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Intestinal Blockage??

Rubie went through a spell where she wasn't eating much, probably around the same age. Tried different foods and toppers and she would take a few bites and then leave the rest. She's turned a leaf and now finishes her food but it takes her day to eat her breakfast and dinner usually goes pretty quick. It was like she was eating only exactly what she needed to and not a bite more. Very frustrating but I think, generally speaking, a 'healthy' dog won't starve themselves to the point of it being dangerous. Let us know how the next vet visit goes!
 
Thank you for the update and I'm glad he's "okay" but I'm glad you're going to insist on the xray. If this vet refuses, I'd try a different one since that should tell you a lot.

I agree that when hormones start kicking in it can affect them all in different ways but I would rule everything else out first.
 
I wanted to add another recommendation for a Primo Pad in the bottom of your crate, and to remove bedding. Both of my dogs when through phases when they could not have bedding in a crate (Richter STILL can't). Primo Pads provide some cushioning, and if you have a wire crate you can get the kind that actually zip tie to the bottom of your crate with concealed zip ties so that your dog cannot pull it up to chew it. I've had a few of them and they are WONDERFUL. They also clean up easily. I HIGHLY recommend them for crates for dogs that chew.

My two have now graduated to being able to have a K9 Ballistics orthopedic crate pad on top of their Primo Pads - those ALSO zip tie to the crate bottom and are a bit more cushioning, but I wouldn't recommend them yet for this dog (although I highly endorse them in general).
 
strykerdobe said:
Yes the B12 should help with increasing appetite. Your Vet can also check the levels of B12 with blood work. Ask the Vet to give you some and you can do injections at home. They can show you how. Its not hard to do.
If you do the boiled chicken breast I would get boneless. Cooking it too long with the bone in. Should never feed cooked bones.
Could also make and give some bone broth. Lots of great vitamins and minerals.
Click to expand...
What kind of bone do I use to make bone broth and how long do I boil it for? Do I just have him drink it like water?
 
I personally wouldn't wait a week to take my dog back. B12 can help, but throwing a supplement at a dog without diagnostics is poor practice and negligent. I would take him in sooner than a week and would be looking for a different vet.

I use marrow bones and chicken feet for my bone broth. You can add it to their water, but I put it right on top of their food. Be sure you use Braggs ACV. You want the one that says "with the mother" on it.
How To Make Bone Broth For Your Dog
 
Archer said:
I personally wouldn't wait a week to take my dog back. B12 can help, but throwing a supplement at a dog without diagnostics is poor practice and negligent. I would take him in sooner than a week and would be looking for a different vet.

I use marrow bones and chicken feet for my bone broth. You can add it to their water, but I put it right on top of their food. Be sure you use Braggs ACV. You want the one that says "with the mother" on it.
How To Make Bone Broth For Your Dog
Click to expand...

I absolutely agree with Archer - especially with a dog with a history of eating things. I would be getting an x-ray, myself, even if just for the peace of mind knowing there was nothing in there. Blockages can be very deadly. Even partial blockages can be deadly, especially with the potential for things to get necrotic inside.
 
I'm really shocked the vet just went with a supplement and no diagnostics. At minimum an x-ray should be done, especially considering the history of eating foreign objects. My dogs have occasionally gone off feed for a bit, but never for that long without a medical reason. Not saying it's not possible, but it is odd that he's still so disinterested in food and imo, rather alarming.

I'd definitely find a new vet and get an x-ray done, sooner rather than later. If it is something like a foreign body, the longer it's in there, the worse it's going to be.
 
So glad to hear he is "OK". I think I can speak for us all WE WERE VERY WORRIED!!! Hope the new vet can figure it out! ASAP! Bone broth is a great and EASY nutritious supplement. You can use ANY raw bones, I usually have a batch slow cookin on the counter all the time. They just LOVE it! I'm sure he will too! Any news from the new vet visit? @Apollo's Dobermom ?
 
