If there's one thing that confuses me about dogs is their ability to completely mask their pain, suffering and discomfort. So we have to depend on subtle signs that our pooches are not feeling ok. The first sign of discomfort is not eating.

Not eating doesn't mean they are on death's door, they could just need a couple of days to recover, they may have caught a virus, picked up a bacteria on one of their walks, etc.

As long as your dog is still drinking water you can let him skip a couple of meals. If by the third meal he is still not eating he is going to need some support from you.

You should not wait until your dog loses weight before you step in. Once he has skipped his third meal you need to start giving him liver support. This is simply because the liver processes everything from food to medications and can be affected by everything from viruses to parasites. So before the liver gets affected, it's time to support the liver.

There are many liver support concoctions out on the market and since they aren't a medication you can get them without prescription. Ask your local vet what they stock and if they are able to offer you a product with milk thistle, even better.

The next thing you are going to need to do is protect the stomach and intestines. Products such as from Lisan and Dygiton from Himalaya are helpful in protecting the digestive tract.

Your dog is obviously not feeling well, something has hit him and his immune system is fighting to recover. Not eating is a sign that blood is being redirected to the infection site and not going to the digestive system. Now is the time to give your pooch something to reinforce and support their immune system such as immunol or synvirax.

Most dewormers don't cover amoebas or hookworms and while you may be on track with your deworming regime your dog may have easily picked up any of the other parasites that are not covered by regular dewormers. The plus version of most dewormers covers hookworm but amoebas are not as easily treated. A sign that your dog may have a parasite is the colour of the poop. Green poop usually is a clear indication of this. If after deworming with a hookworm treatment and your dog is still not doing well, it's time to go to the vet for a faecal test.