Not eating- with a twist

[Gaia's mom]

Gaia has always been like many other boxers that have been discussed here- she just randomly stops eating for a day or two and then starts up again.

BUT recently she has started eating grass like a mad woman when she does this. Then she of course vomits it all up later. Also I wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of her licking- but she is not licking anything, just like she is licking something in her own mouth (this is really kind of hard to describe here LOL). I think that she just pukes a little bit and then licks to prevent it from coming out of her mouth.

I can't figure out why this is happening. Any ideas??

Could it just be low blood sugar? She used to pass out and have seizures when she wouldn't eat as a puppy and the vet said it was just low blood sugar- do you think that now that she is older it has just manifested into puking?

Thanks!

 

[Roxydog]

What you just described is exactly what happens to Roxy when she doesn't eat. I'm pretty sure they eat grass to settle their upset tummy...and the reason they have an upset tummy is cos they just WON'T eat! It's a viscious circle. I know that each night when Roxy hasn't ate that day, or ate very little, that I can count on either waking up to the licking noise (just like you described) or even more often, to her puking on the floor. I'm sure it's exactly the same scenario as your dog. They have an upset tummy cos there is just too much acid in there and no dang food! I have learned that on the days where Roxy absolutely refuses to eat, I have to tempt her with some kind of extra special treat (I use slices of the Natural Balance rolls) to get her to eat something before going to bed or risk cleaning yellow puke stains in the morning. Try to give Gaia something to eat before bed on the days that she wont eat her meals...I can almost guarantee that you will not be waking up to the dreaded licking noise any more. Just count you blessings that Gaia isn't a full on puker like my girl is I hope this helped.

 

[Topmoon]

My Elsa did the same thing - stop eating for a couple of days at a time and during that time would eat grass. She would either puke or poop the grass. It was such a vicious circle and drove me crazy because I knew she must have felt bad.

Her refusal to eat, puking and grass eating have stopped since I started her on homecooked meals (hamburger, rice, assorted vegies, flexseed oil and a multi-vitamin). She has been eating homecooked meals going on three weeks and, so far, has eaten every meal every day (now, I have my fingers crossed). Even though she regularly eats now, she doesn't seem to gain weight . . . but that's another issue all together.

 

[Jan]

Also I wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of her licking- but she is not licking anything, just like she is licking something in her own mouth (this is really kind of hard to describe here LOL).
Thanks!

Gaia is salivating (the licking) because her tummy is empty. Boxers do not do well with empty tummies and they tend to throw up. This usually happens in the middle of the night when it has been too long since they have eaten. The easy solution to this is to give them a snack before bed. A large dog biscuit usually does the trick. When they are having these episodes in the middle of the night, you need to try and get them to eat something. A piece of bread will do the trick as it soaks up the acid in the tummy, which is causing the problem in the first place. The problem is getting them to eat as they usually don't want to eat at this stage. Sometimes liver paste or cheese whiz on the bread will do the trick.

I haven't heart that low blood sugar could cause the same thing, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't.

Jan

 

[Gaia's mom]

Thanks so much!

Thanks for the advice/thoughts on this. I am glad to hear that this is common (that sounds malicious, but you know what I mean).

I do try to tempt her with food- cooking her rice & eggs, or breaking an egg over her food, or giving her cheese. But sometimes she'll even refuse these treats- sooo picky!

I am just glad that the licking and obsessive grass-eating is not something more serious!

The blood sugar comment came from the vet. When she was a pup she would pass out and have seizures from not eating. This was REALLY scary but two separate vets explained that it is just low blood sugar (something I dealt with when I was growing a lot as a kid too), pretty common really. At least in people- ha! So I just assume that it has manifested into puking as she has gotten older.

Anyway thanks for your input- I feel much better!
Holly

 

[FlashyTitus]

Titus does the same thing. I have tried changing his foods and that works, but not for long. I usually have to add something to his food so he will eat. I was wondering if breaking a raw egg over his food would help and also if raw eggs will hurt him. I usually nuke a egg for him and mix it in with his food. Chloe...aka...Miss Piggy will devour anything in her path. That dog would weigh 100 lbs if I didnt control her eating.