Dog stopped eating her food?

[MTguy]

I have a 12 year old lab that has stopped eating her food. She has not eaten it for 2 days but will eat her dog treats and table scraps. She is drinking water. any ideas?

[FishinFools]

Is she still doing her business when you walk her? At 12, I wouldn't take any chances. I'd take her to the vet. Could be some sort of intestinal blockage. The treats and scraps may be too much for her to resist, but suddenly refusing to eat her regular meal is an indication of something wrong.

[reinhard1]

speaking from my own experience, i had a large dog that passed at age 15. similiar symptoms happened to this dog. it turned out to be a twisted stomach. dont know the proper term for it. i was told this was somewhat common in large breed dogs. may not be the case with your dog. good luck.

[nofishfisherman]

The twisted stomach is called torsion I believe and can be common in many larger breeds including most hunting dogs.

If the dog seems normal in every other way including energy level, no signs of pain or discomfort, and still eating table scraps and treats then I'd tend to think its not torsion, but you never know.

A trip to the vet is probably a good idea to get it figured out for sure.

Did the dog stop eating all of a sudden or did she pick at the food a little and lose interest? My dog will go through phases when he doesn't really eat all that much. He'll never go an entire day without eating at all but he'll opt to skip his dinner or breakfast now and then, or only eat some of it.

Is there anything different with the food? Is it old? Is the bowl dirty? She may be smelling something unappealing in the bowl when she goes to eat.

If she's doing her business like normal its probably something other than a blockage but at that age there are a lot of ailments that may be setting in that affect appetite. If she's not doing her business its likely something more like a blockage. A vet visit is a good idea either way.

If they can't find anything wrong with her trying mixing in some pumpkin puree in with the kibble. Get a can of just plain pumpkin (no added spices or sugar) like you'd use for pumpkin pie and put a 1/4 can with her food. Dogs seem to love it and its actually supposed to be really good for their digestion.

[MTguy]

Thanks guys... I did talk to my vet and made an appointment for tomorrow. Going to try some different food tonight... I am hoping she is just being stubborn.

[FishinFools]

Well? What did the vet say? Hope all is well...

[MTguy]

Took her to the vet and he thought she had some intestinal blockage. He also ran a organ test and her kidneys were elevated. Put her on antibiotics and i was giving her enemas twice a day. She went down hill fast. I had made the appt to put her down monday at 4:00 but she did not make until then. She died in her favorite spot to sleep in the house monday morning at 10:30. It has been a rough couple days for the wife and my 3 young boys. I hunted her hard for many years and will be difficult to replace her but I do have birds mounted, wood duck, hen and drake mallard and pheasant that she had retrieved. All really special retrieves to me and her.

[LABS4ME]

Sorry to hear that MTguy... One of the toughest things we go through as family is saying good bye to our dogs. keep those thoughts alive of all the great times and soon you will have a new pal walking by your side.

Good Luck!

Ken

[#fishhunt#]

Sorry to here that MT.I have not gone through it yet, but I know it will not be easy. My lab is going to be 13 in March and I am not looking forward to that day since it is my first dog. Great hunting memories will me through it I hope.

[reinhard1]

realy sorry to hear that. our family went through this sad time and know how hard it is. Reinhard

[MTguy]

yeah she was my first dog... read a lot of books and trained her myself. This was before kids. got her at the beginning of summer and worked with her everyday 20-30 minutes 2-3 times a day during the summer. so we had a special bond. She was my truly my dog.

[FishinFools]

been there. Like you said, the memories will last forever. Sorry for your loss.

[dillrodd]

So sorry to hear about your dog.. I lost my 6 year old yellow lab in similar fashion about 3 weeks ago. I believe mine may have been the result of tainted dog food. The reason I say that is because I have heard of 3 other dogs in my area that also passed and were also eating the same food. I have sent a sample in to DelMonte foods to have it tested. Waiting to hear back.

[Tinkhamtown]

This is never easy, very sorry for your loss.

[Quackaddict9]

Sorry about the loss of your lab...it's tough, they really are a man's best friend (dogs in general) I have a 2 year old (April) yellow lab and we've got our thing together going on. Memories will last for a lifetime. Hope things will heal as time goes by.

Dillrodd- any chances it was IAMs large breed dog food? Let us know on the test results.