Sorry this is a bit long!
I have two border terriers. Both are 11. Girl adores food. Boy has always been a picky eater and a bit of a strange dog. He had acid reflux as a pup and would eat grass most mornings and vomit bile. Vet put him on Omeprazole which worked for about a year then stopped working but as he has got older the acid reflux has stopped, well the grass/vomiting bile has stopped.
He tore both cruciate ligaments a few years back within months of each other and just totally stopped eating due to stress. Didn't eat for well over a week. To coax him to eat we began putting treats in his food bowl, which I realise now was not a good idea. He then would not eat food without treats on it, which progressed to him just eating the treats and not the food. He is an anxious dog and he stops eating if anything unusual is going on (weirdly unfazed by fireworks, storms, huge dogs or vets). Never eats if we go on holiday. We haven't been abroad since we got him as we left him in kennels for 1 night and apparently he paced up and down, crying, all night so we said we would not leave him again. We have just been away to Devon for 10 days with both dogs and I think he ate 2 meals plus treats during that time. He seems to enjoy the holiday though. Other than not eating he doesn't seem stressed by the journey/different location (we've been there lots so he does know it). Then we've come back to super hot weather, which again puts him off his food so he has just had 2 meals in the week that we have been back.
He has not been sick or had upset tum and before the holiday he went for a senior health check which included blood and urine tests which were all fine. Vet checked his legs for arthritis as he is prone to this due to history of cruciate issues - all good. Teeth looked fine. Heart sounded fine. No other issues.
He will still eat treats if allowed: biscuits, Jumbones, dried fish and Sizzlers but if I put his food down he will just walk into another room. If I was reading this I would think "God this woman is so stupid, just stop the treats and he will eat" but firstly I am not sure he would. He is so stubborn. Secondly, I don't think my husband would stick to the "no treats" routine. He's too soft where the dogs are concerned. At the moment he is on minimum treats (dog not husband), just a Sizzler before bed and thirdly when we have tried no treats in the past he gets a rumbling stomach which makes him jump so he can't sleep and gets distressed.
He doesn't like roast chicken, steak or fish. Wont touch anything warm, has to be cold. Will eat cold cooked mince and peas sometimes. I have resorted to cooking sausages which I know probably isn't healthy but he did eat 2 cold sausages yesterday. He actually seems afraid to eat from his bowl as if he will get told off for it, which we have never done. He isn't a rescue, we've had him from a young pup from a great family who just bred from their dog once. Our other dog isn't a bully. She is greedy and will linger by him, watching him eat so we usually put her in another room so he can eat in peace. Once he has eaten he seems ravenous and will want more.
He doesn't seem unwell but both dogs are not themselves and sleeping a lot but that it probably due to the heat.
If you have got this far, thanks for reading and if anyone else has a similar dog or any ideas please comment.