Dog people, tell me this is going to be ok :(

[cattledogkisses]

G is refusing to eat. In the seven years that we have had her she has never, ever refused to eat before. She normally wolfs down her food, but I couldn't even convince her to eat a treat. She is drinking, and urinating/defacating as normal thus far, so at least there's that. I left a message with our vet (they have Saturday hours). I am freaking out a little because she is my baby. 

[gpw]

Is this just today?

[Cicero]

Oh man, I hope they're able to get her in tomorrow. Hugs.

[elleblue]

First, take a deep breath. How old is she and does she have any known medical issues?

[dragon's breath]

What is the weather like? My dog does this the first day or two it gets really hot (although, she will still normally eat a treat, if it's homemade, and this is a dog who tries to eat anything and everything). You might try canned pumpkin or canned dog food and see if she'll eat that. Hopefully it's nothing serious!

[josieposy]

Hope she feels better soon!

[orangeblossom]

Aw, hope she eats soon.

My dog loves food, but sometimes will skip a meal of two, just because. I hope the same for your dog.

[elleblue]

The good news is she's still drinking and going to the bathroom normally, so don't panic just yet. *hugs*

[ESF]

Any chance she ate something weird while out for a walk or in the yard? It could just be an upset stomach. Sending you good thoughts.

[gpw]

May 29, 2015 19:16:08 GMT -5 ESF said:

Any chance she ate something weird while out for a walk or in the yard? It could just be an upset stomach. Sending you good thoughts.

Right.  And I would probably offer my Jaxy a little yogurt to see if he'd eat that.  

I hope she feels better soon.  

[pamela]

Any tender spots on her belly?

[cattledogkisses]

This has just been today. She ate normally last night. We went through the house and couldn't find any evidence that she'd gotten into anything while we were at work today. She's about 9 years old now (we don't know her exact age because she was a rescue, but our vet guessed she was about 2 when we adopted her, and we've had her for 7 years). She tests positive for ehrlichia every year at her well-pet appointment but that's been in remission for 7 years (she was finishing a course of antibiotics when we adopted her and has been asymptomatic since then despite continuing to test positive).

I ran out to grab her favorite yoghund treats, and H is cooking up a nice juicy steak, so hopefully we can tempt her appetitir with something. If nothing else, we will go to the vet in the morning.

[5thofjuly]

Our pup just randomly started going on half-day or full-day hunger strikes on occasion when he hit that age. Then, the next day, he'd wolf down his food. Here's hoping your dog is healthy and happy!

[twohearted]

My dogs have gotten sick a couple times and didn't want to eat while they had an upset stomach.

[pixy0stix]

She'll be ok.

Wait until you can get her to the vet. Usually plain chicken or washed off hamburger and rice is rec'd for dogs who don't eat.

[cattledogkisses]

Thank you everyone; I appreciate the advice and kind words.

[winecat]

May 29, 2015 20:26:59 GMT -5 5thofjuly said:

Our pup just randomly started going on half-day or full-day hunger strikes on occasion when he hit that age. Then, the next day, he'd wolf down his food. Here's hoping your dog is healthy and happy!

My dog did the same thing.  It was weird because he LOVED his food.  Every once in a while he was just like "newp, gonna freak you out today."  

[cattledogkisses]

She's still refusing food this morning, so we have a vet appointment at 9:40.

[ringstrue]

GL! Does her belly look bulgy or bigger?

[gummybear]

I wanted to pop in and let you know my dog did this last winter. She was also 9 and had never done it before. It was SO scary. She would not eat for at least a week. I tried everything, even bacon! We spent a ton of money at the vet for testing/scans and we really got no definitive answer on what was wrong. She did also have a fever, so it was most likely some sort of virus. At the time I was convinced this was "it", but as my vet put it (not so delicately) "There is a lot that happens between this and dead. She is going to be OK."

That was 17 months ago and she is still here She recovered after about 7-10 days. Through all the bw we did we did find she had low thyroid so now she is on meds for that and actually feeling better than ever.

Good thoughts for your doggie!!

[cattledogkisses]

May 30, 2015 6:50:12 GMT -5 ringstrue said:

GL! Does her belly look bulgy or bigger?

Nope. 

[Vespasia]

Good luck at the vet this morning!

Our fat cat put me through this a few weeks ago. It turned out to be some sort of infection and she was fine after a few days on antibiotics. I hope it's something that minor for you too!

[cattledogkisses]

So we just got done at the vet. He couldn't find anything obviously wrong; all of her vitals are fine, and her tummy feels fine, so we're going to take a wait-and-see approach until Monday. If she's still not eating by Monday then she'll go back for a bunch of tests. 

So send some hungry vibes to my pup!

[Deleted]

Here are some things i was able to get Pel to eat when he went on a hunger strike:

Scrambled egg
Merrick wet food (especially Cowboy Cookout flavor)
Steamed squash or sweet potatoes
White rice
Low sodium broth on his kibble

[aurora]

May 30, 2015 9:01:38 GMT -5 cattledogkisses said:

So we just got done at the vet. He couldn't find anything obviously wrong; all of her vitals are fine, and her tummy feels fine, so we're going to take a wait-and-see approach until Monday. If she's still not eating by Monday then she'll go back for a bunch of tests. 

So send some hungry vibes to my pup!

My dog goes on occasional hunger strikes. She'll just decide she doesn't want to eat breakfast or dinner (or both) and then start eating like normal the following day. Her vet says she's fine, and that sometimes some dogs just aren't hungry. I hope it's just something like that for your pup, but I get that it's worrisome for you given that it's different behavior!

[cattledogkisses]

A good update: We left some kibble in a bowl and went out for a bit this afternoon. When we got home, the bowl was empty. Hopefully this means she is done scaring us!

[af1212]

My dog (8) does this sometimes too. We throw a few plain Cheerios in with her kibble and she usually tries to pick those out, then accidentally gets a few kibble and remembers that she likes food . Sometimes we do plain pasta instead of Cheerios.

Also sometimes I have to shut her in a room with the kibble for an hour or so. I guess she figures there's nothing else to do so might as well eat?

Glad your dog turned the corner!!