Dog suddenly not eating

September 26, 2009 6:13 PM

My dog is not eating, but the situation is not the same as previous questions, as far as I can tell. Please see inside for detail

My 5 year old chihuahua is completely off any kind of food. It started last Tuesday morning when he threw up and continued to vomit anything and everything, including water, for the next 24 hours.

Left him with the vet for the day, and boarded overnight for observation. They gave him anti-nausea meds and he was able to hold down water, but would not eat. I (mistakenly) put this down to being in a kennel and at the vets. They ran a fecal test and found nothing, but didn't run any other tests as they didn't observe unusual behavior (other than not eating!)

Brought him home Thursday, and since then have only been able to hand feed him a few bites of steak and beef jerky. He's lost at least 2 pounds in the past week and I'm getting really worried.

Here's why I'm upset - this dog normally lives to eat. It's one of his favorite things. He was overweight until about 8 months ago when I started getting serious about exercising him and cutting down on the treats. All of his normal favorites - peanut butter, hamburger, dried chicken jerky, cheese - he's refusing outright.

He lapped at chicken broth earlier tonight but only for a few seconds.

If I don't see an actual meal being eaten by Monday morning, back to the vet he goes. I'm going to ask for a blood panel, but what else should I request they look for?

I'm trying to keep to his normal schedule as far as walking and meal times, is there any other behavior modification I should try?

I've had dogs in my life since I was a teenager, and I have never had to deal with such a drastic behavior change in such a short time. I'm willing to try anything at this point, hivemind. What's your advice?

posted by lootie777 to pets & animals (15 comments total)

My dog (miniature schnauzer) has had similar symptoms several times, it turned out to be pancreatitis. It's mostly managed by an extra-low-fat diet, but still flares up sometimes if he gets into anything fatty.
posted by olaguera at 6:22 PM on September 26

Take the dog back to the vet, or go to another vet. Ask for tests on his liver and / or kidneys.

My kitty stopped eating after a disruption in my usual schedule, and it escalated pretty quick. She's OK now though because she had a feeding tube. Back to the vet!!
posted by motsque at 6:23 PM on September 26

PS. and could possibly have led to his developing diabetes later. Don't feed your dog cheese!
posted by olaguera at 6:24 PM on September 26

Thanks olaguera, it never occurred to me to think about diabetes. He hasn't been given cheese since our exercise/better eating regime started at the beginning of this year.

The only other fatty things he's eaten is hamburger or steak which is very rare and only one or two bites. His normal diet is Origen dog food and a few bites of dried chicken jerky (made for dogs).

I'm really trying anything that's appealed to him in the past just to get something in his stomach.
posted by lootie777 at 6:34 PM on September 26

They can give him barium pills and then x-ray him to see how food is passing through his gut. We had to do this for our dog when he did the same thing. Our dog had a blockage that cleared with IV fluids and antibiotics after 3 weeks (and nearly dying). It's a way to tell if he's eaten something he shouldn't or he has some sort of inflammation of the bowel. It's expensive, though.
posted by clarkstonian at 6:35 PM on September 26

lootie777, my chihuahua hasn't been eating much the past week either. I think it's the heat wave. However, we haven't had any vomiting here. (Yet.)
posted by roger ackroyd at 7:17 PM on September 26

Honestly, if he's lost 2 pounds in the past week it's time to get much more aggressive with diagnosis and treatment. Some of the weight loss can be chalked up to lack of fluids if he isn't drinking much, but it's just not normal for such a small dog to lose that much weight. Has he had any BMs lately and has he been peeing? I wouldn't wait for Monday- this is the sort of thing emergency vets are for. Even if they just give him some subcutaneous fluids at least he won't be dehydrated on top of whatever else is going on.
posted by Mouse Army at 7:30 PM on September 26

Thanks for the concern Mouse Army. He is drinking, he's urinating on schedule and his last bm was Friday evening. He's not dehydrated, once the anti nausea meds kicked in he's been drinking water like a champ.

Also, his weight before this week was 12 pounds. I'd say he's at 10 or 10 1/2 right now. He's not the typical "put in your purse" chihuahua. Two vets have said he seems like a pure blood chi, just on the big side of the breed. He's about 12 inches long and very muscular.

