dog not eating

[nanney1]

My 1 year old Bernese Mountain Dog went off of her food over the weekend. She was eating around 4 1/2 cups of Pro Plan Puppy split between two meals (2 1/4 per meal) a day.

Myy 8 year old male was eating Black Gold. However, when I went to get more, the store had not received their shipment of Black Gold and didn't know when they would get more in. So, I picked up a bag of Diamond Premium.

Once my young dog noticed that the older guy had something different, she seemed disinterested in her Pro Plan and was overly focused on his food. She only ate around half of her usual amount. The next day was the same so I mixed in some Diamond with hers as I was planning to switch her over to whatever he was eating. She ate some of the Diamond but still only ate around half.

Over the next couple of days, she continued to pick at her food and eventually went to only eating once per day and then only half of her usual amount. Yesterday, she didn't eat anything, so last night I offered a dog biscuit which she ate.

This morning, again, no interest in either her food or his. Then I noticed her vomiting a little. So, now I have an appointment to take her to the vet.

It has been very hot and extremely humid this week. My male has reduced the amount he eats which is normal for him in hot weather. I thought that might be part of why she wasn't eating. But after seeing her vomit this morning, I thought I better have her checked out.

I haven't noticed a bowel movement, but I don't always see her go outside.

[kerplunk105]

Taking her to the vet is a good idea, just in case something medically is wrong.

How old is she? A Bernie should never really be on puppy food any way...

My guys tend to eat less whens its hot out. The vomitting may be due to her stomach being empty. What was it like?

[nanney1]

The vomit was sort of a beige color, but not a yellow liquid type. Didn't see any food chunks in the vomit. Once she saw me, she trotted over like normal. Her energy seems good and she looks fine otherwise.

[nanney1]

The vet didn't find anything in his examination. He pressed her abdomen but she didn't seem to be in any discomfort. The only foreign thing she tends to try and eat would be tissue paper. It isn't likely to cause a blockage, and my vet said it wouldn't show up on an X-Ray anyway.

She was bright-eyed, happy and excited at the Vet's office, basically her usual energetic self. Seemingly a picture of health and vitality. Gums, eyes and teeth all looked good.

He offered three suggestions: 1. X-ray which he didn't think would show any blockage 2. bloodwork to show any major problems 3. antibiotics to fend of a virus.

I went with the antibiotics as a precaution. Over the weekend, I was able to get her to consume small amounts of food. I witnessed two bowel movements so I don't think she has a blockage.

I tried some Bil-Jac frozen food, normally used as a treat, to get her to eat. This is a highly palatable food and she usually goes crazy over it. She ate a little over the weekend at feeding times but this morning barely touched it.

Now I'm thinking it is just the heat or she is becoming a picky eater or both??? Still seems to be healthy and her usual self, just not eating much for over a week now.

[mcbosco]

if the dog has the runs and is on antibiotics ask your vet if she can have some plain yogurt with banana or PLAIN canned pumpkin, not pie mix.


sal

[kerplunk105]

She may be coming into heat or it could be the weather since she passed the vet exam.

[nanney1]

Stool is hard and firm as usual. Even though I witnessed two bowel movements, I am pretty sure some fresh ones I found in the yard last week were hers as opposed to my males. When he goes, a little drops out and then he always turns around as if he's wondering what just happened and then drops the rest out. So his are a little bit here and then nearby a little more. Hers are in one spot.

She went into heat in late April so she isn't due again until around October.

[nanney1]

For the last couple of days, she continued to eat the frozen Bil-Jac, but only in the evening. In the morning, she would only eat a small bite or two and leave the rest. So, she has been eating, just not much.

Last night I decided to mix up a small batch of the Satin Balls recipe. She readily ate a good sized portion last night and this morning.

I will feed her the remaining portions and then switch back to kibble and see if she will start eating it again. If she doesn't, I'll remove and wait until the next feeding time and try again. Now that I know there isn't a problem, I don't have an issue with her not eating. Eventually, she'll get hungry and eat.

[big steve46]

There could have been a hormonal shift in her body to dull her appetite. Giving antibiotics to prevent a virus does not make sense since antibiotics are not usually effective for viruses.

[mcbosco]

how old is that dog? I know its a female, but young intact males are famous for spells of not eating.

sal

[nanney1]

A little over a year old.

Hormonal shift is a new one. Hadn't considered something like that. When she was in heat she went off of her food for a few days, but not to the same extent as recently.

