Dog not eating

[jfholloway]

I have a 2 year old collie/lab mix. He just started recently not eating any dog food. We had him eating Nutro dry food and Alpo canned. he stopped eating the Alpo then he stopped eating the dry food. We have tried various dry and canned food but, he won't eat. The only thing he would eat is boiled chicken and ground beef. Now he sometimes eats the chicken and beef and sometimes he sniffs it then walks away. I am at a loss at what to do. He has started losing weight and our vet has run a battery of tests which have all come back as negative for anything health wise.

I am getting worried because this has been going on for 2 weeks now and you can see him getting weaker as he goes longer without eating. we tried putting food down and if he doesn't eat taking it away but, that isn't working either he just refuses to eat anything.

I don't know what else to do, I am worried he is going to get to point where he needs hospitalized to keep him from dying.

The vet ran
Urinalysis Dip/Sedimentation
fecal test
CBC which contained a blood test for white and red blood cell count
organ tests liver, kidney, thyroid and others
X-rays of the upper and lower body including abdomen, GI tract, organs
Heartworm test and the said all test were normal with no abnormal results.

He is drinking water but, not excessively. He is active but, his activity is dropping daily. we have other dogs that he used to play with a lot but, he has pretty much stopped playing with them.


We just heard back from our vet on the latest urine test. His white blood count is a little high and there are small amounts of mucus. His red count & sugar are good and no crystals. We have started him on Baytril for infection.

We just grilled him up a steak and not only did he turn it down, but he walked away from it. I even ate a bite first, still no interest. Normally his tongue would be flapping air trying to get a taste.

Chester is up to date on all of his shots. He is also on Interceptor for heartworm and Frontline for fleas/ticks.

We took Chester to the Holistic vet today. He ran a series of the same tests that our original vet did and the results were the same that they can't find any medical reason for him not to eat. The conclusion from both vets is that he is suffering from depression and grief from the resent death of our 9yr old Husky mix who was the Alpha male of the pack (he was 1 of 4 dogs). The Husky (Max) was the leader of the pack. Chester really did not bother with him much so, we didn't realize that Chester would miss him so much. The holistic vet gave us Ignatia Amar for the depression/grief. I am hoping that someone can help us figure out a way to snap him out of this. I would appreciate any help for him.

We tried the raw eggs and raw beef, he just sniffed it and walked away. we did find that he likes egg whites cooked in a little bacon grease. I don't if the grease is good for him though. we are going to try egg whites in a little margarine to see if that works. He has stopped eating the boiled chicken or beef which he used to eat. We also tried beef liver boiled which he has consistently eaten it for the last couple of days. He also seems to like the Milk-Bone brand Essentials Plus chewy treats, the roasted turkey flavor. They are treats but, the ingredients look pretty good and at least he is getting the vitamins and minerals that he isn't getting since he isn't eating. He also occasionally likes the Authority dental wellness treats but, we only give him a couple of them a day (per the instructions on the bag).

We have been trying to figure out what he had/ate before he stooped eating and the only thing was that he was taking cephalexin for a hot spot he had on his paw. Some of the capsules broke while he was eating his food. he seemed to start slowing down.
we told both vets and they said that shouldn't be the problem since that was a couple of weeks ago and dogs have limited short-term memory so he shouldn't remember that anymore and if it was he natural instinct to not starve should be making him want to eat.

The only time we see any spark of the old Chester is when sees his leash to gp for a walk. when he sees the it he and the other dogs we have start running around and they are really excited to go.

The only thing medically that is left to do is a sonogram but, neither vet thing it will show anything because if there was something to see there would be some sort of abnormal results in all of the tests that were done. they said that we can run it just to rule it out as well. at this point both vets have said that all medical reasons have been pretty much ruled out so, the only thing left it could be is mental. At this point we are doing anything we can to keep him eating since it seems his natural instinct to not starve doesn't seems to be working.

The weird thing is that he will eat something for a while then just stop eating it and we are running out of things to try. Sometimes he seems to be bored looking and other times he looks exhausted. He used to like to play ball but, now he doesn't. He and the other dogs used to wrestle around the yard and chase each other but, he has stopped that as well.

