"Finicky Eater"

[tysonsmomii]

I have had my Boxer for 1 1/2 yrs. Tyson always ate as soon as I fed him. In May, I went on vacation and had a friend house/puppy sit. He went through, want I thought was "missing Mommy" syndrome where he didn't eat. But this has continued since. Sometimes he'll gobble up his food, and sometimes he's goes up to 3 days without eating (tummy grumbling LOUDLY). When it was first becoming a problem, I took him to the vet as everyone thought he had been poisoned. She said there was a problem with his colon and prescribed "Metronidazole" 500mg. This definately helped and he ate as usual. Then he started not eating again, got another prescription. Again, it helped. Now he's started to not eat, has vomited twice (in one day) and his stool varies. The vet's next suggestion is to do blood work up. Has anyone else had this type of behavior? I love my puppy and I will do anything to keep him healthy and happy! Thanx!

 

[ShannonB]

Tyson

Hi

I would probably go with your vets idea of doing the bloodwork. They can tell quite a bit just from taking blood. I am not by any means suggesting this or trying to scare you- but one of the first symptoms I noticed when my Cody became sick was a change in appetite. He has eventually been diagnosed with cancer but it took a while to find it out. They started with the bloodwork and by doing that they were able to rule many things out by whatever the bloodwork told them. By going to the vet early in his sickness we have been able to get our Cody into remission thru chemo. Altho he isn't cured and won't be, hopefully we will have another year free of sickness and full of good times with him.

good luck and please keep us posted on his progress . We will be sending hugs and positive thougths your way !

Shannon

 

[Brutus and Amaya's Mom]

FYI- Metronidazole is widely prescribed for digestive problems. Amaya was on it for nearly 2 months when she suffered from a bought of colitis. There are several past posts on colitis and treatment methods.

Amaya was started on Hill Prescription Diet I/D. When that was not enough she was put on metronidazole. We tried to take her off a few times and discovered we had to very slowly wean her off by reducing dosages slowly. She remained on the prescription food until a few months ago since she was doing so great.

Keep up posted.

 

[Nan]

See my reply to the "what is to thin" post. I have had a lot experience with this type of problem.The stomach rumbling could be due to problem digesting food. I would go to the health food store and buy digestive enzymes and add to your dogs food. I use Prozyme which is made specifically for pets. This can't hurt (it is just natural food enzymes) and certainly could help. Diaharrea and vomiting can be signs of lack of digestive enzymes. However, be aware that too much vomiting is serious. Also adding oat bran (a tablespoon or so) to each meal can help the digestive track just don't give it at the same time as any medications as it can reduce there effectiveness.

It is always good to give the digestive track a rest if it is too fired up. Do you feel like eating when you have a bellyache or the runs? I know I don't! A good way to do this is to just give the dog cooked oat bran diet for a day or two. You add 1/3 cup of oat bran to one cup of water and cook like oatmeal. Let it cool down and feed it 3-4 times a day. Blood work is a good check for major issues. If you can't tell, I am into holistic methods if possible, because my Boxers get weird things and the vets don't know what to do. I have had wonderful success (and quick)with my methods. I believe in letting the body heal itself.

Suggest Dr Pitcairns book and Diane Steins book as references. They are available at Barns and Noble usually.

Good Luck!

Nan