my lovely boy max, a retreiver, threwup all his dinner, (dry food loved by him for 5 yrs) 10 days ago and has refused to eat ANYTHING since. on days 2 and 3 he brought up watery bile.. yes stomach empty, however drinking plenty and short bursts of energy, thought he may have a 'bug' and waited for jake, his brother, and bailey his sister to follow suit. they didn't. Day 5 off to the vet. "no idea" ... took blood, tests came up all ok.
Vet gave me 2 little tins of nutrition to beat up and syringe into his mouth. Vomtting stopped, there has been absolutely no diarrhea at any time, but he will not eat! I'm now pureeing baby food and feeding him that by syringe as I'm fearful of not getting something down him. Hurrah yesterday, day 9 he did a poo! normal enough.. progress?
between his bursts of energy he is totally not himself, noted the disc problem possibility on a prev. answer, but if you saw him bolt when a bird flies over, I really don't think it could be the case here. Also, he started to demolish his rubber ball, so I don't think his teeth/gums can be the problem. Please someone, magic wand time??

labman

I think it is time for back to the vet. Most cases of a dog suddenly stopping eating involve a physical problem. There are more details in the sticky at http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/in...tml#post254171 This case really sounds like a physical problem.

If he demolishes things, he could have a blockage from a fragment. It is best not to let dogs have things they demolish.

The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into
pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages. If you are not
there to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs. Keep a
close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in
pieces. Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed.
These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive
chewers such as Labs.

Ropes from the pets' store quickly turn to hazardous shreds. Ones I made
lasted much better. Go to a hardware or home center that sells rope by the
foot. Buy 2' of 3/4" poly rope. Melt the ends, and tie knots in it. Get
them as tight as possible, put it in a vise and pound it with a hammer. Watch
carefully, and be ready to discard when it comes apart.

labman

From a PM:

Sometimes little things to us are very important to dogs. Having her saliva on the biscuit bite may have shown him she was sharing her food with him, which can be important to a dog. The broken off piece would be different. Yes, dogs are very tuned into our emotions. Unless there is something else major happening you haven't mentioned, I still think the problem is physical, and the vet must find and fix it. Tempting the dog with rich food will not fix an intestinal blockage or other problem.

Site policy discourages asking and answering questions by PM or email. I strongly support it.

RubyPitbull

ladyjames, I tried finding the other post you mentioned, but I don't see any other one from you. Please follow labman's advice. My first thought was that there may be a blockage from something that he had gotten a hold of that you aren't aware of. If your vet hasn't already done so, an x-ray might be in order here.

Before you go back to the vet, the other question that comes to my mind is, you mention his "brother" & "sister". Are they the same age as Max, or are they new additions? This can have a direct bearing on why he is being so fussy with his food. If one of your other dogs is new to the household, he is feeling displaced in his pack rank. The fact that he ate a piece of food from your daughter but refused another piece after she gave pieces to the other dogs made me think that he refused the food because he felt that he was being "dissed" in doggy terms. If he has held the leadership position among the dogs, it is normal to feed him first, then give food to the others. So, if he feels his rank is being threatened by a new member of the household, this could be a reason he isn't eating. If you get a chance, let us know the ages of the other dogs and how long they have been with you and any other changes that you may have noticed in his responses to you and your family.

ladyjames

thanks labman... on day 10 of max's problem, he chucked up something most vile that quite frankly if you hadn't seen him do it you would have expected it came from his backside!
later same day he asked for some of a meat pie... then ate the rest of it, some we placed in his bowl and he kept going. Today he went straight to his bowl for breakfast, and then ate some cooked chicken at lunchtime. Fingers crossed I think he's over it.

ladyjames

Thanks RubyPitbull for your interest. No new animal family members in the last 12 months, and his sibling Jake has been the boss since day one anyhow! Max seems over it now. Thanks again

labman

Good to hear he is OK now. After such a scare, I hope you will be more careful about their toys. I didn't mention consumable treats including the Greenies. There is a big lawsuit over them. Even the safest of toys eventually get gnawed down to where the dog can bolt down something too big to pass. The trouble with consumables is that it can be only hours.

RubyPitbull

lady, I am glad that he finally vomited whatever he ate and it didn't travel any further through his system. Sounds like he is fine now.