I put out food for them, don't expect them to eat, really.

"Well actually after like 3 days they do start eating a little but very little." 

Three days is abt right. Let yr yr sitter know that...


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Eating is one of the first things my dogs won't do when they are stressed. We had a freaky thunderstorm on Sunday and although i could gets sits I couldn't get either dog to take a cookie. Thunder is very stressful for Peeves so I always try to do distraction things when it happens. When I take Lily away to trials she barely eats. I talked to my vet about this and he suggested making turkey burgers and taking those. That worked, but it sounds like you already have really yummy food going to the sitter.

When we go away, we leave our dogs in our house and have a sitter come in or stay with them. Sometimes it is my mom, who sleeps over, which they love. Sometimes it is my neighbor (who works for a pet sitting service) or another person from the service. They always eat well when we are away. I think they really are very happy even though we aren't there. The neighbor's kids come and play with them and give lots of cookies. Do you have any possibility of having your dog cared for in your home? It certainly makes a difference in my dogs' attitude towards difficult situations whether they are at home or not.


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## sarahmurphy (Mar 22, 2012)

Our last dog would not eat alone, and this one is pretty much the same - waits for the people to eat, and eats with us. 

We do have an advantage, like Catherine - My husband's sister and mother live about 10 minutes from us and he's a regular at "Camp Aunt Susan" - I try to leave him with them a few times a month for the day, and then when it is overnight or longer, he's unconcerned, really. He has stuff there, and stuff here, etc. 

We also have a friend with a teen daughter who adores him, and is willing to stay in our house while we are away sometimes, too. 

The old dog, Trapper, would eat, but less than normal, and only if you sat with him - I mean sat down, ate something, read a book near his food bowl, etc - settled in and SAT with him. The baby, Spike, eats normally as long as he has company in his sightline. 

I think it has something to do with how you eat as a family - we eat together, at the table, almost always, for dinner - and we bring the dog food in when we eat. Our dogs also self-feed, graze, or whatever it is called when you leave food out all the time... So they snack off and on all day, but eat with us. 

When the dog sitters get your regime, it helps. 

sarah


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## Lily's-Mom (May 31, 2012)

We used to have a pekingese/poodle mix and my in-laws would watch him (in our house) when we'd vacation. My mother-in-law was afraid to tell us that he would not come downstairs from the master bedroom. She was certain we'd come home to a deceased dog. He was very angry with us for leaving him and decided to go on a hunger strike.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

My Aussie was the same way. We had him stay with relatives he knew well and we tried keeping him at home and having them go to him. He would not eat the first 3 days at all and then eat lightly until we returned home. He was not a picky eater except when we were gone. He was definately mad at us if we left on a trip but he did not starve and I suspect your dog wont either.


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

Dogs are physically very resistant to starvation. Studies have been done on dogs fasted 2 weeks.

Here is one of dogs fasted 12 days:



> Metabolic balance studies were undertaken during a 12-day fasting period in 6 mongrel and 4 Dalmatian dogs. No evidence of ketosis could be demonstrated during this period. Plasma bicarbonate concentration remained normal. Mean urinary ammonia and titratable acid fell markedly so that net acid excretion dropped from 59 to 23 mEq./day. Mean total urinary nitrogen excretion decreased from 7.2 to 3.3 Gm./day during starvation. A modest rise in urinary pH (0.18 unit) was observed during fasting. No change in urinary or plasma uric acid values could be demonstrated in either mongrel or Dalmatian dogs. Serum phospholipids, cholesterol and triglycerides were not modified during starvation while nonesterified fatty acids rose from 740 to 1000 μEq./L. These data contrast markedly with those observed in human subjects who develop ketosis, increased urinary ammonia and decreased uric acid excretion during fasting. Canine resistance to ketosis during starvation could be related to more efficient utilization of mobilized lipids


If a healthy dog doesn't eat after 14 days, the caregiver should take it to the vet for safety/observation.

If you have time to work on it, feed your dog when you leave (right before work, gym, shopping etc.) so it becomes accustomed to eating alone. If your dog doesn't eat it alone, take the food away until the next meal. Let your dog learn to eat without you before putting it through a complete separation. This way you can find out how long your dog might go without eating and use your judgement (not the petsitters) on if veterinary care is needed.

If your dog is healthy, I'd wait it out for up to 2 weeks. It will get hungry enough to eat. Promise.


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## Minnie (Apr 25, 2011)

This is making me sooooo nervous. Bella (toy poodle) is staying with my mom as normal but this is the 1st time that all of us will be away from home since the Aussie puppies came home. They will be boarded with my groomer who is awesome but this makes me wonder if we are doing the right thing or if we should get a pet sitter to come to our home a few times a day??? This will be a long trip 10 days out of state which is what has me most concerned.


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

Minnie said:


> This is making me sooooo nervous. Bella (toy poodle) is staying with my mom as normal but this is the 1st time that all of us will be away from home since the Aussie puppies came home. They will be boarded with my groomer who is awesome but this makes me wonder if we are doing the right thing or if we should get a pet sitter to come to our home a few times a day??? This will be a long trip 10 days out of state which is what has me most concerned.