I don't know if this was mentioned earlier but, he is taking 170mg of Baytril daily to clear up the Urinary Tract Infection that is what caused the high white blood cells in the urine test. He is also taking Carafate liquid 10ml every 8 hours to make sure that acid in his stomach isn't causing a problem from having little food in it. This was started after he was taken to the vet for not eating.

The last thing we have found is that his symptoms can be caused by depression. His not eating started about a week or so after our other dog died. According to the document found, it lists all of his current behaviors as classic signs of depression. They recommend more activity, more dogs around perhaps doggy daycare. We have 2 other dogs but, he may need others to play with. And if all else fails, prosaic or a similar depression medication made for dog depression. Has anyone ever had a dog with depression? How did you get them through it?

[tiffers]

...first and foremost, have you tried higher quality foods? Nutro is decent, and Alpo is...well, pig slop in my opinion.

Look for higher quality foods like Wellness Core, Wellness, Evo, Innova, etc. He cannot survive on what you're feeding him currently. Besides, the higher quality food will make all of your dogs happier and healthier.

Next up, do you take the dogs on walks regularly? Every day? Where else do you take them? Do you play with them often?

He needs LOTS of play and stimulation to overcome and forget his grief. Have you changed anything in your house since you lost the other dog? Change it back. You may very well be upsetting the depressed dog even more.

[jfholloway]

Thanks for Tiffer for replying. Right now he won't eat anything at all except for the Milk-Bone treats and those are eaten occasionally. We have tried Wellness and Evo as well as the BARF diet. The problem I have right now is that I need to find away to get him to eat something now. Changing his diet doesn't matter at the moment since he is refusing to eat anything at all. He is getting to the point where we able starting to feel he spine and hip bones. I am not sure how many days he has left of not eating and we are at our wits end. We have spoken to emergency vet hospitals and both vets that we took him to and they are all saying that can only give fluids with an IV bit not food.

[That_girl]

I agree with everything Tiffers said.

For now, I would find one brand of food and stick with it. Too many changes in food will make for an upset tummy, and that's not going to help anything.

Maybe you could cook him a bland diet for now? Boiled white rice and chicken. Then switch him to a high quality food like Tiffers suggested. Better, healthier ingredients. Less or no fillers that could be making the food unattractive to your dog.

Dogs are like people, they do grieve. Give him his time, but don't feel sorry for him. He needs to get back to normal. People who don't move through the 5 stages of grief have similar problems to what your dog has. Help him move through it by getting back to normal.

[jfholloway]

The problem is right now....we have tried a bland diet and also the better foods....he will NOT eat ANYthing. He will take a sniff and walk away. We've been doing the extra play time & affection and walks. Nothing seems to help & nobody has any idea what to do to get him eating. We are terrified he is going to starve to death and we are stuck watching it happen.

[tiffers]

If he is on IV Fluids, he will be getting necessary electrolytes and hydration, and that will make him feel better...so he may eat. He can be sustained for 3 to 5 days without food on IV fluids. The hospital can feed him, but if he won't eat...they can give him medications (like appetite stimulants) to help him eat.

I advise admitting him to a hospital to get him over the initial hump. A dog will not starve itself like a cat. He will eat, it's just a matter of finding him something he wants to eat.

[jfholloway]

Thank you Tiffers for this info!! I've been calling around to the animal hospitals. Seems we are danged if we do or don't....nobody will admit him and put him on IV's because he is not having problems going to the bathroom and can still stand. UGGHH!! Very frustrating.

Do you happen to know what any of the appetite stimulant meds are called?

It seems like all the Dr's believe he is depressed & grieving since all his tests came back normal. What is strange - when he hears us open any containers of food or the fridge - he will usually come to investigate. When we offer him food he seems interested, but will take a sniff and then walk away. For the past few days he has only been eating about a handful of food per day. Could he be eating just enough to sustain himself? He loves to lay on the dresser & look out the window. When he sees or hears anything outside, he still barks and comes running to the back door to go outside. (we have a very large fenced yard) If he doesn't hear anything he will lay around. He used to play with our other 2 dogs, especially the one - they would wrestle all the time. This hasn't happened for a few days. When he knows we are going for a walk he gets very excited and is very excited while we are out.

