Eating Habits: Why Is My Hound Off Their Food?

Greyhounds  are funny creatures, in our experience they have three eating speeds:  eating every meal like they’ve been starved, eating politely and  possibly just grazing at it throughout the day…or looking at the food  like you’re trying to poison them and walking off.

They  can be proper fussy you-know-whats, and while it can be frustrating  when your hound goes off their food…it isn’t always because something  sinister is going on.  Sometimes they are just being picky, or something  has offended them and they can’t possibly eat!  It can just sometimes  be because they’re too hot!

So,  we thought we might do a quick run down of all the reasons your hound  may be off their food both the silly greyhound reasons and the genuine  reasons that might require a bit more attention!  (And by a ‘quick  rundown’ we mean a rather long waffle-y run down, because we have the  bad habit of writing 10 words whenever 1 would do!)

Let’s start with the silly greyhound quirks first…

-  They’re settling in: If you’re lucky, the only time you’ll ever have  your hound go off their food is when they are first settling into the  home.  They don’t all go through a period of voluntary starvation, but  many hounds don’t feel comfortable, safe and settled enough to eat when  initially settling in.  The record, that we’re aware of, was 10 days.   While this can be distressing, they will eat when they’re ready.
The  absolute worst thing you can do is try to coax them into eating by only  offering really nice things!  A few bits as treats are okay, but don’t  stack their food bowl with steak, chicken breasts and cheese…because, we  kid you not, you will have a hell of a time getting them to eat  anything but the good stuff from that point on!  You will create a  monster!  While greyhounds are not considered an intelligent breed, when  it comes to the good stuff, they absolutely will remember and will turn  their nose up at things knowing full well that you’ll cave before they  will!

- They can be picky:  Assuming you haven’t ruined things in those initial days as we’ve just  mentioned, some hounds are just naturally picky eaters.  They aren’t  foodies.  They eat because they have to, not because they want to.  For  these types of hounds, it can be incredibly difficult and frustrating to  find anything that they won’t turn their nose up after a few days.   Often having to change their food constantly, or at least in having  several flavours of the same food on hand, to offer variety!

-  They’re sensitive to change: Beyond the settling in stage, greyhounds  are still creatures of habit.  Any sudden change to their routine, or  environment, can send them into a bit of a tizz and cause a temporary  loss in appetite.  For instance, the spare human feeds them and not  their primary human…and clearly anything the spare human touches is  poison.  We also once knew a hound that went off his food because the  humans rearranged the living room furniture, which was clearly  unacceptable!
It’s important to try to mitigate any  sudden changes and introduce routine changes particularly, in a gradual  manner so that they don’t go off their food.

-  The location of the food bowl is wrong: We knew a hound that was  driving his parents mad with his fussy eating, to the point where he was  losing a lot of weight!  No matter what was offered, he would barely  pick at it.  After months of doing everything, we suggested to help, and  more, the lightbulb moment came when they realised that the behaviour  toward food changed after moving his food bowl into the bay window.  We  didn’t know they had moved it, otherwise that would have been the first  thing we suggested, and sure enough in moving it back where it was where  he didn’t have the distraction / presence of outdoors in front of his  bowl, he went back to eating just fine!   Yes, greyhounds can be very  particular about things!

- It’s  too warm: Just like humans, hounds will go off their food when they’re  too hot.  Can you blame them?  It’s nothing to be concerned about,  they’ll eat when they’re ready!  Some dogs may just naturally eat less  during hot weather, as their activity levels and metabolic rates  decrease.  On the flip side, in cold weather, they might eat more to  maintain themselves.

- It’s too  much effort:  Some hounds are just so comfortable in bed that it’s just  all too much of an effort to get up to eat!  This quirk is often  rewarded by people pandering to their hounds a little bit too much and  feeding them in bed or on the sofa.  As we said, they remember!  If it  conveniences them in any way, they will remember and expect it forever  more!

There is probably an  endless list of weird greyhound quirks we could add to this list…but  let’s get into actual genuine reasons for a hound being off their food!

If  you’re greyhound is not just being a melodramatic and moody toddler,  chances are, there is something wrong.  It could just be a little bit of  an upset belly, or they have a sore tooth, but whenever your hound goes  off their food for more than a couple of days and there is no evident  reasons for it then it’s worth getting in touch with your vet!

Quite often a hound might go off their food as a result of pain and discomfort.  This could be because of things such as:

-  Dental pain from broken teeth, dental disease or abscesses can make  eating very uncomfortable, so even if they are hungry, they won’t eat.
-  Gastrointestinal issues, which could vary from simple upset belly to  pancreatitis, can put a hound off their food.  Just like in people, when  you’re feeling a bit rough, you don’t really want to eat!
-  Joint pain such as arthritis or spondylitis that makes standing, or  leaning down to a food bowl on the ground, uncomfortable and therefore  avoidant of eating
- Many infections and illnesses reduce appetite, but usually present with other symptoms as well.
-  Certain medications can cause side effects such as nausea and lethargy,  which alone will impact appetite, while some do just cause a general  decrease in appetite. This is common with antibiotics, pain relief, and  chemotherapy.

While not a  physical pain; stress and anxiety also play a very big factor in a dog’s  appetite.  As we mentioned, any changes in a hound’s environment or  routine can play a role.

Such  changes could be big, or small, such as moving house, going on holiday,  going to the vets or the introduction of new pets or new babies, or,  worse still, it’s firework season!  A past traumatic experience with a  food bowl can also have a big impact.  For instance, if you drop a bowl  and it makes that awful, loud clanging noise, it can scare them, and  they may not want to go near it until they know it’s safe.  Or, should  something negative happen while they are eating such as a loud sudden  noise, it can frighten them and make them wary to approach their food  bowl.

They are quite sensitive beans!

Going  beyond picky eating, some hounds just do have food preferences and may  simply dislike the taste or texture of the current food!  You may have  bought the Turkey because they didn’t have any Lamb in the brand you  normally buy, and they look at you like you’re trying to poison them!

You  also have to take into consideration that hounds, and dogs in general,  have a far more sensitive nose than us measly humans.  They can detect  things we can’t, and it could be that the food has gone stale, mouldy  (even if not yet visible) or otherwise been spoiled.  They aren’t going  to eat something they suspect to be off, and if they do, and become  unwell, they won’t then eat it a second time…well, the smart ones won’t!

They  may also have food sensitivies, and eating makes them uncomfortable,  but not enough to cause any note worthy gastric upset...so they don't  eat!

Age can also be a factor.   As dogs age, their metabolism slows down, and they may become less  active, leading to a decreased appetite.  Senior dogs may also  experience changes in their sense of taste, sight and smell, making food  less appealing.  As they get well into their senior years, they may  also struggle with doggy dementia which might further impact their  eating habits.

Ultimately, there  are countless reasons as to why your hound may be off their food but if  there is something physically wrong with them you will usually see other  symptoms alongside the lack of appetite to indicate something is  wrong…but a lot of the time, they’re off their food for some very  explainable reason, and there is no need to panic!

Goodness  knows if we panicked over ours not eating, we’d be in a constant state  of anxiety.  Of all the hounds, we have two non-foodies and it’s not  unusual for at least one of them to go off their food for days at a  time...just because they can!

While  occasional loss of appetite may not be a cause for alarm, if there is  no explainable reason for the behaviour, and it is out of character or  accompanied by other symptoms that might suggest they are unwell, in  pain or otherwise struggling, you will want to give your vet a call!

You  will know your hound better than anyone, and you’ll know if they’re not  eating for a day is normal.  If you think for even a second that there  is something wrong, early intervention can prevent minor issues from  escalating into serious health problems later.