Creek will not eat

[Caney Creek]

Creek will be 13 years old next week. About 2-3 months ago she started being picky with her food. At the time we were nearing the last bit of a large bag of kibble so we thought maybe it had gone bad. Bought a new bag and washed her bowl. She still wouldn't touch the food. We then went out and bought her a different high quality kibble. She gobbled it up for one day (2 meals) and then lost interest after that. Next thing we tried was Caney's limited ingredient kibble. Bingo! She ate that for almost a month without an issue.

Then she started refusing meals again. We have tried a few other things since then, most recently adding human food to her kibble.. But she has been losing weight and today she even refused her kibble soaked in chicken broth. :confused: Something is clearly wrong. :(

I will be taking her to the vet this week and I will post an update... Until then does anyone have any ideas as to what it could be? Any specific questions I should ask the vet?

 

[Jan]

I am sorry to hear about Creek. :( Maybe she has something wrong with one of her teeth. I am sure that the vet will check them out when she goes to the vet. I hope it is nothing serious. I am a sending positive vibes Creek's way.--->>>>

 

[Roge]

Sending lots of positive healthy <<<vibes>>> your way.
I hope that the vet can give you answers

 

[TwoDogs]

With a 13 year old dog it could be absolutely ANYTHING. It could be something as simple as tooth or joint pain (but even those aren't simple in a senior dog) or it could be that her body is just done. Here's hoping it is something simple.

When was her last blood panel done? I'd do another and compare. I'd also be looking for any possible causes of pain--worsening arthritis, etc. If they can't find anything unusual upon exam or with the blood panel, perhaps a B12 shot to increase appetite.

At a certain point, we fed my parents' 14 year old Malamute pretty much anything that she would eat. Canned food, tripe, different kibble, cooked chicken and rice, canned mackerel (packed in water) over her kibble, etc. Other than being old, blind and arthritic, she had no real health issues. We thought her sense of smell might have started to go (or perhaps she had started having cognitive issues) and she rarely wanted to eat. The good thing is that, as old as she was, she still had a gut of steel so a varied diet didn't bother her. We didn't worry about feeding her "balanced meals", just felt lucky if she ate anything at all.

 

[Tuff Love]

I'm sorry to hear this is going on with Creek. Has anything else changed? We're crossing fingers and paws over here that it's nothing to worry about. Also wishing a happy early birthday

 

[Gatorblu]

Thor had a issue at one point and it was because he had arthritis in his shoulders and couldn't reach his bowl very well. We raised it just a couple of inches so he could reach it without raising it too much to increase his bloat risk.

I hope it is something as simple at that for Creek. Lot of healthy, positive (((((vibes))))) coming her way!

 

[Caney Creek]

With a 13 year old dog it could be absolutely ANYTHING. It could be something as simple as tooth or joint pain (but even those aren't simple in a senior dog) or it could be that her body is just done. Here's hoping it is something simple.

When was her last blood panel done? I'd do another and compare. I'd also be looking for any possible causes of pain--worsening arthritis, etc. If they can't find anything unusual upon exam or with the blood panel, perhaps a B12 shot to increase appetite.

At a certain point, we fed my parents' 14 year old Malamute pretty much anything that she would eat. Canned food, tripe, different kibble, cooked chicken and rice, canned mackerel (packed in water) over her kibble, etc. Other than being old, blind and arthritic, she had no real health issues. We thought her sense of smell might have started to go (or perhaps she had started having cognitive issues) and she rarely wanted to eat. The good thing is that, as old as she was, she still had a gut of steel so a varied diet didn't bother her. We didn't worry about feeding her "balanced meals", just felt lucky if she ate anything at all.

Her last blood panel was In June of last year. DH seems to think her sense of smell is going... Sometimes when we point out her food to her, she seems uninterested until we actually take a piece of food and put it in her mouth. Then she eats the whole bowl. It's like we have to remind her that food is good!

We have an appointment tomorrow afternoon. Fingers crossed all goes well.

 

[Caney Creek]

Thor had a issue at one point and it was because he had arthritis in his shoulders and couldn't reach his bowl very well. We raised it just a couple of inches so he could reach it without raising it too much to increase his bloat risk.

I hope it is something as simple at that for Creek. Lot of healthy, positive (((((vibes))))) coming her way!

We actually tried that last night but she would not go for it. =/ Just now I gave her some leftover chicken we had in the fridge. She finished it, then went outside to potty.

 

[Caney Creek]

We actually tried that last night but she would not go for it. =/ Just now I gave her some leftover chicken we had in the fridge. She finished it, then went outside to potty.

Message posted too soon....

She came back in and now she's on her bed cleaning her paws (it's raining out) and her whole body is shivering. :( I don't think it's that cold out... Could it be due to pain?

 

[whiskers]

Any vomiting or diarrhea or signs of nausea (drooling, lip smacking...)?

Unfortunately loss of appetite is a generic symptom that can be the result of just about anything. Is anything else off about her?