Dog not eating or drinking

[Moopster]

Took my dog out for a walk yesterday morning at 6.30am & she was her usual self. Went to work and had a call from DS about 2pm that our dog hadn't eaten or drunk anything all day and was laying in the hallway not moving.

Called the vets and they said probably nothing but bring her in anyway. They checked her over and she yelped nd pulled away when they held her snout and looked in her mouth. Vet said her gums were pink so all good there. She had a temperature of 39.9 which they said wasn't excessive but indicated a fever. They gave her an injection on anti-inflammatory and said she would be fine but booked a follow up appointment this afternoon.

When we got up this morning (she sleeps in my room), she was her usual happy self with a waggy tail. Went downstairs and she wouldn't eat or drink. I tried to give her a kiss on her snout and she yelped. She is now laying on the floor completely lethargic. If you go to stroke her, she gets up and walks away to lie somewhere else.

All of this is really out of character for her. She is usually a really affectionate dog who taps you with her paw if you stop stroking her. No matter where she is in the house, she is at the fridge within a second of the door opening.

I'm starting to stress that the vet missed something. I know the weather is hot but she was completely unaffected by the previous heatwave. Any thoughts on what it could be? I want to have some ideas to put to the vet if he tries to say there is nothing wrong because clearly there is!

A sting or insect bite around her nose? Tooth abscess?

Have they looked up her nose? It could be a stuck grass seed - very, very common at this time of year. She may need anaesthetic to remove it though.

Grass seed up nose?

Sting or grass seed up her nose. Please take her to another vet, just for a second opinion. In many years of dog ownership I visited various different vets as some are definitely better than others. You know your own dog and if she's not drinking in this hot weather I'd treat this as an emergency.

I'll ask them to check up her nose when we go back this afternoon. We had a long walk on Monday evening where she could have got something stuck up there. Would a grass seed really make her so lethargic and stop her eating & drinking?

I would say a sting is likely. Maybe ask your vet about antihistamines. I would also start to be worried about dehydration. Can you discuss the option of syringing some fluids in to her mouth otherwise she may need to end up on a drip. Hope she feels better soon.

I'll ask about the anthihistamines.

She has started putting her tongue in and out (not panting) but still won't drink. I held her bowl to her and she still refused to drink so I'll ask about a syringe. I'm really worried about dehydration in this heat although she is lying in the coolest part of the house.

I'm trying to stay calm and wait for the appointment this afternoon and not go down there like it's A&E and be an over-reactive mum! She's been my princess & my rock through some difficult times over the last 6 years and she's never had a day of being unwell.

I also wonder if the grass seed/sting (if it is one) would make her go off food/become lethargic? Maybe it could be a tooth problem, although you would think the vet would have checked this. Hope she gets better soon!

Definitely- they can be incredibly painful and dogs noses are very sensitive - much more so than ours.

Remember, dogs explore most of the world via scent so she'll be feeling pretty miserable if she can't even do that.

Do agree with Mrs Hill the not taking liquid even from a syringe
sounds like an emergency that in these temps is not safe to wait till this afternoon to be seen agin in these temps let alone as she was diagnosed yesterday with a fever !

"Please take her to another vet, just for a second opinion. In many years of dog ownership I visited various different vets as some are definitely better than others. You know your own dog and if she's not drinking in this hot weather I'd treat this as an emergency".

I would ring up and beg to speak now a vet that she has not drunk anything even from syringe for X hours -but as this may not be possible right away i would just take her straight into a vets surgery and keep repeating this fact
All the best

@MrGruber great idea to take her to the vets surgery now. Dogs go downhill very quickly with dehydration. At least if she's waiting at the surgery they can see how lethargic she is and put her on a drip immediately if needed, rather than waiting for the appointment. I've been at the vets when emergencies have been rushed in. As a pet owner, I never minded my routine appointment being delayed if I knew there was an emergency on the premises. With this hot weather you can't take any chances.

Brilliant points MRSAHILL, it is a very normal sight to have have an animal rushed in to be looked at

Please don"t worry about being an over-reactive Mum , she needs you to
bring this to the vets right away & say vet diagnosed a fever yesterday - fever greatly worsens dehydration in any weather

That surgery may be a bit under par atm with fewer staff as on holiday &
extra demand due to weather , but they may have given you a broad reassurance that was over optimistic

& the deceptiveness of problem is the iller they get with dehydration , the more lethargic & quiet - a nightmare for us to decipher

Also , the possible foreign object or whatever is causing the fever the vet diagnosed needs looking at now as getting dehydrated is not helping her fight it off an infection

Apologies for the delay in updating.

All is good with my dog. I took her to the vet and her temperature had come down. They checked her over and said that she wasn't showing any signs of dehydration. The vet asked us to stay in the surgery for an hour or so so they could see if there was any improvement/deterioration. They put a bowl of water down and she did start to drink a little. They checked her again an hour later and she had a little spring in her step and started to eat.

The vet said to keep an eye on her and sent us home with the emergency vet number should we need it.

She was not herself Saturday but by yesterday was getting back to her usual self. Seems like it was just a virus.

Thank you all for your advice and help.

That's great news that she's feeling better. They pick up all sorts of germs with all the sniffing they do, but it's such a worry isn't it!