HI, My little Milly will not eat, I have tired everything all tin food cheap and expensive dried food cheap and expensive dog mince human mince chicken eggs tuner,I even sit with her to feed her, If I have toast or ham she will eat that, I just do not know what to do I am so worried. I have two other dogs one is her twin sister, the other is my 9 year old westie.

Thank you please help

Welcome to the forum Stevens Sounds like little Milly has you just where she wants you! I think you need to go back to the start. Pick a dog food that suits you. Starve her for a day and then put her food bowl down the following day and if she has not eaten the food within 20 minutes, pick it up and offer it to her again later in the day. If she does not wolf it down, pick it up and she will have to wait until the next day. As long as she is drinking, I would not worry to much about her to begin with.

You have not said if you feed her alongside the other dogs? If you do, then this could be part of the problem. I would be tempted to feed her away from the other dogs or at least in a position where they can not see her or her they. Sometimes, there can be rivalry over food and it can be very subtle. Simple 'eyeballing' by your other dogs (that you may not even be aware of) could be enough to put her off eating. Give it a try and see how you go.

Hi yes I do feed them altogether and she is very livery and drinks plenty, also likes a cup of tea espesherly mine. Thank you I will try what you have said, I will let you know how I get on.

You have not said if you feed her alongside the other dogs? If you do, then this could be part of the problem.

on the other hand feeding separately can sometimes be a problem as an element of 'competition' can get a dog to eat 'before the other one can get it'

Is her toileting normal?  One of mine had a lungworm infection and the only real symptom was a refusal to eat.  At one point she was in tins of heinz chicken soup as it was about the only thing I could get in to her.  Please speak to your vet about doing a stool sample reasonably quickly if this goes on.

What exactly is she eating? You need to make a note of everything she is eating (especially the quantities) and drinking. You may be surprised just how much she does eat.  If she is eating quite well on the foods that she decides to eat then you know that she is not poorly but picky and that is easy to sort out.

My boy westie worried me silly when he was young as he often refused food and seemed really fussy - but in the end it just seemed to be that he only ate what he needed to eat, even though its a lot less than my westie bitch eats.

Is your Milly underweight? Because if not, and she's been wormed etc & is lively in herself - you shouldn't be too worried, she just may have a smaller appetite and metabolises her food more efficiently perhaps. If she's too thin or refuses all food for several days then I would take her to vets for a check up just in case and to put your mind at rest.

The other thing that crossed my mind .... is your girl spayed? and if not has she had her heat recently or is perhaps due in heat? I only ask because when my girl had her heats she often went off her food both before and during so I assume hormonal activity can often affect their appetites.