[labman]

How awful. I fortunately have not had to deal with poisoning and have no idea what it could be. I would carefully inspect your house and yard and make sure the new puppy doesn't have access to anything that might poison it. Don't let it out of your sight.

This will be a long week for you. Please post back Friday when you have some news. If you ever find out what it was, again let us know so we can make sure our dogs don't have access to it.

[tedspal]

I am new to the site and desperately need help. My one-year-old German shep/retriever mix won't eat.

He has been having the problem off and on for about a month now. He'll eat just a handful and turn up his nose at the rest.

He has been to the vet twice and just got back home again Monday. After a day of not eating at the vet's, he ate there for the next three straight days. X-rays and bloodwork revealed nothing definitive, according to the vet, but she did say his white cell count is 26,000, which is apparently double what it should be.

He ate the prescription-diet food the vet prescribed when he came home Monday night, but struggled to eat Tuesday, vomited during the night, and has eaten nothing today (Wednesday).

I am near the end of my rope. Any advice would be appreciated.

[labman]

There may not be too much you can do except keep working with the vet. A high white blood cell count often means some sort of an infection. If the vet does not have more ideas to try, it may time to check with another vet.

[4mydogs]

I am sorry to hear about your delemma, but I know exactly what you are going through. My dog daisy did not eat for 5 days, unfortunately when I took her to the vet it was bad news. However double check with your vet and make sure she does not have a virus, that can cause liver damage. Good luck.

[belgnbor]

G'day, my dog joins the cue in not eating. My 3yr old Belgian Shepherd stopped eating and was puking a lot white frothy puke and had slimy runny stools (with a little bit of blood in it). Off to vet we go, dog has slight temperature and is a little tender in belly, so he is now on a course of anti-biotics. So now he seems to have stopped puking, but still have trouble getting him to eat and has a bit of a dry throat, vet said no fat so he is eating kangaroo meat (very lean and he normally loves it). Will not eat kibble at all, and the strange part is he will not eat in the morning at all, after about 2pm he gets a little hungry, if I put the roo mince in his bowl he will not eat it, if I pull it into tiny pieces and hand feed him he eats a tiny bit, like he can only handle little pieces. Now he is still quite active but needing more than normal to go outside and be cool (goes and stands in his pool more than he normally does) (it's summer in Australia & hot). Now my dog is normally a massive food hound (but he is not overweight) and acts starved all day long. To have him not eat is very distressing, he is eating a bit at night and still runs around. He still has a day and half to go with his antibiotics. I'm wondering if there could be something wrong with his throat instead of his belly.

[labman]

By far the best judge of the throat is the vet. The other symptoms suggest the course the vet is taking. I would follow his directions exactly and give him a few days. His appetite should slowly come back. If not, stay in touch with the vet. Even human medicine is not an exact science. So often a shot or a few pills clear things up, we are disappointed if it doesn't.

[tina1971]

I found out my dog had things stuck in his teeth as well. He wouldn't like to eat but when it was all cleaned he went back to normal.

[felicia]

Hi,

I also have a dog that just won't eat, she's a English pointer crossed with an Irish wolfhound, she was an average eater when she was a pup but within the last four months she is getting worse, she has been to a vet and I told them about her problem, the vet didn't really say much so I'm thinking of taking her to another vet for dietry suppliments or something.

Sometimes she will go for nearly a week without eating, she sometimes picks at her kibble but is never really enthusiastic about it, she loves liver treats, I make them myself so she can have a few but she still needs to eat more, once she went for a long time without even picking, I got so worried and ended up buying her a 500 gram pack of bacon from the deli, she ate that with no problems :rolleyes: .

So is she just very picky or a light eater?

People always stare at her because she is skinny naturally, she looks a little like a greyhound and runs as fast as one... so when she does lose weight it's very noticeable, I just feel bad that she doesn't eat and even worse when people look at me like I starve her... if only they knew that I give her everything, steak, top quality ham, chicken breast fillets, chicken wings and pieces, turkey wings, rice, mince and veggies and tonnes of treats, she gets more than my husband and I combined yet she hardly ever gets interested except chicken breast but that costs a lot of money after a while.

I used to think all dogs were big eaters but it just isn't true.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks


felicia

[labman]

The second vet may be the best idea. It is almost unknown for a healthy dog not to eat what it needs. That may be less than the owner expects. Some dogs do refuse to eat enough to keep their ribs from showing a little. Are you sure she isn't part Greyhound? I think they tend to keep themselves on the lean side. You really need to get her on a dog chow. The rich food you are feeding her is not the complete and balanced diet she needs. It is very difficult to give a dog exactly what it needs other than the comercial chows.

[felicia]

The second vet may be the best idea. It is almost unknown for a healthy dog not to eat what it needs. That may be less than the owner expects. Some dogs do refuse to eat enough to keep their ribs from showing a little. Are you sure she isn't part Greyhound? I think they tend to keep themselves on the lean side. You really need to get her on a dog chow. The rich food you are feeding her is not the complete and balanced diet she needs. It is very difficult to give a dog exactly what it needs other than the comercial chows.

