Appetite away from home
What if my dog won't eat during a stay?
Few things worry an owner on a trip more than hearing that the dog left its dinner. Usually it is one meal in a new place. Here is why appetite dips, what you can set up before drop-off so a reluctant eater is easy to help, and the questions that settle in advance when you or your vet will hear about it.
Why it happens
Appetite often dips on the first night because the routine changed, not because something is wrong
VCA's veterinary guidance defines anorexia in dogs simply as a decrease or loss of appetite, and among its causes lists psychological ones: stress, altered routines, changes in the environment, and food the dog finds unappetizing. A first night in a suite at 210 Eastern Ave brings three of those at once. Sending your dog's own food, pre-portioned, removes the fourth, which is why Dogtown invites you to bring it.
The same guidance is clear that a decreased appetite should be taken seriously, so the useful question is not whether your dog skipped a meal but what the pattern looks like. One untouched dinner followed by a normal breakfast is a dog adjusting. Refusal across several meals, or a dog that seems hungry but cannot eat, which VCA calls pseudo-anorexia, is a reason to involve your vet.
- Usually adjustment: one skipped meal, then normal eating
- Worth a message: refusing food across more than one or two meals
- Worth your vet: refusal with vomiting, diarrhea or a flat, quiet dog
- Worth your vet: a dog that seems hungry but cannot eat
What helps
Your own food, your usual times and written instructions do most of the work
Keep the food exactly as it is at home. VCA lists changes in diet among the causes of diarrhea, so a stay is the wrong week to start a new kibble, and a familiar smell in the bowl is one less new thing. Pack each meal separately, label it, and write down the times you feed. A dog who eats once a day at home should not look like a problem because it skips a second meal it never has.
VCA also lists simple ways to make food more appealing: warming it to about body temperature, around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, adding a little low-sodium chicken, vegetable or beef broth, or adding canned food. Ask your vet which of those suit your dog, pack whatever is needed, and write the instructions on the food bag. Then ask the front desk whether part of a meal can go into a frozen Kong at $6 or onto a lick mat at $5.
- 01
Keep the same food you feed at home; no switches in the weeks before the stay
- 02
Portion and label every meal, plus a spare day
- 03
Write the usual feeding times and the usual amount eaten
- 04
Note anything your vet has agreed can tempt your dog, such as warming the food or a little low-sodium broth
- 05
Write the point at which you want a call, in your vet's words
- 06
Hand the note over at drop-off and repeat the key line out loud
When we call
When you or your vet hear about it is agreed before the stay, and your vet sets the line
Dogtown has not published a rule for how many skipped meals lead to a call, and a single number would be wrong for many dogs. A large adult who skips dinner is in a different position from a small puppy, a diabetic dog, or a senior whose medication goes down with food. So the line is agreed for your dog when you book, and the front desk confirms what the team tries first and who is contacted, you or your vet, and when.
Do the vet part before you leave. Ask your vet how long your particular dog can go without eating before it needs to be seen, and write that answer on the food note. Leave your vet's name and number and an emergency contact who can answer while you travel. During the stay, the report cards in the Dogtown app and Messages to the front desk are how you follow along.
- Ask: what does the team try first with a dog that will not eat?
- Ask: after how many skipped meals will you contact me?
- Ask: when would you contact my vet, and which vet?
- Bring: your vet's limit for your dog, in writing
Your dog
Puppies, seniors on medication and anxious dogs need the most planning
Puppies and toy breeds are the dogs to plan most carefully, so ask your vet for the line that suits their size and age, and consider a trial night first so the first skipped meal, if it comes, happens on a one-night stay. Seniors who take medication with food need that written on the booking, and you should ask the front desk how medication given with a meal is handled if the meal is refused.
Anxious dogs often eat better once the building is familiar. Two or three daycare days before the stay, at $42 a full day, mean the first dinner is in a place your dog already knows. A morning drop-off between 6:30 and 9:30 AM gives a full day in the group before the first meal, and the Dogtown Deluxe bundle, $15 a night, adds a gourmet stuffed Kong or Toppl each day, one more way for food to arrive as something to do.
- Puppies and toy breeds: a vet-set line, and a trial night first
- Seniors on medication: ask how a refused meal affects the dose
- Anxious dogs: daycare days first and a morning drop-off
- Picky adults: note what normal looks like, so a habit is not mistaken for a problem
At Dogtown
Overnight stays and the add-ons that help
A suite with the daycare day included, plus food-based enrichment such as frozen Kongs and lick mats.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Will you hand-feed my dog if it will not eat?
Can I send toppers, broth or treats with my dog's food?
Should I switch to a new food before the stay?
How will I know if my dog is not eating?
Is it dangerous for a dog to skip a whole day of meals?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Plan the meals before the first night.
New to Dogtown? Book the free evaluation on a weekday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM, then a trial night to see how your dog eats away from home.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
