Not eating

Question
Hello,
I adopted a golden that was dumped at my school right in front of my eyes. I couldn't figure out why they dumped him, it turned out he is epileptic. He was on phenobarbital and now he was weaned off and no seizures but since I got him I had to coax him to eat. If you can tell me anything that could be the reason I would greatly appreciate it
                                   Thank You
                                      Jonathan


Answer
There could be several reasons.  You have had him to the vet and otherwise he is healthy?  How long have you had him?  He could still be adjusting to him new home and eat later.  

One of the most critical thing is what kind of shape he is in.  If he is overweight do to being feed too much, too rich food, he simply may be holding out for better than what you are offering him.  It is very unusual for a healthy dog to harm itself by not eating.  More so a Golden.  To evaluate him, see http://www.longliveyourdog.com/twoplus/RateYourDog.aspx  As long as he isn't overly thin, more than just a few ribs showing, I would continue to offer him a dry dog chow.  If he is too thin, or continues not to eat and becomes too thin, again, I would see the vet.  A rich diet can do more harm to a dog than not eating for a while.