Hi,

She doesn't really eat rich foods, I don't feed her anything like sweets, she just gets different types of meat, also, when she does eat it's never in front of me, when I give her food she won't go near it but sometimes if I look out the window I catch her eating it when I'm not looking :confused: .

I think a second vet would be the best option, she doesn't have any greyhound because her parents were purebred breeding dogs... nass and her litter were an accident because the two dogs got together :D

With her weight, half the reason she's a little on the skinny side is because she has the body size of a pointer but the long legs of the wolfhound which makes her look skinny, but I think she's too skinny mostly because she hardly eats, it just gets so frustrating sometimes :( I wish more than anything that she'd just start eating normal... I'm always in the kitchen cooking special food for her, rice, meat and veggies, the vet said that's healthier than tin food... now if only I can get her to eat it..

After iv'e taken her to the vet I'll let you know what happened.


Thanks

felicia

[jaycee]

Has your dog been checked for a malabsorption problem? Your vet can prescribe Cyproheptadine which is a safe appetite stimulant. Bacon? Ham? Those have a high salt content which is hard on the kidneys, and as for commercial treats, don't know what they put in them but " meaty" doesn't have to mean there's any meat in there at all. Most times it's all the leftovers they can't put in any human or pet food that they add an artificial flavour to heighten the taste. If they didn't, no dog would go near it based on content. A raw food diet, which is looks like you're implementing some of, is really the best way to go. Don't know if you're adding all of the supplements like brewer's yeast and flaxoil and alfalfa, and things like that but if you're giving a lot of treats that's like giving a lot of candy to a child, it has no nutritional value whatsoever but after awhile that's all the child wants to eat. In that case, it's back to nutritional basics . If you implement solely a raw food diet, no treats, no salty appetite-tweaking tidbits, but Cyproheptadine instead you may be able to get your dog back on track. That is, if there isn't something else going on here like malabsorption. If there is, then the nutritional content of the food given is of utmost importance.
I noticed several times on this thread about kibble or some other type of food like kangaroo meat being given. Hopefully, that's the the only thing the dog eats. I remember reading somewhere to vary the diet because to give the same thing day in and day out every year of the pet's life is setting that pet up for disease.

[jopajp99]

I have a 9 year old German Shepherd who recently was examined and a blood test revealed diabetes but a second opinion with another vet revealed this not to be true. Second vet said he had a mild case of thryoidism that pills could correct but we didn't pick up any pills. Now our dog won't eat, drinks a lot, won't walk much and has loose stools. First vet said he had hookworms and was treated. I am worried as he lays around and sleeps most of the day

[labman]

I think you need to decide which vet seemed to know what they were talking about, and start following their course of treatment for the dog. The only other option would be a third opinion and see if it agrees with either of the first.

You have a sick dog, and it needs treatment. Pick a vet and do it.

[brotherconrad]

I had a puppy die from a disseise called Rocky Mountain fever, my dog would not eat eat was very thin dehydrated, this went on for awhile. Most vets have never heard of this, not even in Colorado. He was checked for every possible thing except Rocky Mountain Fever, we had to force feed him which only made him worse. Eventually even a blood transfusion because his red blood cell count was extremely low. His sister (a friend of mine had) eventually died with the same symptoms Rocky Mountain Fever
I really hope this is not what is wrong with your dog you will find few vets who know much about it. It can be found in other places then Colorado.

[dog_love]

I have a German Sheperd that just wont eat!!!
We have tried dry food and meat but he just wont take it!
If you have any ideas of how to fix this please let me know. Ill
try anything.
thanx heaps,
dog_lover

Mu dog won't eat eather! We tried eveything can you try to fiure out for mine and your dog please

[labman]

A dog that won't eat is nearly always sick or over fed. I now have more details in a sticky at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post254171 including an updated link to evaluating your dog's weight.

[pompano]

I have a German Sheperd that just wont eat!!!
We have tried dry food and meat but he just wont take it!
If you have any ideas of how to fix this please let me know. Ill
try anything.
thanx heaps,
dog_lover

Try canned prescription AD/hill's diet if they still make it.It is very rich,and we could get some of the sickest animals in our vet clinic to eat this stuff.It is a canned food. Also warm his can food in the microwave if he still refuses to eat.The smell of warm food worked for us many times.

[bennett8890]

I have a German Sheperd that just wont eat!!!
We have tried dry food and meat but he just wont take it!
If you have any ideas of how to fix this please let me know. Ill
try anything.
thanx heaps,
dog_lover

If he likes dog treats try crumpling them up with him watching and mix it in the food. That is what I did for my pit/boxer mix and after two days of not eating he started eating again.

[labman]

Have you verified he isn't too fat? Over feeding a dog is a form of abuse.

[RubyPitbull]

mu dog wont eat eather! we tryed eveything can you try to fiure out for mine and your dog please

Are you in an area where you are experiencing a major heat wave? If so, it is normal for a dog not to eat when they feel overheated. He won't experience any problems from not eating for one or two days. Is he still drinking water? Make sure he has plenty.

If your dog has not eaten for days, if he is not drinking water, and/or you are not experiencing what I have described above, it might be time for you to give the vet a call and have your dog examined.