My female border collie will not eat?

Question

she is a year old and has always eaten. we feed her science diet adult food....she has never done this before except when we first got her when she was about 12 weeks old....but she stopped it.

Answer 1

I would get the vet to check it out first. However, I have a dog from the animal shelter that now and again falls back into the old habit of not eating or eating not properly. I am making an extra effort to prepare tasty food - making a gravy from tinned food and pour it over the pellets, now comes the best trick that works for me: I give the littel bugger a smaller than usual portion- when he finishes the bowl he gets a BONUS- a big gollop of pure tin food,it took some days for him to understand the principle of finishing-then bonus but now he is always trying his best to polish that bowl. Another thing I realized is that he needs his own space when eating- he prefers to be out on the balcony by himself- most properly an old habit from the shelter where lots of puppies compete for the same bowl. Some dogs will also not eat as they wait for the other puppies to finish and only then they will eat themsleves. Now, some shelters or breaders also leave the food standing all day long so some dogs do not see the necesity to eat it straight when you put it down for them. Make it a habit to only leave the food for a max of 20 minutes. A hungry and healthy dog will learn that he better gets to business straight away as you will otherwise take the bowl up. I have spoken to my vet and he advised that especially food habits messed up when they were puppies are difficult to rectify and that could be a reason why your dog falls back into them... good luck and I hope all goes OK!

Answer 2

I have a black lab border collie mix (10 years) that eats EVERYTHING all of the time and I also have a White German Shephard that only eats when she wants, Sometimes she will not eat at all untill a day later and then she will eat everything put in front of her.
Dogs are a lot more like people than most people think.
Have you ever had a day when you were not feeling well and just couldn't eat or just thought "I'm not hungry"???
Well, dogs and cats and......... are the same.
If your dog dosn't eat ANYTHING for a couple of days then bring him to your local Vet for a checkup.(make sure that you bring in a stool sample) this can tell your Vet a lot about what is going on in your dogs digestive tract.

Answer 3

She may be sick. Watch to see that the dog is able to urinate and deficate normally and everything is coming out normal. If she is still drinking water you can wait a day and see if she starts eatting again. If she will not drink water either you need to get her to the vet before she starts to dehydrate and let them take a look at her.

You can try to feed her a small meal of boiled chicken or hamburger mixed with rice. See if she eats that and make sure it stays down.

If she isn't showing any improvement in 24 hours I'd take her in to the vet, if she is having any other problems, take her in now.

Answer 4

I have the same problem with my dog. My dog has always been a fussy eater. It hadn't used to be a problem but now he has to eat as he's diabetic.I can't change his food as it'll interfere with his insulin dose. I've resorted to liquidising his food and spoon feeding him which kick starts him and then he eats out the bowl after a few spoonfuls.
Get her checked out at the vets first and if alls clear try my method. If she won't let you spoon feed her, ask your vet for a syringe and do it that way. Then you'll have ease of mind that she's getting food into her.

Answer 5

First,I would make sure she is not in pain.Is she still going potty normally? If not,let your vet take a look. It's good to rotate foods every few months. Try a high qualty,well balanced food. Science Diet is not that good even though many vets recommend and sell it. If your dog continues not to eat anything for more than a couple of days,definitely have your vet check it. A healthy dog will not starve itself. Good luck

Answer 6

While 30 lbs is small for a BC, it certainly is not unusual for the smaller dogs of the breed to be in that range. I have a friend who has a male that is only 32 lbs, but he is fit and healthy and herds sheep every day. Some BCs are smaller. While I understand your concerns from this dog not being in a good home, but I highly doubt the dog is small due to the previous home. I think the dog is just one of the smaller of the breed. I would read your food bag, see what it suggests for your dogs weight, age and activity level, and then discuss this with your vet. It might be that you will need to step up to a higher protein food so that your dog is getting more from her smaller meal choices. My BC isn't the best of eaters either. Sometimes, I think it is the breed in general. I know of a few BCs that are like this actually. My friend adds cottage cheez to her dogs food to "increase appetite" and it seems to help. For my girl, it seems to be enough that I add warm water, just enough to cover her food that helps.

Answer 7

Your dog may of got bored of the same dog food she eats because my border collie is a fussy eater and gets bored of her food if I give her the same type of food everyday. Try a different type of dog food and if she doesn't eat it then I think she should go to the vets.

Answer 8

I once had a border collie that would not eat. We took her to the vet and she had hook worms. If not treated quickly they very well can drain the animal of its own blood supply. We gave ours a blood transfusion and some worm medicine admistered by the vet. Good luck with your dog.

Answer 9

If she has refused food for a couple of days take her to the vet as she may have a problem with her digestive system.

Answer 10

She might be in season,ask the vets advice she may be unwell, try varying her food ,make sure she drinks enough water, because she is on dry food. the vet may check for bloat.