[caric]

Hi Guys, This is a real strange & frustrating story. My Beagle is now nearly 8 months I have had him home for the past 6 months. On day 1 he would not eat, this continued for a week I was so sick with worry & had him to the vet he checked out OK & was told he wouldn't starve to death & not to panic. Ok this was good but then the non eating continued I spent a fortune on numerous different types & brands of food, fresh, scraps, canned, dry's, treats, milks etc. over the months none of which he will eat. This dog must of be really hungry but still he is determined not to try anything of a substantial amount. Back to the vet numerous times, contact with the breeder told yet again not to worry. Heaps of energy & a wet nose throughout. He is growing & you can't see his ribs doesn't look starved that's what I can't work out, but he is about 3 - 4 kg underweight for his age according to the breeder. Finally after the first month of having him I found a concotion of chicken mince, bonox, rice & pasta and the only dry food he would touch mixed in was Pal Naturals but he had to have his food warmed up or won't eat it. Even with this he still didn't eat a substantial amount & sometimes went a couple of days without anything. This pattern has continued for about 4 months then he decided not to eat again only when the burmese cat ate with him out of his bowl would he eat. This has gone on for the past 2 months until now I am at the end of my teather. He just spent two days back at his breeders who told me he needs more weight they know I have battled with this & they said they gave him competition & he ate a bit for them & neven ate lamb flaps for them. When I got him home he wouldn't eat them for me in fact he has not eaten anything at all AGAIN for the first 4 days. They suggested I get & I did get a tube of Nutripet paste for appetite stimulation, Di Vetelact Milk formula & I was also sold by the produce store Royal Canin junior dry food apparently guaranteed to put on weight. This is all well & good but still cannot get him to eat. He drank about 250mls of milk in the last two days & about 150 gms of the dry food handfed only way I could get him to eat. I have tried the set the food down for 10 minutes then take it away trick to no avail, put him in a quiet closed area with no distraction - no avail. This has been ongoing for months & the irony is that he is a quality show dog not winning due to his lack of weight. I know that whilst he is a puppy & in the vital growth stage he will loose his boning if he does not eat substantially. What the hell am I going to do?? 6 months is far too long for a Beagle of all breeds to be refusing food.

[metalikhan]

I'd like to ask a couple of questions before I dig through some of my k-9 references to see if I can find anything that might help. What are your dog's stools looking like? Is there any chance he might be getting food elsewhere, for instance, raiding the cat's food or even the litterbox. I had a doxie mix that would go for days barely touching his food, only to discover he was supplementing with "chocolate" rolls from the litterbox. Hounds that aren't eating at all seem to get the "starved" look really quick. I've also noticed in my own hounds (Ridgebacks), the line I had was prone to food sensitivities -- soy and corn were the primary culprits, and it's not easy finding dog foods with out either one. I'll check back tomorrow.
Oh, one other question -- how do his mouth, teeth and gums look? Is there anything in there that might make him reluctant to eat much?

[caric]

Ok stools are & have been normal in everyway. Teethe , gums & throat clear from problems, full of energy, wet nose, & definitely not getting a food source from anywhere else or even into a cat box. It's like he couldn't be bothered to eat like he has better things to do with his time. My vet has even been left scratching his head. The only thing he said is he may need vitamin B shots as he may be anorexic.

[caric]

Yeah my vet said that there is a condition that where the dog's system doesn't absorb the vitamin B in the food & in turn can cause lack of appitite.
It had some long name?? For the condition & apparently can be found in Border Collies & Schnausers. He said we could try the vitamin B shots but He said other than that he has no explanation for why my Beagle has no food drive.

[metalikhan]

Hi, caric! I'm still digging but I thought I might pass on a couple of things. Look up ChinaRoad Lowchens of Australia and go to their diet section. There's a massive amount of information on different feeding strategies, recipes, etc. where you might find something workable for your boy. Some of the articles may seem contradictory; but dogs, like people, often assimilate and metabolize differently. What works for one may not work for another. Some may do well on the BARF diet while others may do better on a veg diet. I've heard opposing views on grains, although when there are problems with grain based kibble the main culprits are usually corn, soy and/or wheat.
As for whole milk, a lot of dogs get runny stools with it, but most people never try scalding the milk to kill the enzymes that cause the loose bowels. An angel who rehabs squirrels in Texas discovered this "secret" -- in correspondence with her, she related that a German Shepherd breeder she knows uses milk (not commercial formula) for raising orphan puppies. Although her website is primarily about squirrels, there is information about the scalded milk that could be useful. (Her success credentials are awesome! And her guestbook attests to the many people she's helped in several countries.) I mention it because I think it indicates that your dog could at least be getting some of the calcium he needs for bone development since you said he would take milk.
Do you happen to know the Vit B absorption disorder your vet thought might be a factor in your dog's lack of appetite?
I'll keep digging for more info, but it takes time to sift through so much. I'll check back in a couple of days.

[caric]

Have been to the lowchens web page over the months have tried nearly all the weight gain diets & recipies but he would not touch any of them.
I will get the name of the condition from the vet tonight. He had his first injection yesterday afternoon & has to have one a day for seven days then one every 3 months for a year then every so often after that if he has the condition. The thing that is getting to my vet is that if he does have this condition he is so full of energy & he should by rights be lathargic. Apparently if the needles are going to work he should get quite ravinious in about 2 days of starting the B12 injections. Will let you know the name of it tonight.

[caric]

The vet said it was called cyanocobalamin but I don't know whether that is the name of the drug because I went on the internet and all I found was a drug named this