[daisybreezey]

My 13y old border collie has stopped eating > She has had colitis all her life and was on a special diet> When I moved I had to have it shipped here via a local pet food store. Because of a mix up on an order I switched her to Taste of the wild. After a month or so I saw the effects on all my dogs. My little pom started vomiting and scratching terribly, My younger because mix broke out in hot spots and scratching and Breeze would vomit and scratch. Needless to say I switched back all returned to normal except Breeze. She would still vomit . Only in the am and mostly bile. I tried adding pepcid to her meds along with pepto and fed her smaller more frequent meals. About a week ago I noticed she was getting picky with her food and wouldn't eat the hard food. So I said enough and took her to the vet. I had an x-ray done. No masses and everything looked fine. I had a complete blood panel done and believe it or not she had nothing wrong. Good levels across the board. Her liver Kidneys and pancreas all fine. After that my vet determined she had a bad case of gastritis. So he gave me reglan and told me to go to 20 mg pepcid 2 xs a day. Alonfgwith her sulfasalazine Small meals of chicken and rice. But even with the reglan she kept vomiting till finally he gave her an injection to stop it and we went to just chicken broth. It worked . She has stopped vomiting but now won't eat. She came down with severe diarrhea yesterday and he told me it was OK he expected it and give her Immodium. The diarrhea this morning had just a bit of blood in it. So he prescribed pred for her. I got her to eat a coup[le scrambled eggs this am but that's it. She seems interested in food sniffs it and tastes a bit then spits it out. I know the lack of exercise has taken a toll on her. She does have arthritis and hasn't been taken her gloucosamine because of this infection. She did get up and take a short walk with me today and wanted her treat when we got back but she just crumpled it up and left it. I am so worried I know when an older dog stops eating it is usually not good. Am I overreacting and just need to give her more time or is she suffering? She is my baby and I want to be fair to her.

[Alty]

I am so sorry that you're going through this. Before I post anything else, I want to tell you how refreshing it is to see a responsible pet owner on this site. Most people post here expecting us to heal their dogs, not willing to go to a vet. You are doing everything you can for your dog.

Having said that, there are no vets on this site. There are vet techs, and people like me that have had a lot of experience with dogs and health issues. But, no one on this site can give you an alternative to what you're already doing, and anyone that does, should be ignored. Your dog is in the right hands, the vets.

My gut is saying that you should give her time. Your vet is pouring a lot of meds into her. If you've ever been very sick and had one med to cure this, then another med to cure that, and then a med to counteract the side affects of the other two meds... you know that eating isn't always something that's possible.

I'm thinking she's just having tummy issues because of the meds. That's not to say that she should stop taking the meds. Remember, I'm not a vet. But maybe finding things that are a bit easier on the tummy would help, or talking to your doctor about finding something that could ease tummy issues, if that's what's going on, which again, is just what my gut is saying, not based on actual fact.

To me the good news is that she's still interested in food, she just has no desire to eat it. It may be tasting funny to her right now. But an interest in food is a good sigh, in my opinion.

Give it time. If this is the end, and I truly hope it isn't, she'll let you know. They always do.

My thoughts are with you. I wish we could actually help you find a solution, but that's really not possible to do online. We can however be here for support if you need it. I hope you take us up on that.

Good luck to you and your precious dog.