Her temperament has really calmed down and she isn't as overly playful and exuberant in playing with other dogs and pups, and doesn't drive everyone she meets crazy in her desire to be petted. Basically showing some signs of maturity.

[ezzy333]

You need to remember dogs in the wild may go for several days without eating. It really isn't anything to worry about unless it goes on for a while. You did the right thing in getting the dog checked out and now get her back on the regular feed and if she doesn't eat pick the food up and offer it to her at the next feeding. Never been a dog that starved to death with feed in front of it. I never have seen any certain group of dogs that didn't eat for no reason but it is not unusual for any dog to miss a meal every so often. Just keep watch for a change in behavior or condition and you should be ok. Sometimes people feed a lot of meat which the dogs love and they just over eat and get their whole system off kilter. But get her back on a well balanced dry food and you will see her get back on schedule and probably see a difference in her general condition.

Ezzy

[mcbosco]

my old Jack Russell female would skip meals for a few days all the time and she lived to 18, she never, ever ate with gusto even when she ate

sal

[mcbosco]

if she is OK medically, the worst thing you can do is hover over her when food is out, that makes a picky eater even worse, put the food down and walk away

[Sharon]

One of the few ways days can still show some control of their world, is by not eating when we think they should.
Dogs sounds fine just......doesn't feel like eating much. Nothing like an unnecessary anti-biotic to put you off your food.

Don't feed this and that and this and that and............Pick your dry food and stick to it . Unless dog is not eating at all, I wouldn't be concerned.

[nanney1]

I'll finish up the rest of the Satin Balls by tomorrow morning and then I'll go back to her regular Pro Plan. I'll have the weekend to monitor. Her appetite seems good now.

Just a reminder of how this came about. She went around 5-6 days of skipping a meal and then eating half of her normal amount at the next. Then, a day of not eating at all and then I saw her vomit. That's when I took her to the vet and the antibiotics were started.

The only kink I can forsee is the weather. A possible cause was the heat. We hit a stretch of high 80's combined with high humidity in the last week or two. Today we're expected to hit 91, followed by 97, 96, and 92 through the weekend. Back into the high 80's at the start of the week. If she is skipping because of the heat, she may not want to eat much. The satin balls are highly palatable and cold.

[tinahiggins]

I would not be surprised at all if it's the heat. My dogs eat very little during the hot, and tend not to eat at all during the day, even though food is out all the time. The dobie/rott has been like that is long as we've had her, and Charlie the spaniel started eating better once he got his haircut.

[nanney1]

Looks like a finicky eater more than eating else, probably combined with the heat as well.

On Friday morning, she finished up the last of the Satin Balls mixed with Pro Plan. On Friday night, I put out a bowl of Pro Plan. She looked without sniffing and walked away. Thirty minutes later she had shown no interest in the food. Since I had a fairly new bag of Diamond that I was feeding my other dog with, I thought I'd try putting it out beside the Pro Plan just to see what would happen. She did eat some of the Diamond but not much. Three or four bites at most.

On Saturday, I tried the same thing, putting out two bowls. One with Pro Plan, one with Diamond. She passed on both bowls both times, not eating anything all day Saturday. On Sunday morning the same thing. So basically, she had missed three consecutive meals and ate very little on Friday night.

I had gone to Petsmart to weigh her on Friday and while there picked up two free samples of a rolled food. I decided last night to give it a try and cut up a slice in small pieces and mixed it in with a bowl of the Diamond. Though she did spit out a few pieces of the kibble in her attemts to eat the rolled food, she ate the majority of the kibble. This morning I tried again with a little less of the rolled food, and she is eating the kibble again.

Yeah, I realize I haven't completely resolved this by adding the rolled food, and I may still be contributing to the problem...But I hope that by gradually reducing the amount, I will completely swithch her over to kibble only very shortly.

[ezzy333]

I think you are doing ok but let me reinforce a very important lesson. Dogs eat when they are hungry. I have a dog that will miss two or three meals in a row and then eat well for a day or two. There can and are many factors involved but at somepoint I think you need to put the feed down for ten or fifteen minutes and if it isn't eaten just pick it up and wait till next time.

An example is my dog that is a picky eater has never refused to eat after hunting. And will eat almost twice his normal meal if given to him. Difference is he is hungry.

Keep working on it and you will end up in good shape.

Ezzy

[kerplunk105]

I would leave the food down for no more then 15 minutes and then pick it up. Dont offer her anything else until the next meal. Since she checked out medically fine, she sounds like she is just being a picky eater. You offering her different things isnt helping, just reinforcing that she is allowed to be picky.