Why won't my dog eat until I've walked her?

[Colalola]

She just absolutely will not eat in the morning. The only thing that will get her eating is a walk but I find this so strange? She must be hungry! Or perhaps she isn't ? I usually take her for a walk between 12 and 2pm and as soon as we're back she wolfs down her breakfast that's been sat there. Her evening meal usually goes down fine. Thoughts?

My dogs 16mnth now so out of the wolfing food down of the puppy stages.
We feed dry food and he eats when he wants. It is usually after a morning walk. Saying that he normally doesn't eat his tea till 9pm, well after teatime and his walk

Oh okay! So maybe I should just not worry so much about meal times as long as she eats then. The only thing is that in the morning she is sometimes puking bile where she's clearly hungry but won't eat until later in the day. I could give her a biscuit maybe in the morning but not sure what is best x

One of mine is the same. She likes to go out to pee and poop before she eats. That said, I take her for a short walk - 20 minutes or so- first thing to do just that. She is ready to eat as soon as we are back. Older dog is always ready to eat. ( They are labs and exercise only on an empty stomach, or a couple of hours after food to prevent bloat. )

So maybe your dog is a little uncomfortable ?

You could certainly try with a dry biscuit to see if that helps the puking.

Will she eat earlier if you walk her earlier?

Yes I was thinking this. She won't go to the toilet in the garden so must prefer to toilet on her walk then eating after! Is that a thing then where they want to empty before their food? I wasn't aware! Thank you x will have to walk her earlier maybe

It's always good to delay walks around mealtimes, so I'd just go with your dogs' natural flow.

"You should not walk your dog immediately before or after a meal as it can lead to canine bloat, or gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV). This potentially fatal condition is more common in larger dogs and means avoiding large amounts of food in the hour before and after any exercise."

I think you need to look at changing your walk schedule - if your dog is refusing to eat and being sick because she's not getting the chance to do a poo, then that's a problem IMO.

I would be walking her much earlier and then feeding her breakfast about an hour after you get back.

Mine never eats before his morning walk. Often he won’t bother with breakfast, he’ll just eat once around 5pm. He’s not at all food orientated, but as fit and healthy as any dog.

My dog won't eat his own food until around 4-5pm no matter what happens with walks, activities etc. He will happily take a wee bit of my toast in the morning though.

Then he will eat again around 9-10pm before settling down after last pee stop.

He was a rescue so we think his routine was just embedded by the time he came to us.

It does sound like a quick morning jaunt to let your girl have a proper poo would be a good idea. Even just 10-15 minutes could be enough.

She needs a walk - even just a 15 minute one - first thing.

She won't go to the toilet in the garden so must prefer to toilet on her walk then eating after!

Can I just check you mean you’re not walking your dog until 12pm and the dog won’t go to the toilet that whole time?! If so, you need to walk your dog earlier as PP said, even 15 minutes.

If she is throwing up bile it could well be because she’s making herself sick by not going to the toilet - that’s really dangerous and unhealthy.