AGHHHH!! So I took him to the vet and we did an xray and NOTHING showed up! She said he looked perfectly healthy other than a mild bacterial infection on his skin that she gave antibiotics for! His temp was normal, heart was good, teeth was good, everything was normal!! She said he looked healthy. He was hyper and running around sniffing everything! They had treats on the counter and I gave him two and he gobbled them down in seconds. So after all that, I was pretty convinced that maybe it was just a bad phase. She said if he continues to not eat and isn't back to his old appetite for another 2 days, bring him back and we would do blood work. I agreed. After seeing him eat the treats so fast, I was feeling confident and was excited to go home to try to feed him to see if he would eat. When we got home, I was super excited, filled up his bowl with his food, topped it off with his favorite chicken baby food, added some warm water to it (his usual all time favorite) and set it down in front of him. He lowered his head, sniffed it for half a second..and walked away..
 
Oh and to add to that, he usually hates "kennel time" and would always bark and whine to come back out to play when we put him back in his kennel but this time, we put him in and silence. Not like him at all.
 
Glad to hear there's no foreign body and x-ray is clear.
I'm no expert but here's a few things I would try:
  • Withhold food for 24 hours - see if he has an appetite the next day
  • Stop hand feeding him. Put the food down for 10 minutes and if he doesn't eat it just pick it up and don't let him have it until the next feeding.
  • Boiled chicken
  • Changing kibble
  • Canned / wet dog food - either alone or on top of kibble
  • Food roll - like RedBarn or Happy Howies
  • Exercise him first to build up an appetite.
Drogon went through a phase where he did not want to eat in the morning unless I exercised him first. That only lasted a couple of weeks.
 
I'm glad the x-ray came up clear. Now you know that part isn't a worry.

I agree about withholding food, then only setting it down for 10 or 15 minutes so he builds an appetite. They won't starve themselves and when they figure out they better eat it when it's presented, they will start eating it.
 
So glad there is no intestinal blockage. At least you don't need to worry about that.

Shadow, my foodie, the one I had to buy a slow feeder for, is also going through a food phase. This is a pup that inhaled her food - no chewing. But I'd say in the last few weeks she's been only taking a nibble and then coming back to it and finishing it slowly actually chewing. She's 9 months so I think I'm going to take this as a cue to take away the middle/lunch feeding.

So maybe he's just going through that phase it seems that others have experienced something similar at about this age.

Good luck and keep us posted.
 
Drogon said:
Glad to hear there's no foreign body and x-ray is clear.
I'm no expert but here's a few things I would try:
  • Withhold food for 24 hours - see if he has an appetite the next day
  • Stop hand feeding him. Put the food down for 10 minutes and if he doesn't eat it just pick it up and don't let him have it until the next feeding.
  • Boiled chicken
  • Changing kibble
  • Canned / wet dog food - either alone or on top of kibble
  • Food roll - like RedBarn or Happy Howies
  • Exercise him first to build up an appetite.
Drogon went through a phase where he did not want to eat in the morning unless I exercised him first. That only lasted a couple of weeks.
Click to expand...
This^^
 
another update: I withheld food from him since him still turning down food yesterday after the vet visit. It has been 24 hours now. I put down food this morning and just put down food again for him for dinner and he turned down both meals..again..even after not eating for 24 hours. This is so unlike him. I'm worried sick. Ok..so I know this isn't always the greatest idea but I have read a lot about people feeding raw diets to their dogs recently. I don't plan on feeding him a raw diet but I bought raw chicken wings from the grocery store earlier today for myself but after seeing him turn down two meals in a row since yesterday, I decided to TRY and test things out by feeding him ONE raw chicken wing. He gobbled it up! I fed him another one after that..and same thing, he gobbled it up as if he had his appetite back. I'm so confused. So he won't eat his kibble that he has been gobbling up since he was a puppy, not even with his favorite baby food..but he will eat chicken wings if I feed it to him. What does this mean?
 
Serious question, because I truly DO NOT know...do x-rays always show all that's going on in the gastro system? I know when I had a big scare, I ended up driving for an ultra sound to get a "better image." I was told that depending on what he ingested, it may or may not be visible on x-ray. (Of course, I tend to panic, so that may have just been me spending money I didn't have on something that wasn't worth doing.)

I know the desperation you feel when they don't eat...Jax went through a time where he was totally freaking me out. But...you definitely run the risk of creating a monster of a a picky eater if you feed him whatever sounds good to him at the time.
I know others have mentioned a food change...could that be the thing? Has he just lost interest in his regular food?
You did say his energy is fine, poop/pee normal, etc., right?
Sorry for the inquisition...just worried with you...
And again...Jax is my first baby, so I don't really "know" much...I just read and go off my own experiences so far!
 
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