Bramble Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Sorry, this will be a long post, I think, but I'm reaching the end of my tether Willow is the most wonderful dog I have ever owned, she is a ten year old retired racing greyhound and is absolutely fantastic, except over the last few weeks she has become an unbelievably fussy eater (not like her at all, normally she will eat just about anything). We've been to the vet, blood and urine tests all came back fine, as far as we can tell, her teeth are ok (borne out by the fact she will happily munch on dentastix, pigs ears etc). The vet gave her a really good check over and is puzzled, as am I. The vet gave her a course of anti-inflammatories, just in case there is some pain in her neck when she is eating (she did say this was very much a case of ruling stuff out rather than thinking pain is the problem). Willow is relatively happy to eat if I finger feed her and/or if I put food on her bed (not in a bowl). She normally eats from a stand as she is a tall girl, so I wondered if that was causing a problem, but I'm not sure. I've changed her bowl (she used to have stainless steel bowls, but I've got plastic ones now, just to try to rule out a problem there) She will scoot around the floor hunting for anything edible and at times is plainly starving, but just won't eat, well, not like she should, anyway. She comes to work with me each day and will happily go to colleagues to ask for treats (which she will then eat). I have found myself buying HiLife Complete Moist Mince (I suspect it's like McDonalds for dogs) and she does seem prepared to eat that sometimes, and Webbox Chub rolls (which again I think are somewhat questionable nutrition wise), but anything is better than nothing. She is getting through about 1 tray of Nature Diet a day at best (their feeding guide says she should be on 3-4, which I think is probably too much anyway - she weighs 33kg). The one ting she won't refuse is sausages - be it "normal" ones or those horrible hotdog type sausages that come in tins I think it might be time to "get tough", put her food down, if she doesn't eat it, take it away until next meal time and stop giving her anything else? It's SO hard - if I could be sure she's not ill and is just holding out for something better, then it would be easier. Willow is absolutely fine in herself, bouncing around like a loon most of the time, just eating that's the problem. Sorry for the long post, I'm not sure what to do though, we will obviously go back to the vet if things don't improve when the anti-inflammatories are finished but I just wondered if anyone else has come across this before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillybettybabs Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 (edited) hmm... Ban ALL treats and nice things to start with and try some steamed fish or chicken. Is she up to date with worming? could she have eaten something that could have blocked? Are her poo's ok(colour and consistency )? Does he seem depressed? Is she spayed? Does she seem stiff? Did the vet check her temperature? Edited October 16, 2012 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovychook Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 What about trying a raised bowl? My OH made one for our cats because we had one that had trouble eating low to the ground. I know you can buy them though. Maybe you could try putting her bowl on something temporary to raise it up just to test if she prefers it A worry for you though, it's awful when you can't get a pet to eat normally. I hope you find a solution soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 hmm... Ban treats and nice things to start with and try some steamed fish or chicken. Is she up to date with worming? could she have eaten something that could have blocked? Are her poo's ok(colour and consistency )? Does he seem depressed? Is she spayed? Does she seem stiff? Did the vet check her temperature? Thanks! She is due to be wormed in about a week or so (following the advice on the milbemax that she usually has - I've got the tabs so I think I'll do that now). Poos are fine, colour, consistency and amount etc - I don't think there can be a blockage as such as everything seems to work its way through normally, if you know what I mean! No, definitely not depressed - layed back, but she's a greyhound and that's their character - she's "normal" in that respect! Yes, she is spayed (that was done after she finished racing but before I adopted her, so about 3.5 years ago). No, don't think she does seem stiff at all, she's very keen to go for walks and keeps a good pace throughout. Yes, the vet checked her temp, that was normal! Sorry for the robotic responses, but thought that was better than flowery explanation. Puzzling, isn't it ... (not to mention flippin' worrying) Thank you very much for your reply! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 What about trying a raised bowl? My OH made one for our cats because we had one that had trouble eating low to the ground. I know you can buy them though.Maybe you could try putting her bowl on something temporary to raise it up just to test if she prefers it A worry for you though, it's awful when you can't get a pet to eat normally. I hope you find a solution soon. She already eats from a stand (she's quite tall so looks like a giraffe when she eats off the floor), but she does seem happier to eat lying down at the moment, which is bizarre, but whether that's simply 'cos she wants me to finger feed her, I don't know? Thanks for the suggestion though, much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovychook Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Oops! Just re read your post... