Adopted a dog that someone just dropped off and shows little interest in eating except if i hand feed her i don't know what to do help!!!

We adopted a dog that someone just dropped off in our neighborhood we have had her 5 days we took her to the vet 2 days ago and vet said she was 3 - 5 years old and looked good we just need to take her back for shots in a week beause we don't know what her medical record is. well i started off giving her dry mixed with can  twice a day about 11-12 hours apart and i have to coax her to eat , she would eat a little leave and then i wuld have to coax her back and so on. so i got her a better dry food the vet said no wet food she seemed to like it better but still i had to coax her to eat and sit with her and it was a process( i also have 4 cats and at first i thought she was jumpy because of the cats but it is not that) then yesterday she would only eat if i hand fed her and seemed not really hungry same thing today she is going to the batrhroom normal seems fine why will she not eat i have tried changing bowls i do not know what else to do any advice would be great could she be depressed form being left by her owners?? she seems happy here with my husband a nd 2 girls she likes every one very good temeperment, i walk her any where from 5- 6 times a day because she loves to go outside and walk. please help!!

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

I don't know why your vet said no wet food especially when she showed a bit of interest in it.  I recommend 2/3 of the diet as canned and 1/3 as kibble.  I recommend grain free, low to no carb foods from the following brands: Merricks, Instinct, Wellness, Natures Variety, Evo/Innova, Taste of the Wild and other equivalent brands.  

However, if you would like to stick with your vets recommendations, try doctoring the dry food with a bit of tomato sauce, or grated cheese, or meat gravy, etc.

I have no doubt that she is a bit discombobulated.  She has been through a very traumatic experience and it will take a bit of time for her to become completely comfortable in the new environment and to forget her sad experience.

[ginger899]

When my dog first came to me and I kind of "rescued" her from previous circumstances she had been through some hard times, and I had a similar experience. She would eat her food, but only if hand-fed. Gradually as she regained more confidence and strength, she started to eat on her own. I started by taking a little food out of the dish and instead of hand-feeding, putting small pieces on the floor for her to eat from there. From that I would pick up the food and put it right back into her dish! That started her eating just fine from her food dish.

If you haven't already -then I'd recommend taking her to the vet for a good check-up. This can also include her bloodwork, and urine sample if you like. To get a good picture of her general health and condition, and whether there may be anything out of balance.