We are at a loss. Not quite sure if it is grief & depression or is he just being that finicky. We are very afraid he will starve himself to death. It just seems nobody (dr's) are as concerned about this as we are.

[tiffers]

...okay, what other symptoms does he have? Have they given you ANY type of medicine? If so, what was it?

He will not starve himself, unless something is making him very sick. It doesn't sound like he's very sick...so, he will likely not die of starvation.

One thing I am concerned about, considering everything is inconclusive...is that you aren't leaving food out long enough?

When you show him a kibble...how long do you leave it on the floor before giving up on him? For instance, if you set a bowl down...he smells it and walks away, do you pick it up? BIG No-No. Leave it alone.

All this food change is probably not helping him at all...you want to leave a bowl out for him for a day or two...maybe even measure it. Unless the other dogs will eat it for him? Put the food somewhere that he can only get to.

Unless you are already doing that?

[jfholloway]

He doesn't seem to have any other symptoms. His temperature is normal, we had all of tests run by 2 different vets and they all came back with the same results of normal and he is drinking water regularly. They did give us Baytril 170mg once a day for the urinal tract infection and we are also giving him Prednisone 10mg once a day as well. the Prednisone was to stimulate the appetite. He is also getting Carafate liquid 10ml 3 times a day.

When he is not running around he does just lay around and he is sleeping more than usual but, we thought that was from the lack of food. Other than that, we don't see anything else.

We can't leave the food out long because our other dogs will eat it all instantly. Right now we are following him everywhere trying to get him to eat. we have even tried making game by tossing the food to him to catch it. It works for a little while then he walks away.He is down to eating a handful or 2 of something like boiled liver or beef.

We just had an emergency on-call vet call and they want to run an ultrasound
to see if the bowls are obstructed or have any kind of growth in them. I told her that he is having regular bowl movements and they aren't runny.

I am wondering if he is being abstinent if so, I have never seen a dog go this long without eating.

[theresa92841]

I am wondering if you have tried feeding him right after his walk. If he is excited on his walk then maybe he will be more willing to eat right after.

[tiffers]

...the Carafate is for ulcers, and if he has those, he may be painful and not want to eat.

If two people did xrays and found nothing, and he is going to the bathroom...I am quite sure there's no obstruction. Ultrasound is your call. I don't think I'd do it.
Is there a way to confine him to a room in your house for...say a week or so? That way, you can leave the bowl of food out for him?

Chica is a nibbler. She will only take two to three bites of food during the day, but at night...in the middle of the night, that's when she eats her full meal.

[Llamalady]

Oh I really hope Chester gets over this!!! What a heartbreaking ordeal to have to go through!

[jfholloway]

We took him to the hospital this morning because he was so lethargic he won't drink water now. They have him on an IV to get the fluids he needs back in him and he has lost 4lbs since Friday. I am waiting the doctor (the 3rd now) to call me with a prognosis and something that can be done before it is too late.

Even though they agree he probably doesn't have an obstruction, they are going to do an ultrasound to see if there is anything in his GI tract like ulcers, lesions or masses that may be causing the problem. I do and don't want them to find something. I don't want them to find something because that is how they found out our last 3 dogs had cancer but, I do want them to find something that would explain what is going on and I want it to be something easy to treat. I really am hoping that they don't find easy cancer cells. Our last 3 dogs were fine one day and the next day they ended up in the hospital with metastasized cancer throughout their bodies and we had no idea until they started showing signs that something was wrong.

[special]

I'm sorry you are having this trouble with your beloved dog. Prayers and all paws crossed here that the problem is discovered and it treatable.

Welcome to petlovers, anyway and hurray for you for caring so much and going to all lengths for your doggie, what's his name?

Please keep us updated.

[jfholloway]

Thanks Special for your wonderful message we really appreciate it. His name is Chester and he is a golden retriever/collie mix. He got his name from the dog in the movie called "The Kid" w/Bruce Willis. we were watching the movie when were trying to come up with a name and my wife said he looks just like the dog in the movie.