Sometimes dog owners ask a question how long can a dog go without eating because of a couple of reasons. The first is that their dog is healthy but doesn’t eat food regularly as usual, and secondly, their dog is suffering from any health issue and thus refuse to eat food.
No matter what’s the real problem but you must know that eating food for a dog is as important as for humans and other animals. Your dog must eat balanced and adequate food regularly to perform all the body’s metabolic functions properly.
But what happens when your dog refuses to eat for one or another reason? Can your pet survive for a while without taking proper food? And what are the reasons your dog doesn’t eat food normally? These are some queries that we are going to discuss ahead.
How Long Can A Dog Go Without Eating?
If your dog isn’t feeling good to eat food and this behavior remain persistent for more than one or two days, it’s a worrying point for dog owners. This unusual behavioral pattern is a clear indication that something is going wrong with your pet.
Taking adequate food at regular intervals is a key to ensuring the healthy lifestyle of your beloved dog. However, dogs can also survive for many days without food and this survival period is different for healthy and sick dogs.
Healthy dogs having a good weight can survive for weeks and even months without food. On the other hand, unhealthy or sick dogs can also go long for many days and even weeks without eating when sufficient water and shelter is available.
There are also some factors influencing the starvation of dogs, for example, age, water availability, shelter, and body condition are some important parameters.
Older dogs and dogs younger than six months are unable to bear starvation for a long time. Similarly, dogs with a healthy body condition can survive more than lean and unhealthy dogs.
Additionally, water availability and proper shelter increase the dog’s survival for weeks and even months. In short, it depends on various factors that how long your dog goes without eating food. So, consult the veterinarian in this regard.
Related: Do Raccoons Eat Dog Food?
What Happens When Dog Go A Long Time Without Eating?
It’s quite usual for dogs to skip one or two meals occasionally because they want some change in their eating lifestyle or simply become bored with their usual diet.
However, it’s not normal or healthy behavior to skip food for 48 hours or more. Without food, their body begins to lose weight and become skinny. Moreover, starved dogs also experience an unusual change in blood composition.
For instance, the blood of starved dogs has a lower level of albumin, platelets, red blood cells, and calcium than normal. Besides these abnormalities, waste products get increase in the blood of dogs if they experience starvation for a week or more.
The severe or prolonged starvation leads to several disorders like ulcer, thyroid gland dysfunction, breakdown of skin and liver cells. To avoid this chronic situation, overcome it by consulting the vet and follow his prescriptions.
Some Related FAQs
How Long Can A Puppy Go Without Eating?
Unlike mature dogs, puppies have no reserved fat or another stored energy source. That’s why they can’t survive longer without eating food as food is the ultimate source of energy for them and one of their primary requirements.
Puppies can go for 2 or 3 days without food and water as they are more susceptible to dehydration and severe starvation than an adult dog. However, puppies less than six months can survive for 14 to 16 hours. And newborn puppies can go 4 to 5 hours without eating and drinking.
How Long Can A Dog Go Without Eating And Drinking?
As you already know that the access to the water is great for the survival of dogs when they are suffering starvation. This way, their survival period will definitely reduce without drinking. Usually, dogs can last for 2 to 3 days without eating and drinking.
How Long Should You Allow Your Dog To Go Without Eating?
No matter, whether your dog is healthy or not, always contact the vet if he has been skipped a meal for 48 hours or more. This situation is equally challenging and problematic for healthy and sick dogs.
This situation becomes more adverse when the dog begins to lose weight from not eating well. So, take measures to give food to the dog and make a discussion with vet.