Chronic Lack Of Appetite

[Stitch]

I returned from holidays nearly 3 weeks ago.

All my dogs except 1 quickly got back into the normal eating routine after boarding - one still refuses to eat much.

Took her to the vet after 1 week back as she had virtually no appetite.

He could find nothing wrong with her but put her on a course of antibiotics 'just in case'.

The appetite improved a little but is not back to normal, in fact it is less than 1/2 the normal capacity.

Took her back to the vet after the antibiotics were finished and he checked her out completely - still no apparent reason for the lack of appetite.

Has anyone else seen this kind of chronic lack of appetite with their dog before??

She will eat chicken necks but this is not a balanced diet.

She will not eat BARF which was what she was eating previously.

She will eat a few mouthfuls of Advance dry - not Royal Canin or Eagle Pack.

I have steeled myself to only offer her food once a day but it is driving me crazy.

I need the collective brain power of you DOLers please!

Edited November 4, 2010 by STITCH

[Bullbreedlover]

Hi STITCH

Is she an entire bitch.

Has she recently (the last few months) been in season

have you got a white blood cell count done at all.

[cowanbree]

Yes I have unfortunately. He has never really been a food dog and not eating become a habit. After checking him out medically I brought some tectronic which is a supplement and appetite stimulant and problem over.

[Stitch]

Yes she is an entire bitch but only 10 months old and not had a season yet.

I would think it had been going on for too long now to be hormone related but I am happy to be wrong.

I haven't heard of tectronic but am willing to try anything - where do you get it?

I know that sometimes if you are too anxious for them to eat you tend to try new food 'in case they like it' you will create a picky eater that is why I am trying the 15minutes down and if not eaten, it goes away routine but I am undecided if this is the right attitude in this case??????

Maybe I should just feed her the chicken necks but then how do I get the good stuff into her???

I need to hear everyones experiences if they have them please.

Edited November 4, 2010 by STITCH

[t-time]

Personally, I would be a complete cow and remove the chicken necks!!

Seriously, it does sound like she's being picky and trying to "punish" you for leaving her

Dogs *can* survive on chicken necks alone for quite some time!

Go back to feeding her what you want and don't digress - she might get skinny but don't give in at this stage!

If she is coming into season or has a medical problem, you are looking at a different kettle of fish

[Erny]

Seriously, it does sound like she's being picky and trying to "punish" you for leaving her

I don't agree with that.

I have a boy who has complicated digestive issues (complicated in that we don't really know what or why, yet, and his pattern of eating is puzzling). Part of a very long story is that after staying at kennels, he no longer would eat raw chicken (which was the last of the raw meats he would eat). I couldn't do the "eat or starve" approach - he didn't have much on him to lose in the first place. So I cooked his chicken and that is what he now eats. Not perfect and I'm still working on working things out - but as I said, my boy's story is a long one and isn't necessarily going to be the same as the OP's.

I know there is such a fine line that if we cross it, we can create finicky eaters. But I also strongly believe that there are times when (a) the dog 'knows' when something is right or not right for him/her and/or (b) the dog attaches a feeling of un-wellness with a certain food.

ETA: When my boy was a pup, he hoovered his food down so fast it was scary. He was around 7 or 8 months of age when he began going 'off' food and when his digestive issues (revealed by the state of his poop) showed up. I am delighted on the occasions he shows strong enthusiasm to eat, and eats with gusto, but those times are not as often as I'd like and he too will have a mouthful of this or that, then leave it, many enough times. I am getting better at picking when he truly is feeling 'off' at the thought of eating the food I've offered, and just hoping for something better. The latter is not something he does very often.

In Stitch's case, there is no reason her dog should start this behaviour, so something must have been up in the first place.

ETA: Stitch - just as an experiment, try putting your dog's food down (where your other dogs can't get it) and taking your girl away from it and doing a few minutes of obedience work with her, then release her with your release command and allow her to go to her food. See what happens.

Yes I have unfortunately. He has never really been a food dog and not eating become a habit. After checking him out medically I brought some tectronic which is a supplement and appetite stimulant and problem over.

I am interested in the Tectronic. I've not heard of this and will look it up. Do you know off-hand if it is contra-indicated for anything?

ETA: Can't find anything on google. Do you have a link that would provide me with more information on what it is and where it can be obtained, please?

Edited November 4, 2010 by Erny

[Flash30Aus]

Hi There,

I can only go by my experience, but if your dog is also drinking alot of water, get her checked for diabetes.

Diabetes can linger for a long time before a stressful situation can bring it out with full force.

Symptoms are increased water intack, lethargy, lack of appetite (sometimes the other as well) and weight loss.

Its a simple blood test thats worth it, for peace of mind, if it hasn't already been done.