He was a little overweight until this week, but obviously this is the absolute wrong way to go losing extra weight!

He just won't eat a regular meal, and he's lethargic and sleepy. If he stays hydrated and will indulge me by eating the few handfuls of food I give him through tomorrow, I'd much rather have him see our regular vet Monday.

Of course, I have the directions and route mapped to the emergency clinic, just in case.
posted by lootie777 at 7:42 PM on September 26

One of my pups ingested the rubber foot of a chew toy. It would not pass. Rather it would cause vomiting/regurg of even water. Had to have it surgically removed. Check your doggi toys , any parts missing might be floating around inside Fido causing Fido to avois any more stomach distress.
posted by Agamenticus at 8:11 PM on September 26

Our dog died a week ago. His stomach was twisted. His symptoms were stopping eating and throwing up foamy/frothy stuff. And his stomach was a bit distended and clearly uncomfortable.

The diagnosis was acheived via x-ray. So if I were a doctor, and concerned, I'd start there. But ours wasn't drinking; yours is. There's a big difference between not eating and not drinking.

In my opinion, I wouldn't request they "look for" anything so much since it's their job to figure out what's wrong and so far they've been much better at it than I would be. Definitely tell them every bit of what's wrong and what concerns you. The more information they have, the better. And I hope they're every bit as good as the vets I've dealt with, and I hope your little guy has a speedy recovery.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 10:02 PM on September 26

Things my vet had me give my Chi after being sick:
*plain yogurt (can mix with chicken/turkey baby food)
*baby rice cereal
*small curd cottage cheese
*plain white rice

slowly start adding wet dog food to the rice then her regular dry food

It got her eating again. You have to take it slow.

Hope you chi starts to feel better soon.
posted by nimsey lou at 10:21 PM on September 26

I'm glad to hear he's drinking and eliminating! I was imagining a 6 pound chihuahua losing 2 pounds and it was freaking me out. Here's one last thought: your vet's office may carry Hill's Prescription Diet food for dogs. You might consider getting a couple cans of wet A/D- it's what they give animals after they've been in surgery or generally ill. My dogs have always gone bananas over the stuff and it won't do anything harmful to him. Keep us updated and good luck!
posted by Mouse Army at 4:59 AM on September 27

Thanks for all the thoughtful advice, everyone. He's starting to show more interest in food, and is eating a few handfuls of jerky and white rice.

I ran into a neighbor who said his medium sized dog has also been off his food and having mild diarrhea and that other people in our building are saying the same thing. We recently had sod put down for a new park area, and now we are wondering if they there was heavy duty fertilizer applied.

So, we're going to avoid that park for a couple of weeks, and I'm going to let the vet know tomorrow so she can factor that in. I'm going to ask them to run a blood panel and see if they can get him interested in eating something a little healthier than beef jerky!

Mouse Army, I'm writing down Hills Prescription Diet, to mention to the vet as well.
posted by lootie777 at 7:15 AM on September 27

I'm going to ask for a blood panel, but what else should I request they look for?

My dog doesn't like to eat occasionally, as you probably saw in my previous AskMe question. Here's my advice:

Ask for a urinalysis in addition to a blood panel. It should be fairly inexpensive (depending on how thorough it is) and it will give the vet a good indication of how certain organs are functioning.

Is there any chance your dog could have eaten something that could get stuck in his digestive track? I know a dog who ate one of those greenie's treats (that are supposed to be safe) and exhibited similar symptoms. It took a few weeks of testing and a few x-rays to discover the treat lodged in his intestines. Obviously other non-edible materials could cause obstructions too.

Make some boiled chicken and rice. Boil a plan chicken breast in water until cooked through, mix it with some cooked white rice, stir in enough chicken broth to make it moist. It's gentle on the stomach and it almost always enticed my picky eater to eat. YMMV. It's also a good way to get extra fluids in them.

Good luck! I hope your pup is healthy again in no time.
posted by geeky at 12:44 PM on September 27

I second the boiled chicken and rice.

Ground beef and rice is an alternative.

Get him to the vet for a complete blood panel, ask if an obstruction could be part of the problem, and stop feeding him junk. He needs a better diet than burgers and cheese.

Good luck.
posted by stormpooper at 9:14 AM on September 28