Loss of Appetite

Hi,

My dog has separation anxiety issues, so when I last took him to the vet he was given medication to help calm him. Trouble is since he began taking the medication I am having trouble getting him to eat his food. I can get the medication into him, which I am not too please with because it makes him somewhat zombified but other than that he just will not eat. I have even offered him things I shouldn't to get him to eat something! What should I do? 

i know this post is a bit old but ive had this problem as well. i once had a min pin that i BABIED to death so that everytime i left and didnt take her with me she would freak out and usually destroy everyhing. i started showing her that i would be right back and that there was no need to be upset over it. first i left just to check the mail and came straight back. then i started leaving for 5-10 min and did that for a few weeks several times a day. then i left for about 20 minutes, so on and so forth and she over came it. was able to be free in the house without destroying everything and didnt whine cry or bark. i hope this issue gets resolved for you. have you also tried the "thunder shirt" its supposed to be comforting to the dogs but i dont quite understand it. there is also something you can get at the pet store called "richards organics" it is for anxiety and works fantastically for my dog who hates fireworks and he still eats and plays and what not.

I was afraid that when my dog was little we may have problems with my leaving her home alone so in the very beginning we crate trained her. Our trainer told us that if your dog has a safe place to go that is similar to a den it will help them feel safe. When she was small we would shut the door when we went out  but we do not do that any more. We have on occasion had to leave up for up to 8 hours and have never had a problem, but she was almost 2 years old before we ever left her that long. We always give her a special treat when we are leaving, we leave lights on and also leave a radio on for company. There are even great CD you can get to help comfort your dog when you have to leave them. Our dog will now go to her crate when we ask her and stay their even without the door shut. Dogs need to have their own space were they feel safe and secure. We also introduced being alone very similar to what corky95621 suggested.

My daughters dogs had anxiety issues and would howl when left alone and once she started using the crate and her dog got comfortable with the crate the problems totally disappeared.

Something else we do is take out dog to doggies daycare every so often to help her understand their are times she cannot be with us but we will always come back for her. If you go this route make sure you know the doggie day care very well, our dog goes to our kennel club so she knows the place very well.