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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

The doghouse

GSD won't eat anything! Any help appreciated...

18 replies

CaseofEllen · 04/03/2019 10:18

My GSD is 14 months old. She was poorly with sickness and Diarrhea last Tuesday. We took her to the vets who gave her some injections/probiotics/antibiotics which she has now finished. Her appetite hasn't been the same but she has gradually started eating more.

Woke up this morning to her being sick again, nothing like last week. It was only once and more of a bile. She has refused all food this morning, I've tried plain biscuit, biscuit with gravy, biscuit with plain cooked egg.

She has played with my DP and been out in the garden with us/for a wee so is being her usual self in that respect.

I'm just not sure what to do, do I take her back to the vets? Do I try home remedies first? She has her booster vaccinations booked in for this coming Friday so not sure if I should see how she goes this week and bring it up then?

Any advise really appreciated as I'm so worried and due to give birth any day now on top of this

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ChardonnaysPrettySister · 04/03/2019 10:36

I would let her starve in the morning, and offer her freshly cooked chicken and rice tonight.

Is she drinking enogh? If she drinking and is bright in herself see how she eats tonight, if she appears listless give your vet a call.

missbattenburg · 04/03/2019 10:39

Poor you (and her).

I wonder if she is starting to link food or specific foods/flavours to being nauseous? Does she eat anything totally unrelated to her previous food? e.g. plain chicken or just plain egg?

I think I would give her the rest of the day and take her back tomorrow if she is still being sick or refusing to eat anything. I would be (slightly) worried that we hadn't properly got on top of it and (I think) bacterial infections that are not completely irradiated by a treatment of antibiotics risk coming back worse than ever.

beachyhead · 04/03/2019 10:41

If she's still being sick, are you sure she doesn't have a blockage by swallowing a toy/sock etc?
I would call the vets again

MsMightyTitanAndHerTroubadours · 04/03/2019 10:47

I'd offer chicken and rice today and vets tomorrow if no improvement.

Also, any gastric issues like this I would always ease back gradually into normal feeding patterns, so offer smaller meals more frequently, and ease normal food back in with chicken and rice (or whatever your go to poorly food is)

hoe she perks up soon.

adaline · 04/03/2019 12:12

A bile puke suggests she's hungry but doesn't want anything strong.

Chicken and rice is a good option or plain scrambled egg.

CaseofEllen · 04/03/2019 12:36

Thanks for all the advice/support everyone. I feel at a loss atm! I'm overly sensitive anyway but it's such a struggle seeing them poorly and not knowing what to do.

She will eat chicken but is refusing rice, anyone know if it would be okay to add carrots with the chicken? She will eat these.

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ChardonnaysPrettySister · 04/03/2019 13:00

I cook the while lot together, chicken, rice and a carrot and mash it up.

ChardonnaysPrettySister · 04/03/2019 13:01

It should be like a soupy risotto.

CaseofEllen · 04/03/2019 13:06

@ChardonnaysPrettySister I will give that ago! Thank you!

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MsMightyTitanAndHerTroubadours · 04/03/2019 13:11

I shred/chop the chicken so small so there's no choice but to eat the rice with the chicken! But I do cook the rice in the chicken stock so it must all taste the same. One of mine wouldn't eat it if it was soupy risotto, he didn't like the bother of sloppy stuff.

Hungerstrike was my bestboy's weapon of choice, they know how worrying it is!

ChardonnaysPrettySister · 04/03/2019 13:17

One of mine is a fussy bugger, drives me spare.

CaseofEllen · 04/03/2019 13:20

@MsMightyTitanAndHerTroubadours do you boil the chicken to get the stock? I will try both ways, just want to get her eating! She is quiet now but DP finishes work soon and I guarantee she will perk up as soon as he gets home.

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CaseofEllen · 04/03/2019 14:23

She has eaten carrots and scrambled egg when I've activity given it to her but as soon as I put the bowl on the floor totally ignored it. Wondering now if it's a behavioural issue, she's associating eating out of a bowl as being sick? DP has gone to get some new bowls/bowl stand/mat to see if she will eat from these. May try and feed her in a different room too.

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FriarTuck · 04/03/2019 14:26

DDog sometimes gets to that point where she feels lousy because she's hungry & then refuses food. I've found that putting cat food in one of DCats' little bowls can be enough to tempt her. If she'll even eat a small amount then in 5 or so mins she'll usually decide to eat her own food as normal. I've also been known to be cooking duck breast (intended for my dinner) at 6am to try and tempt her (was a tad p'd off that she didn't then eat it!). Hand-fed bits of sausage sometimes work. But try cat food.

LancsPear · 04/03/2019 14:46

I have a 2.5-year-old GSD. When he was 1 he had a really bad week of v and d- he probably didn't eat for a full week. It was really worrying at the time but somehow he didn't become dehydrated. The first thing he went for was homemade baby food.

My boy wasn't playful at all when sick, just curled up in the most heartbreaking curl. Hoping your girl recovers soon.

MsMightyTitanAndHerTroubadours · 04/03/2019 14:47

yes...just poach the chicken in loads of water and when that's done use the water for the rice.

Farmfoods used to do 3 for a tenner on large bags of chicken if you need to keep it up. One of ours had a real bad bout of colitis... that was NOT fun!

They can be weird about food/bowls and places....my hungerstriker would eat anything I gave him, anywhere. Would eat his own food or any treats from dh in his bowl in the kitchen. If the children fed him he'd sometimes be fine, but often would not eat it until I was standing RIGHT by the bowl or if he was really being odd from his bowl on my lap.
It was a bit of a worry when we went away and had to leave him at home with DS2 but we realised he wasn't determined enough to really starve himself so DS2 would give him a bigger meal after he'd missed one! On the whole he would only refuse a single meal on a point of principle!
He was more your ninny needy nelly overthinking type of GSD.

The other one liked to be fed, from a fork, so when he was really not well with the colitis episode and didn't feel like food I was cutting up chicken breasts and feeding them to a 49kg GSD with a fork He had such beautiful manners! ...I was worried he'd poke himself but he would take it so gently!

FriarTuck · 04/03/2019 14:57

Sausage rolls worked too. Warm ones - it was the smell. I think you need something with a good smell to it (plain chicken might lack that). And have you tried feeding from your plate, even if it's your plate on the floor in a different spot.
(Why do we do these things?!)

adaline · 04/03/2019 16:26

My beagle is notoriously stubborn with food.

He'll go bonkers over a certain food then the next day can refuse it completely - we have to feed a mixture of 3-4 high protein brands on a rotating basis to make sure he eats!

I know it's behavioural and we've probably encouraged it - as we worry he's not eating so give him what we know he'll eat - so he holds out so he'll get his favourite foods!

bloody dog

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