Good luck!

Christie

PS: I wouldn't starve my dogs if this was me, ignoring a symptom of any kind has always bitten me in the bum!

[persephone]

it does sound like she's being picky and trying to "punish" you for leaving her

noooo

She may have been ultra stressed by the whole experience..

any chance she has a foreign body rumbling around in her tummy? Just enough to make her feel 'off' and nauseous?

Is she otherwise completely normal??

[Stitch]

Well, the vet really felt around when he examined her (twice) and he could feel nothing abnormal.

She is pooing normally and apart from it being small, it is just fine - hopefully suggesting that there is no blockage, etc.

I haven't offered chicken necks for 2 weeks - it was in the first week back that I tried my catalogue of things to feed dogs when they are not well ie. boiled chicken & rice, boiled chicken in juices, canned food, all the different brands of dry food, dogfood in a roll etc. all of which were tasted and found to be wanting. This was after I tried to put her back on the BARF and she ate a mouthful and then left it.

I find if I feed her in a crate and leave her in there for a few hours then a bit more food gets eaten but I am now torn between pandering to her or just putting a normal dinner down for her, giving her 15minutes to eat it and then removing it after that time regardless.

I tried the exercise thing yesterday (today it was raining so we didn't do it) and it didn't seem to make any different to her appetite. Perhaps if it was done daily it might work.

She is not depressed or lethargic - on the contrary she is happy and energetic - just no appetite and very skinny!

[persephone]

Does she look interested when there's food around- either hers or yours? Does she seem keen to start with and then stop?

[Erny]

She is not depressed or lethargic - on the contrary she is happy and energetic - just no appetite and very skinny!

My boy is the same, even when he's 'off' his food. Enthusiastic for training and really eager for a walk. I do tend to find though that in those times of no appetite, he'd run down at the park but would tire a bit more readily than he would when he is eating better. Naturally.

My boy would become so skinny that there was a period I fully expected someone to yell out at me about it .... like, "hey, don't you feed your dog?" .

I'm finding now that my boy's appetite is a little more 'on' than 'off' by comparison to the last 12 months. I'm also finding that he is holding his weight better even with a bit less food than he has in the past. This in part could be related to the fact that I've found out he is hypothyroid and I'm now medicating for it and/or it could relate to his period of hormonal development. I suspect a bit of both is involved, although that's not the whole of his story. But perhaps the hormonal side of things could be a part of yours :p .

[noisymina]

Do you know if the dog was eating well at the kennels or not?

Was the food there different?

Had she lost weight while at the kennels?

Has she been wormed well since coming back home?

Some dogs do not eat well when separated. If she was fretting and not eating for a time, the stomach may have been affected in some way. You hear of stomachs srrinking in size for example, to adjust to low food intake.

It might take some time for that to reverse.

I don't see any harm in using the chicken necks for a while and maybe adding an appetite stimulant. Nutrigel, I think is another type around in that category.

[cowanbree]

Might help if I spell it right Tectonic, animal tonic by Virbac. I only used this after extensive medical tests including bloods to confirm nothign was wrong and it was sourced via my vet. he said it is just a supplement but can be helpful in cases such as Cowan, he has throat issues which sometimes make eating unpleasant. This just gives him that much more of an incentive.

I must admit to also falling foul of not being tough enough on him. I never thought i would fall for something like that after all my years in dogs but I was so desperate for him to eat I had little bits of everything for him to taste. I brought the tectonic and went back to only offering him normal meals . If he didn't eat he got the tectronic instead and nothing until the next meal ( he is fed 3 times a days)

[Stitch]

Yes Ernie, I was wondering about the thyroid thing - what are the tests for that???

Persephone, she couldn't care less if other dogs are eating or not. She has never been possessive about her food (unlike others I could name).

Noisymina, she did go off her food when she was away, lost weight, all the usual things you would expect but she has been wormed since and I can well understand she would have fretted - she is definitely the type. I also think she is the type that gets used to one type of food as she approaches all food with the nose first, thinks about it before licking it - if it fails the taste test it doesn't get eaten!!

Thanks for the correct spelling Cowanbree, I will look into it. I agree about falling into the senario of trying to tempt them to eat. I know that regular meals offered but taken away after say 15minutes if not eaten is the best way to go but after a while an animal that is getting thinner and thinner just gets to me and I have to try something!!

Vet recommended not to do any more unless she started to show signs of further problems but it is driving me crazy. Soooooo picky it just can't be normal!!

[Erny]

Yes Ernie, I was wondering about the thyroid thing - what are the tests for that???

