Q:  I have a female Lab who is almost a year old now. She would not eat her food this morning and has been hesitant to eat for about a month now. However, only this morning would she not eat at all. She has a sister Lab, and she is fine and acting normal. Any suggestions as to what this could be?

A:  You did not mention that your dog was vomiting, acting lethargic or that she had diarrhea. Thus, I am assuming your dog’s only symptom is a reduced appetite. It may simply be possible that she is bored with her food. You can test out this theory by adding a sprinkle of parmesan romano cheese to her kibble, putting a tiny bit of canned food in her kibble, giving her a piece of bland boiled chicken, or investigating whether she will eat the treats she usually likes. If she seems to eat any of the options presented above, then I would recommend changing her food. Remember to switch to a new food over a period of 7 days during which you start by adding a little of the new food to the old food and slowly increase the amount of new food (while decreasing the amount of old food) until you are feeding your dog only the new food.  

Your question has been answered by the following veterinarian:
Daniel Lauridia, DVM

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