[andrearn]

Our Great Dane cross (about 4 years old) has recently stopped eating and is barely drinking. The vet has checked him over and we have had both blood work and x-rays done. Everything appears normal. None of his favourite foods seem to be of any interest to him. He just sniffs and walks away.

[Lucky098]

Seeing as how we all just got done celebrating the holidays, many dogs have been coming up with Pancreatitis. Pancreatitis will cause a dog to go off food and not really want to drink water.. they also will start vomiting and will generally feel like crap.

Normal blood tests don't typically set off any signals for pancreatitis. It's usually its own separate test that sometimes needs to be sent off to an outside lab.

Typically when a great dane goes off food, everyone automatically assumes GDV which is why, I'm assuming, the vet did x-rays.

Talk to your vet about the possibility of him having pancreatitis. Pancreatitis typically is caused by a dog ingesting a high fatty food.. sometimes it takes time to build up to this and other times all it takes is for the dog to eat a really fatty meat or get into butter, etc.

Another thing could be that he just has an upset stomach. Like us, dogs can get upset stomachs and can feel nauseous. When you're nauseous, food and water doesn't always sound like it would taste good.. and on top of that, whatever food you are feeding is now making him think that that's what is causing him to feel this way.

Because he is a great dane, and because GDV is high on the list of problems why they don't want to eat or drink, it still could be an issue.

If you are unhappy with what this vet has told you and done for you, there is nothing wrong in getting a second opinion. Dogs that aren't eating or drinking are not a good thing and you really cannot go long without some type of medication.

[Sariss]

Can you find out if the bloodwork that was taken showed a value called Lipase? Often times if this value is elevated, it is a sign of pancreatitis. If it is elevated, the vets usually will call for a separate test called a cPL, which will confirm pancreatitis.
Unfortunately, if the Lipase level is within normal ranges, some vets rule pancreatitis out completely - BUT we have learned that even if that level is normal, you always should run the cPL test because dogs can have pancreatitis without showing elevations in Lipase.

I would discuss with your vet these tests just to rule things out.
If he is not drinking he may be dehydrated - I am surprised they did not put him on fluids for a bit to rehydrate him - often time that alone makes them feel better.
Other times nauseated dogs do not feel like eating or drinking - sometimes anti nausea medication helps this. Nauseated dogs don't necessarily vomit, they avoid eating to make sure they don't.

Let us know how things go.