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 Oops! Just re read your post... Don't worry, thank you for reading it at all and replying ... all suggestions gratefully received!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillybettybabs Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Try doing a panacur liquid worming program for everything ( i thinks it's a 7 day thing) to eliminate all parasites ( i do this once a year) and cut out ALL treats. she might not be hungry because she is having loads of treat and just holding out for those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 Try doing a panacur liquid worming program for everything ( i thinks it's a 7 day thing) to eliminate all parasites ( i do this once a year) and cut out ALL treats. she might not be hungry because she is having loads of treat and just holding out for those. Thank you for that, I will get some Panacur (usually use Milbemax, but I did that long ago enough for them not to react to each other, I think (she is about due for her next dose of Milbemax, so it's a few months since we used it). I don't think she's getting enough treats to make her not hungry, if you know what I mean, but I will stop giving her anything treat wise and see what effect it has! Thank you!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillybettybabs Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Get the 10% suspension, You may have to syringe in in her mouth if she is refusing to eat but the long 7 day course will treat the gastro-intestinal nematodes and cestodes aswell as lung worm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Sorry but Panacur does not kill all common canine worms. It is highly unlikely to be a worm issue if she is regularly wormed with Milbemax. I personally wouldn't go to the trouble of worming her with Panacur unless a worm egg count has been done that indicates a worm species that Milbemax wont treat but that Panacur will (nothing springs to mind that fits that category at the moment, it is more likely to be the other way around, Milbemax treating something that Panacur wont). If she has always been a good eater and has been fed on the same food and is now anorexic, I would worry. Has this been coming on over a long period of time or suddenly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillybettybabs Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Totally disagree due to experience with my old lab having the same symptoms, Have a worm count that came back normal. Vet baffled but said to do a 7 days worming program for gardenia parasite, dog fine now. Just goes to show Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 LLB, it is common to obtain false negatives and false positives when looking for Giardia in worm egg counts( it is a flagellate protozoan not a worm). It wont hurt to Panacur your dog Bramble although she has no symptoms (they don't always have symptoms), do make sure that you get the dose correct as it is different for Giardia to the standard worming, You would need to give 1ml per 2kg for 3 consecutive days (7 days for lungworm and this is not necessary if you are using milbemax). If she has Giardia it can infect humans. I would still like to know how quickly this anorexia has come on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 Oh dear, I didn't mean to start a controversy Thank you both CM and LBB for your input! This whole thing sort of "crept up" on us over a few days, for a couple of days she would eat hardly anything, at the moment things are a bit more stable, she is eating just not "normally" if you know what I mean - she doesn't normally need any encouragement!!! She's always been a bit picky over breakfast and quite often leaves that but then will guzzle it down at teatime (so effectively only has half her "ration" for that day) but that's always been normal for her and so I don't worry about it, but this is something different. She did have her booster back in early september and I did wonder if that could be behind it, but if so, I'd have thought she'd be over it by now? Fear not CM, i am VERY worried! I did ask the vet if thought there was something serious going on, she said she thought not, but who knows ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 Should also add, she had a spell a while ago of being even more off her food (though not for anything like as long), it turned out that was due to be me doing a preventative treatment with a spot-on permethrin based thing (don't worry, won't do that again). