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HELP! 11 month-old not eating.

3K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  Joey-and-chandler 
#1 ·
Help! Does anybody have any advice?

I have an 11 month-old female. She's not food motivated, but we've gotten into a good rhythm of feeding (twice a day) and she'd been doing really well eating all her food on a regular schedule.

On either Wednesday or Thursday (5 or 6 days ago) she threw up sometime late afternoon/before dinner. I didn't think much of it -- dogs throw up sometimes...maybe she ate some grass or triggered gag reflex from a toy, etc., etc. Who knows. Not a huge deal. She was acting totally normal otherwise, and ate her dinner that evening like normal.

Then Thursday night (/Friday morning, technically) around 3am she threw up all her dinner in her crate. I cleaned it up, let her go out, then she went back to sleep.
In the morning (Friday, August 26) she didn't eat her breakfast, and then she threw up again that afternoon. This time it was mostly just stomach liquid. All throughout this time I had not noticed any diarrhea. She also didn't eat her dinner Friday evening.

On Saturday morning (Aug 27), she threw up again, and still did not eat anything. Again, I still had not noticed any diarrhea and she still drank water.

After she threw up Saturday morning, we took her to the vet. They did a parvo test, which came back negative. They couldn't feel anything abnormal about her stomach, so they did x-rays to see if there was something she swallowed. They didn't see any blockage on the x-rays, only some gas bubbles in her tummy -- which could be indicative of other blockage they couldn't see, or simply of an upset stomach.

Other options were to do blood work, do an overnight barium exam (where they give her barium, something that shows up super bright on a series of x-rays to see how it moves through her), or to assume it's just some sort of stomach bug and treat it with antibiotics. So, after six hours at the vet (yes, it took THAT long!!) we got sent home with some Cerenia (anti-nausea pills) and Metronidazole (antibiotics).

As of today (Tuesday, August 30th) she still won't eat. I've gotten her to eat some by hand feeding her, kibble by kibble, her regular food (Hill's Ideal Balance chicken and rice) mixed with canned chicken and rice dog food (I think the brand was Pure Balance). I'm glad that at least I'm getting some food in her, but she's still not eating the amounts she should be, and she won't eat anything unless I hand feed it to her. Also, of course she's not used to the canned food, so it gives her diarrhea. :headbang:

Does anybody have ANY input or advice? How to make her eat? What could be wrong with her?

She's fully up to date on all of her shots, her Heartgard prevention pills, and flea/tick medicine.
 
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#2 ·
At least she will eat if you hand feed her. I would try some freeze-dried chicken liver) (available in pet stores or online -Chewy is one source )- crush it up and mix a bit in her food to tempt her to eat. Parmesan cheese grated (nothing fancy just the Kraft kind) is also good as many dogs like that. It is possible it may be a side effect of the Metronidazole as explained in this article

Metronidazole - Pet, Dog and Cat Medication and Prescription List | petMD

If that is so, after the medication is finished and then 3 days to get out of her system - her appetite may improve. So, I would wait - keep hand feeding her - try to tempt her appetite until the medication is finished. Then if she doesn't get better 3 days after that, I would check with the vet. If she should get worse, I won't wait, but would check right away. But hopefully that won't happen. And once she feels better she will start to eat. Sometimes, like with people, a tummy virus, can really ruin one's appetite - it's like one feels fine as long as one doesn't eat - and to eat - small snacks are better. There was a thread a while back with about the same symptoms as your dog - and after a week or so, the dog did get better.
 
#3 ·
I am glad you got cerenia. That stuff can be miraculous.

When I have them get a bug and go off feed sometimes it is best to just let them be for a couple days if they are staying hydrated (thats the most important thing). When they seem like the worst is past try to temp with something novel and super bland like babyfood. Or one of the digestive support perscription canned foods from your vet. Anything super gentle and bland and preferably not kibble...I wouldn't want kibble in my stomach if I felt sick.

If the dog doesn't start to improve go back for the blood work. Some types of organ failure will cuase nausea like that but unlikely in a young dog. Also blood work will show high white count which indicates infection which may need some tx other than metronidazole.
 
#4 ·
I think motility slows way down when things are off like this and thats why I try not to feed kibble because I feel like it ju]st blows up and sits there in their stomach and makes the stomach ache worse so they wind up barfing it. When you do start back on kibble you might do the Purina EN for a week, it disolves quickly.

If the dog is not drinking properly or keeping water down it definitely needs fluids and fluids can really perk up a sick dog. My female got something not that long ago and she was thirsty and would drink water and then hurl it right back up. Vet had me restrict her to something like 1/2 cup per hour by mouth and I was giving her fluids morning and night. I think she did not eat for 4 days? Day 1 she was hardly peeing either which was scary. Once I got her hydrated to the point that she was peeing regularly and normal amounts and able to keep water down she could stop the fluids.
 
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