# Jinxed it



## Spencer (Oct 7, 2009)

Tate was doing SO good eating all his food... and had gotten to the point where he would eat enough to fill him and leave the extra. Which was great, because it let me know how much to feed him per meal to make his belly full, AND I knew it wasn't over eating. So I stopped WAY over feeding him, and he has been doing just fine.

Except he hasn't eaten at all today. Not a piece. He will take kibble out of his bowl, but just set it on the ground. Thinking that he wasn't wanting the I/D, I even offered him some of the other dogs' food because it is probably 100% more tasty. Nope, didn't want that either. 

I decided I would wait him out, because he does this occasionally (when he has been healthy) waiting for something better. So I left the food for him all day, and met a friend to sit and talk for awhile, hoping it would be all the way or partially gone when I got back. No such luck. He didn't touch it.

Because I'm nervous about him losing weight again, I finally broke and offered him some wet food... to which he turned up his nose. I'm not sure what to do, and know that he - of all dogs- doesn't need to be missing meals right now.

I haven't tried any treats yet because I don't want him realizing he can stress me out into giving him treats, lol.

Am I being paranoid? I mean... I can hear his little tummy growling away. It has been all day! So I know he is hungry!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Have you checked his mouth and teeth? Make sure there is nothing painful going on.

Then frankly, in your place, I would throw the rule book out of the window. Until Tate is an adequate weight, he needs to eat. He obviously can become very ill very quickly if he does not. So I would forget all the excellent advice about not letting him train you to produce alternatives, teaching him to eat by picking the food up after 15 minutes, etc, until he has built up weight.

I would try scrambled eggs, sardines, lightly cooked meat - high calorie foods that are very tasty. If he is anything like my toys, a meal is a couple of dessert spoonfuls - not much room for anything that is not highly digestible. He quite probably is holding out for something better - rotating interesting foods should then keep him interested. If he still refuses food, and his mouth is OK, I would suspect digestive problems - he may be associating eating with pain and discomfort.


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## Feralpudel (Jun 28, 2010)

Spencer, do you keep Nutrical on hand? If you can get a little Nutrical in him, that buys you some time to work out the food issues without him crashing on you. I would also wonder about dental/mouth issues. I know your wallet is still hurting from the last episode, but I think it might be useful to get a comprehensive blood panel and maybe urinalysis when he's *not* crashing to rule out any kidney or liver issues.


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## Spencer (Oct 7, 2009)

Well, he did it again yesterday and the day before - two days this time. Needless to say, I was pretty stressed out by the end of day two. I was finally able to get him to eat some Grandma Lucy's but ONLY if every bite had a small piece of cheese in it. Cheese is his weakness, it seems. 

I'm sorry I never responded before, I hadn't realized I had forgotten!

Re: mouth and teeth, they all look fine... Even his molars. I even made him let me scrape some plaque off and he was no worse for wear. 

This food thing is driving me crazy. I KNOW he is hungry on the days he does this. His little timm grumbles and groans all day until he finally eats. And then there are days like yesterday... I put his food down and he happily crunched away at it. Is there anything to give a dog with an upset stomach? Maybe he feels nauseus and that is why he won't eat some days?

I don't have any nutrical, but did look in to it, and plan on getting some when I can. I was also thinking some Missing Link might help, too, since he either has the world's fastest metabolism, or isn't getting all he needs. 

My next trick to get him to eat is tuna... And I guess eggs after that. Hopefully he doesn't catch on . He will, too, lil stinker. 

Thanks for the suggestions, guys... I hope to have this under control soon! (and now back to bed for a few sleeping-in cuddles!)


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Poor you and poor Tate - it does sound as if there is something in his food that is giving him tummy aches. I can't eat onion or garlic without suffering - and have been very torn when the only food on offer contains them! He probably also knows he has you wrapped around his little toe, but when he becomes ill so easily there is not a great deal you can do about that. Have you asked your vet about stomach calming medicines?


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

Spencer - I hope I didn't miss something. I know he was doing well on Raw and you were worried that might have contributed to him getting sick. Is it possible now to try Raw again? 

Poor Tate and you. I hope something works soon.


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## Spencer (Oct 7, 2009)

Fjm- I will have to call the vet office to ask about that... However, I will also have to hope that my specific vet is in, otherwise my call? Won't get returned. I think the mean vet I had... ahem... words with intercepted my message for my vet, as I have never been called back. We have also had quite a bit of snow here lately and if my vet lives out in the boonies, there is no way she is making it to town. 

Olie- he did seem to be doing well on raw, but I think one of the reasons I am nervous to try and start it up again is a fear that he will get as bad as he was and I am the cause... because I'm not "doing raw" correctly. Heck, I haven't even cracked open all the meat in the freezer since January, even for treats! 

Maybe once he is up to weight and eating steadily I will switch him back, because I really do love the idea of raw... And maybe then I will have gotten over being paranoid!

If the snow melts a bit more (err, well, maybe that and the snow that fell yesterday melts some too), I think we are trying to go to the feed store this a.m. to check out their foods. 

We are about to have some breakfast, and I think today is going to be a non picky poodle day. He is trying to lay on my face after I already shooed him awa because he was smacking me in the head... My fault for asking if he was h-u-n-g-r-y!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I am so lucky - I have a really good vet, and the only one in the practice I had doubts about seems not to have lasted betond the probationary period! And I have dogs who seem to eat most things without problems - Sophy might even eat kibble as long as it was a freshly opened bag.

Perhaps home cooked plus kibble would be a half way house worth trying? The kibble reassures you he is getting all the necessary nutrients, the home cooked ups the protein and fat levels, and makes it more palatable. It would be easier to introduce one protein source at a time, without risking imbalance.

Right - off to see if my local agricultural store has tripe chunks in yet - I've been waiting for weeks!

PS - just thought - ginger might help if he is nauseous. A gingernut biscuit broken up into several treat sized pieces would go quite a long way.


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