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Ah yes, I remember the spot on episode. I actually would go with your gut feeling which if I am picking up the vibes correctly, you don't think she is right. If she is normally a good eater and has not been fussy before I would go back to your vet. They spot on episode may perhaps indicate that her immune system is not what it should be - if of course it was a reaction to the spot on and not something else going on. I would offer her normal food and nothing else which may give a good indication as to whether she is fussy or truly anorexic. Good luck, let's hope it is just her being fussy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 Thank you CM (and others!!) you are a star!! I am worried, only because this isn't "normal" for Willow. I've never had a fussy dog before (cats, yes, dogs - definitely not!) so am at a bit of a loss. Saying all of this, I've given her some of her HiLife Moist Mince just now and she's gobbled that down really well, she had about 1.5 mugs full although this was with me holding her bowl. So anorexic is probably a bit too strong a word, but I'm going to just be very tough for a few days - no treats (let's see who cracks first ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Hmm, she might just be playing you Bit of tough love might be needed but don't leave it too long before seeking help if she doesn't settle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 OK, I'm practising my "tough love" face as I type ... I would be absolutely THRILLED if she is just playing me up - but I realise it's virtually impossible to prove she's NOT ill, (i.e. we might be able to prove she IS ill but not the other way round). I definitely won't leave it too long - the vet is aware of her and has asked to be kept up to date, I think she is as curious as I am worried, if you know what I mean. I'll worm her anyway, she's due for that and I don't think it can do any harm, and then see how we get on ... (... if I ever suggest having another dog ... please someone, just take me outside and shoot me, I can't stand this ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicken bark Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Has anything changed in your daily routine at all, did you go out for longer one day so her nose is out of joint? I am interested in this as I got a whippet 6 weeks ago and it has taken an age to get her settled into any eating pattern. Her preference has been to wait until I hand feed her in the evening rather than eat 2 meals a day. I am pleased to say she seems to be settling into a more normal routine now but it has been worrying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddie Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Is she losing weight/ condition? If not, then I prob wouldn't worry too much if she seems fine in herself. Never known a dog starve yet.. They do worry you, don't they Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKMARCH Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 My female goes off her food but its hormone related and has gone without eating much for several months but overnight back to normal but if Willow's been neutered shouldn't be this. Greys can be finicky with food and suddenly go off a particular flavour my male has in the past but I normally stick to my guns and offer the food twice daily mixing it with another flavour to start with, its hard as he can only tolerate a couple and eventually he started to eat again after a while. If they are a slight build it can be worrying and tempting to try other bits of food especially when people think it looks like you don't feed them but they do learn to manipulate people as my older one does with my Dad when he stays there as he has said to me "he likes his breakfast early" as he got up and fed him at about 5am when he grizzled and so he kept doing it every morning but there's no way he would do that at home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 Hello Everyone! Thanks for all the replies. Nothing has really changed in our routine (although I am taking her on holiday next week, so I'm almost hoping that will help break this current cycle, even if it's not 'til we get home?) I think she's lost a bit of weight, but it's not too much - the vet weighed her when we were last there and she was actually pretty much the same weight as 12 months ago, so that was encouraging. What I can't figure out is, well ... poo! She still "goes" 3 times a day (as she always has) and the 'deposits' aren't necessarily any smaller - she's definitely eating less, so how does that work (I guess some foods contain more ash etc and create more "waste", but that would only partly explain it). She wasn't much interested in food last night, but did eat a reasonable amount of that horrible moist mince stuff during the day, so I wasn't too worried. No treats last night either , but I did worm her so she did have her Milbemax in some sausage No obvious signs of worms this morning - but I realise a) she mightn't have had worms to start with; b) they're not all visible and c) it may not have had time to work yet, but at least I've tried. Oh these dawgs are such a worry ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Sorry to hear about Willow, Bramble, greys can be quite fussy madams when the mood takes them. I totally agree with cutting out all treats and feeding from raised bowls. As the others have said, I'd always check back through the worming treatments etc as a first recourse if there were problems. I find that a bit of warm water on their food helps to tempt them if they are being a bit nesh about it - it makes the food give off a nice enticing smell if it is warmer. Mine will also never refuse a tin of pilchards in tomato sauce and it's very good for them too. Ruby sometimes doesn't fancy much breakfast - it's just the way she is, so I either give her a half portion in the morning or feed her a half portion at lunchtime. I'd post on the advice section of Lurcher Link as lots of folks on there have extensive greyhound experience and may have some ideas to help you. Hope that she picks up soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...