Go to Dr Jean Dodd's Thyroid link . Read through - instructions for sending samples OS are further down the page, just before the half way mark, highlighted in pale blue. If you need further help with it, let me know. I also found it the most economical and expedient to take the serum sample to a Fed-Ex drop off point myself. From memory the first test I did was the 7200 Profile. The second test I ran was the Thyroid 5 Profile, and the same with the following tests which have been/are necessary until we know we have the thyroid med dosage correct.

But I'm not suggesting your dog has thyroid issues just because of one symptom : ie low appetite.

I will tell you that with my boy, so skeletal was he becoming at one point, that I left his food out and allowed him to graze. This is NOT something I would generally recommend as it does create poor eating habits (everything being equal) but in my case it was one way I was able to get at least a reasonable portion of food into my boy. And I figured his eating habits were poor anyway. I did not continue with the grazing once his eating habit had improved at least to a "it will get you by" level, although I have returned to "grazing" a little bit (for the short while) whilst experimenting around the feeding of dry commercial foods. "Grazing" in a multi-dog household would not be feasible though anyway.

Edited November 4, 2010 by Erny

[Stitch]

Erny, I did a bit of research on hyperthyroidism and one of the symptoms was an increase in weight?????

I guess symptoms vary from dog to dog.

I will persevere for 1 week as she is now at the 'it will get you by' stage.

She will currently eat about a 1.5cm slice of Nutraroll diced but it can take her several hours. Sometimes it doesn't all get completely eaten - it is a good thing that there are always others who are willing to eat the leftovers so nothing goes to waste. I am also giving her Inner Health Plus after the antibiotics and I am going to feed her Pentavite too.

She should weigh about 7.5kg to 8kg and she is 1.5kg to 2kg underweight which for a small to medium sized dog makes a big difference as you can feel all her ribs and she is very skinny.

I am monitoring her weight.

I have decided to feed her 1 or 2 chicken necks if she has eaten the Nutraroll first - I live in hope. I would really like to get some high protein dry food into her, sometimes she will eat 1/4 cup of Advance but it can take hours. Plus if she eats more one day she tends to eat less the next day which can be very disappointing as I get excited thinking she is on the improve only to find the next day she will hardly eat at all.

[WoofnHoof]

My boy would go on and off his food, he had a liver shunt so he must have known that eating would sometimes make him sick. If you haven't had full bloods done I would put that on the to do list even though there are other symptoms associated with shunt the digestive issues and poor weight gain are part of it.

[Erny]

Erny, I did a bit of research on hyperthyroidism and one of the symptoms was an increase in weight?????

Yes - an increase in weight in spite of loss of appetite. That's in part why I said I wouldn't be thinking "thyroid" merely based on loss of appetite. However, that type of symptom is a typical clinical symptom that is often seen later in the dog's life, when the thyroid condition is more advanced. You can have dogs who are OT and inexplicably anxious/tense/unceasingly vigilant. Some of these dogs might feel this way due to thyroid issue and this of course can lead to loss of appetite and loss of weight. Especially in the very early outset of the condition. But as I mentioned - I did not raise "thyroid" to suggest it was something that was likely. I don't know enough about your dog to be able to even throw a rough opinion out there. I only raised it so you'd understand that the example of my dog is a bit more complicated that yours might be.

When I began suggesting "thyroid tests" to my Vet, I got the "rolled eyes" response, because of course he wasn't showing what they were used to seeing as the typical clinical signs. He still doesn't show the typical clinical signs that our Vets out here are generally used to seeing.

Oh - and Stitch, dogs don't get "hyperthyroidism". This seems to be reserved for cats (and people, who can get hyper and hypo thyroidism). Dogs, if they have the condition, get "hypothyroidism" which is an UNDER active thyroid but which, in the very early outset in a young dog, can represent with what you might think looks more like a hyper-thyroid.

Edited November 5, 2010 by Erny

[Stitch]

Thanks for that Erny, it is all interesting and needs to be taken on board.

Yes, I am guilty of getting my 'pers and my 'pos' confused - will have to watch out for that one.

I will have to formulate a plan of action - I think I will start with the bloods but I get the distinct impression that the vet is not particularly worried about it and I would probably get the rolled eyes too! I will have to go in knowing what I want.

We are 'getting by' now so I suppose I should give it a week and see if things improve. I don't know where the dog gets the energy from because what it is eating would only keep a bird going.

If I could just get her into a routine of eating a little bit on a regular basis I feel that I could build on that but as it is, the quantity she will eat varys from day to day.

ETA: Do you think that stress could bring on thyroid problems??

Edited November 5, 2010 by STITCH

[Erny]

ETA: Do you think that stress could bring on thyroid problems??

Chicken or the egg, you mean?

I'm guessing that stress on an animal's system can cause the body's functional organs to dysfunction. But I'm not a Vet so I don't know precisely how it all works.