silly ? from a worried dog mama

Can a dog actually starve himself?

Brutus now refuses to eat unless FH is there which is ridiculous bc he is at my house almost every day. Even when he is at FH's he waits until he comes home then runs to the food bowl and starts eating.

I am getting so nervous thinking about going away for 7 days for my HM - can he actually NOT eat for that whole time?

Thank, I know this is silly but it makes me so sad to see him eating so hungrily the moment FH walks in the door!

Re: silly ? from a worried dog mama

im worried about this too
in case my parents ever go away

Rocky refuses to eat unless my dad is home

so when my dad was working he'd wait (well actually wake up) at 3 when my dad came home and then my dad would sit next to him and he'd eat....

then he eats again around 7-8 but again someone , preferabley my dad has to be sitting next to him


we have a spoiled dog

Re: silly ? from a worried dog mama

Posted by Jessica

we have a spoiled dog

Re: silly ? from a worried dog mama

My dog Jake is the same way. He refuses to eat unless we are home. I've put him in a kennel many times and he has never starved to death. Eventually they will eat!

Re: silly ? from a worried dog mama

Posted by niikki-8-18-06

My dog Jake is the same way. He refuses to eat unless we are home. I've put him in a kennel many times and he has never starved to death. Eventually they will eat!

Re: silly ? from a worried dog mama

My dog does the same thing! There could be bones and treats on the floor all day and a full plate of food and she won't eat until someone comes home, and even then, sometimes she wont eat until my mom gets home. I have dog sat for up to a week with my mom gone and trust me, the dog eats eventually. Don't worry!

Re: silly ? from a worried dog mama

okay thanks for the responses!!! I am a smart girl so LOGICALLY I know that he will eventually eat. . . LOL I just needed some reassurance!!

Re: silly ? from a worried dog mama

my dog does the same, he wont eat unless someones home and my old dog used to wait until i got home.. I think its just part of there human nature, they worry and think the person wont come back and makes there tummys sick and so when they see the person, the nervousness goes away and then they can eat.

Re: silly ? from a worried dog mama

A dog will not starve itself to death. I think dog behavior is fascinating.
Here is one thing I found about this particular behavior:

How can you handle the problem of a dog that refuses to eat not because he is neglected, but spoiled? Simply remove his food bowl after half an hour, and present it again only at the next meal time. Spoiled dogs are often obese too, so it will do no harm to skip one meal. Please do not serve him the same food, as it may be spoiled. It never occurs to some owners that their dog's lack of appetite may be caused from unappetizing meals or just a dirty bowl.

Perhaps if you put out the bowl at a specific time each day and then take it away if he doesn't eat you can train him to eat when FH isn't there.

Good luck!

Re: silly ? from a worried dog mama

thanks for the tip! maybe i will try that - we keep the food out all day. . . he is pretty skinny for a Boston though