Anorexia in dogs consists of a total lack of appetite. It is not a disease in itself, but a clinical sign that accompanies multiple diseases. To correct it, it is necessary to make a precise diagnosis of the pathology that is causing it, establish a specific treatment and offer our dog a more palatable diet to try to increase his appetite and interest in food.
What is anorexia in dogs?
Anorexia in dogs consists of a total loss of interest in food, or what is the same, a total lack of appetite. Anorexia is a clinical sign common to multiple pathologies. That is, it is not a disease in itself, but the manifestation of a specific disease.
How to know if a dog suffers from anorexia?
We cannot talk about symptoms of anorexia in dogs because, as we say, anorexia is already a clinical sign, not a disease. Now, to know if a dog is truly experiencing anorexia, it is important that we differentiate this term from others such as "hyporexia" and "dysrexia". The hyporexia consists of a partial decrease in appetite or less interest in food than usual. Dysrexia refers to a “ capricious appetite”, whereby the dog rejects its usual food, but eats other types of food.
Having said the above, we will know that a dog suffers anorexia when doesn't want to eat at all. Depending on how long he has not eaten, a more or less noticeable weight loss will also be observed.
Causes of anorexia in dogs
Anorexia is a very nonspecific clinical sign, which means that it can appear associated with multiple pathologies. Next, we explain the main pathologies and pathological situations in which we can observe anorexia in dogs:
- Fever: the Hypothalamic Regulatory Center (HRC) acts as a “thermostat” regulating body temperature. When the CRH detects an increase in body temperature, it tries to decrease endogenous heat production, for which it decreases appetite (among other things). That is why any cause that triggers fever (both infectious agents and non-infectious causes) can cause anorexia.
- Pain: Any process that causes pain or discomfort in a dog can cause anorexia. We must pay special attention to abdominal pain, pain in the spine (mainly due to herniated cervical discs) or musculoskeletal pain.
- Stress: Stress and anxiety caused, for example, by loneliness or separation from guardians, can be a cause of anorexia in dogs.
- Digestive diseases: any disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract can cause anorexia, starting with alterations in the oral cavity (lesions in the mucosa oral or dental pathologies). Periodontal disease is a common cause of anorexia in elderly dogs. Megaesophagus and chronic gastritis are common causes of anorexia in adult dogs.
- Hepatobiliary pathologies: the first signs observed in liver diseases such as chronic hepatitis or portosystemic shunts are nonspecific signs such as anorexia.
- Pancreatitis: Inflammation of the pancreatic tissue causes severe abdominal pain, which in turn can lead to anorexia.
- Chronic kidney disease (CKD): patients with CKD usually have anorexia as a result of uremia (accumulation of uremic toxins in the blood) and anemia. We must consider CKD as a possible differential diagnosis, especially in cases of anorexia in elderly dogs.
- Endocrine disorders: such as hypoadrenocorticism (Addison's syndrome), hyperparathyroidism or diabetic ketoacidosis.
- Anemia: in anemic dogs we can find general clinical signs such as anorexia, lethargy and weakness.
- Tumors: Some tumors can cause very nonspecific signs, such as anorexia and weight loss. Therefore, we must consider tumors as a possible differential diagnosis, especially in cases of anorexia in adult dogs.
- Chemotherapeutic treatments: Antitumor drugs act not only against cancer cells, but also against he althy cells in multiplying tissues very actively, as is the case with the gastrointestinal epithelium. This causes some chemotherapy drugs to have gastrointestinal toxicity and cause anorexia.
- Other treatments: some drugs such as NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs), amiodarone, methimazole or urinary acidifiers such as chloride ammonia can cause anorexia as a side effect.
Diagnosis of anorexia in dogs
As we have already mentioned, anorexia is a clinical sign that we can observe in multiple canine pathologies. Therefore, when a dog presents anorexia, it will be necessary to determine what is the cause that is producing it in order to correct it. The diagnostic protocol for a dog with anorexia should include:
- Anamnesis: your veterinarian will ask you a series of questions in order to address the possible causes of anorexia in your dog.
- Complete physical examination: including inspection, palpation, percussion and auscultation. It will be especially important to pay attention to the existence of pain points and the presence of fever.
- Complementary tests: depending on the possible differential diagnoses, your veterinarian may carry out different complementary tests, including laboratory diagnostic techniques (blood or urine tests, microbiological diagnosis, etc.) and diagnostic imaging techniques (X-ray, ultrasound, CT or MRI).
Treatment for anorexia in dogs
Once the specific cause of anorexia has been diagnosed, it will be necessary to establish a specific treatmentTherefore, the treatment of anorexia will depend on the cause or specific pathology that is causing it, and may be pharmacological or surgical depending on the cause. Whenever it exists, an etiological treatment will be established; if it does not exist, it will be necessary to limit yourself to establishing a symptomatic treatment to control the clinical signs of the disease in question.
In addition to establishing a specific treatment against the pathology causing anorexia, we will try to increase our dog's interest in food using various strategies. Next, we explain some home remedies for anorexia in dogs.
Home remedies for anorexia in dogs
To correct anorexia in dogs, in addition to establishing a treatment against the specific cause, we must try to increase the palatability of their diet. We must bear in mind that the more attractive and appetizing the food, the more likely it is that he will eat it. To increase palatability, we can employ several strategies:
- Wet food: Dogs tend to be more interested in wet food than dry food, so you can opt for offer him his usual feed in the wet presentation to try to increase his interest in food. In this other article we help you choose the best wet food for dogs.
- Homemade diet: as a general rule, dogs used to a diet based on commercial feed tend to show special interest in the homemade diet. You can choose to offer homemade food, although first it is important that you consult a veterinarian specialized in animal nutrition to avoid any undesired consequences. We share a video with a very simple recipe, suitable for digestive problems and to which we recommend adding animal protein to make it more complete.
- Increasing the percentage of fat or protein in the food: Generally, diets high in fat and protein are more palatable to dogs. However, remember to consult your veterinarian before modifying the values of these nutrients in your dog's diet, as it can have very negative consequences in case of kidney disease or pancreatitis.
In any case, we must remember that stress is one of the causes of anorexia in dogs. For this reason, it is important that in animals with decreased appetite we do not force food intake, since we can cause stress that further aggravates anorexia.
If anorexia does not subside with treatment and a more palatable diet, it will be necessary to perform assisted feeding through a nasogastric tube or esophagostomy, gastrostomy, or jejunostomy tube.