My last client to use a petsitter came home to 1 dead dog, and one female pregnant by her littermate. The petsitter put the 6 pet dogs outside unsupervised together. :argh: The family is devastated. They've probably found homes for all the puppies. The husband lost work because he had to stay home with puppies on weekends instead of travelling. They rehomed 2 of their small dogs over the distress with 1 of the small dogs being killed by the other dogs. It is so sad.

The last time I used a petsitter, 1 of my 3 cats died. The petsitter's professional reply "I didn't know you had 3 cats". :argh: :argh: :argh:

I've heard of 2 local (my hometown) cases of petsitters forgetting they tethered a dog to a vehicle and driving away, dragging it to death on the pavement.

I could go on. I do not have a good opinion of petsitters. They are RARELY professional, but someone who "loves animals" and has no/insufficient/unreliable income. If someone takes care of my dog it will be a professional.

Health and safety come first. Does the pet sitter wear disposable shoe covers at each home? Where do they take them off, how do they dispose of them? what do they use to clean themselves and their cars? What vaccinations are required of other dogs? How do they protect your pet if another they care for is sick? How do they prevent your dog from escaping? IMO, a petsitter's vehicle is a cesspool of disease. (Gosh I am vivid with words today). 

I'd rather have my dog hospitalized in a vet clinic cage for 10 days than risk a petsitter. :afraid:


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## Huxtable (Feb 19, 2012)

*Mix dog food with dog treats*

Yea, like others have said this is pretty common. 

I remember having a conversation with two or three other poodle owners at the dog park a few months back and they all said their dogs won't eat without them being there. Shoot even my friend's rottweiler will usually only eat when he's around. 

- I've even met owners whose dogs wouldn't eat their usual food after being given a certain type of food-- ex. they fed their dog real chicken or beef and their dog refused to eat kibble for the next few days... but then ended up eating they became hungry.

- When I was transitioning Hux from Pedigree to Blue Buffalo he would pick out the BB and leave the Pedigree, I knew it was important for him to eat them both while transitioning so I wouldn't refill the bowl until it was all finished. He may have resisted for a day and half, but he'd always end up eating it before the 48 hour mark

in every case the common thread is that *if your dog truly becomes hungry he will definitely eat,* so I wouldn't worry too much. 

- I was also told that for poodles, especially for picky toys its best to leave the food bowl out all day long since many of them like to "graze" and only eat a little at a time oppose to eating a bunch only when the bowl is put in front of the face. Its better for them to be eating something than nothing at all... so it may be helpful for the petsitter to leave your dog's food out the entire time. I know some people are very strict about only giving their dog food at certain times and this could be what your petsitter is doing... and its hard to "force" a poodle to eat, probably any dog for that matter. 

- Another trick I used to have to do with Hux to make him eat was* mix in treats with his food*. Basically I would cut up or crush some of his treats and mix it in with his food... that always worked. _(I still do this sometimes with his heart worm medicine)
_
If you're very concerned I would create "pre-made" mixes of dog food and dog treats that the dog sitter can use. Place each serving in little ziplock bags. That's what I do when my mom or sister babysits Hux. 

- Also if the petsitter incorporates enough playtime, squeaky toy/tug-a-war/fetch that usually "warms them up" and makes the dog feel comfortable with the person as well as tire them out which will make them eat. 

Dogs really are like kids sometimes you just have to think about it in the way you would with a child.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

When I use a pet sitter other than my neighbor, they are from a service where each person is bonded/insured/criminal background checked and trained with respect to the concerns you raise tortoise. I certainly didn't mean someone who puts up a sign offering pet sitting on the bulletin board in the supermarket. If petsitter is the route people go they must be very careful to know who and what they are hiring.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

tortoise said:


> My last client to use a petsitter came home to 1 dead dog, and one female pregnant by her littermate. The petsitter put the 6 pet dogs outside unsupervised together. :argh: The family is devastated. They've probably found homes for all the puppies. The husband lost work because he had to stay home with puppies on weekends instead of travelling. They rehomed 2 of their small dogs over the distress with 1 of the small dogs being killed by the other dogs. It is so sad.
> 
> The last time I used a petsitter, 1 of my 3 cats died. The petsitter's professional reply "I didn't know you had 3 cats". :argh: :argh: :argh:
> 
> ...


LMBO tortise! U 'master of subtle', u.  But... in yr attempt to not scare anybody, we're missing yr point. So c'mon . . . tell us how u really feel abt petsitters, eh? :wink:


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## Lily's-Mom (May 31, 2012)

Tortoise, So sorry for your loss due to the petsitter's neglect. Doesn't a petsitter come for a "meet and greet" and instructions, etc. before you leave? How could she not know how many pets you had?! I totally agree, I'd rather have my dog in a kennel and safe than worry about her getting sick or lost or worse. When we recently went away, we boarded Lily at the vet. Not luxury accomodations like some faclities, but I had 100% confidence that she'd be fine.
Minnie, Have you seen the groomer's accomodations for your Aussies? If you are comfortable that they will be well cared for, I think your planned arrangements sound better than leaving the dogs at home and having a petsitter come in a few times per day. Besides, I have checked rates for petsitters and they are more expensive than what I pay for boarding.


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

My pet sitter is a larger facility that hires and trains actual employees and not just animal lovers. They offer many services in addition to sitting including daycare, grooming, training, boarding. We are lucky to have such a great bunch of people. It disturbs me to hear stories like these.


Sent from my iPad using PG Free


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