Why Doesn't Bernie Want Food?

[Laurenbiz]

Hi all,

I hope you can give me some suggestions for whether Bernie is just suddenly picky or if he may have a bigger problem that deserves a talk with our vet. Ever since we adopted him in October 2010, he's done a great job going to the raised feeder after I set his food down, and he eats it all at once. But he's changed that pattern in the past few weeks.

 

For Christmas, we took him with us on a long drive to my parents' house. Being new in that house, he didn't eat very well. We would set his food bowl in his raised feeder, and he wouldn't go to it. Maybe he'd walk up to it 10 minutes later and take a few bites. I was concerned about him not eating, so I stuck some of that food in a Kong and gave it to him on his bed. He ate a little bit of that here and there.

 

And ever since then, he hasn't really eaten his full meal in one sitting at his raised feeder. He may eat only half and leave - or he may sit around the house and go to the feeder later and eat a little.

 

I am taking the food away after about 20 minutes to keep the consistent meal time regimen.

 

We have not changed his food or meal times, other than the three or four days where he ate at my parents' house two weeks ago. He eats TOTW Sierra Mountain mix (all lamb-based) with a combination of extra fillers: salmon oil, yogurt, TOTW canned food, peas, broccoli, bananas, scrambled/hard-boiled eggs, carrots, sweet potatoes, beef ground chuck and canned pumpkin. We usually rotate every now and then; he usually has two or three extras mixed in with his kibble.

 

Here's the catch: Bernie still perks up his ears when he hears the cheese wrapper, and he's really excited to eat a slice of cheese. He will eat stinky treats when I give him some. (Like bully sticks or dried liver bites.)

 

Any ideas here? Thank you!

Edited January 13, 2012 by Laurenbiz

[PrairieProf]

It may well be nothing, but I would talk with the vet, get an exam and do some bloodwork.

 

Because we know half-sister Beth [for others: they have the same mom] has a pancreatic issue, I would suggest maybe checking pancreatic function. The one period in which she went off her food was a few months before we got her problem diagnosed (that she had pancreatic inflammation just under the level of acute pancreatitis), and I can't prove it was related but I suspect it was. (She was still always willing to eat treats, so I wouldn't take that as evidence of much.) Salmon oil seemed to trigger the onset of her major problem, so you might consider cutting that or any other high-fat stuff out for now. I'm probably just neurotic about this issue since we had it, but with the genetic connection I thought I'd mention it up front. She was eating TOTW fish with add-ins at the time she was diagnosed last spring, right about the same age Bernie is now.

Edited January 9, 2012 by PrairieProf

[Time4ANap]

Did it start with a new bag of food? If so, I would be checking for changes in smell, color etc of the food. The formula or the source of a particular ingedient may have changed. The bag will not always indicate those changes.

 

Just a suggestion after having been through that several times, once with TOTW. Another new bag did not help. We eventually changed foods.

[Laurenbiz]

Did it start with a new bag of food? If so, I would be checking for changes in smell, color etc of the food. The formula or the source of a particular ingedient may have changed. The bag will not always indicate those changes.

 

Just a suggestion after having been through that several times, once with TOTW. Another new bag did not help. We eventually changed foods.

 

Well, this was something I thought of. At the same time, though, I thought that he's technically eating the SAME food.

 

But yes, we've had a change with the bag. We actually took a small, brand new bag with us for our Christmas trip. Then when we came back home, we finished that bag and bought a brand new jumbo bag. So his issues have been with the new bags.

Edited January 9, 2012 by Laurenbiz

[Walliered]

Maybe a tooth absess (spelling?) I think they can only see that with an X-ray, but that is what had Da Vid hurting for a while. And when he was hurting, he did not eat but a little of his food.

 

Another thing I forgot to say.. Huck can have NOTHING but his Science Diet ZD. Anything else will set his stomach off. He has IBD. I can not give him any treats, fish oil, bully sticks or anything else.

[Guest verthib]

Another thing I forgot to say.. Huck can have NOTHING but his Science Diet ZD. Anything else will set his stomach off. He has IBD. I can not give him any treats, fish oil, bully sticks or anything else.

 

Try taking his ZD if it's canned food and bake small chunks in the oven, or freeze some in a kong. Then give them as treats. That way he can still have treats but not set off his IBD. That's what we started doing with our boy. I got the idea here on GT.

[PrairieProf]

Another thing I forgot to say.. Huck can have NOTHING but his Science Diet ZD. Anything else will set his stomach off. He has IBD. I can not give him any treats, fish oil, bully sticks or anything else.

 

Try taking his ZD if it's canned food and bake small chunks in the oven, or freeze some in a kong. Then give them as treats. That way he can still have treats but not set off his IBD. That's what we started doing with our boy. I got the idea here on GT.

 

Hill's makes hypoallergenic prescription treats that are designed to be compatible with Z/D -- the same hydrolyzed protein that it is based on.

Edited January 9, 2012 by PrairieProf

[Guest verthib]

Hi all,

I hope you can give me some suggestions for whether Bernie is just suddenly picky or if he may have a bigger problem that deserves a talk with our vet. Ever since we adopted him in October 2010, he's done a great job going to the raised feeder after I set his food down, and he eats it all at once. But he's changed that pattern in the past few weeks.

 

For Christmas, we took him with us on a long drive to my parents' house. Being new in that house, he didn't eat very well. We would set his food bowl in his raised feeder, and he wouldn't go to it. Maybe he'd walk up to it 10 minutes later and take a few bites. I was concerned about him not eating, so I stuck some of that food in a Kong and gave it to him on his bed. He ate a little bit of that here and there.

 

And ever since then, he hasn't really eaten his full meal in one sitting at his raised feeder. He may eat only half and leave - or he may sit around the house and go to the feeder later and eat a little.

 

I am taking the food away after about 20 minutes to keep the consistent meal time regimen.

 

We have not changed his food or meal times, other than the three or four days where he ate at my parents' house two weeks ago. He eats TOTW Sierra Mountain mix (all lamb-based) with a combination of extra fillers: salmon oil, yogurt, TOTW canned food, peas, broccoli, bananas, scrambled/hard-boiled eggs, carrots, sweet potatoes, beef ground chuck and canned pumpkin. We usually rotate every now and then; he usually has two or three extras mixed in with his kibble.

 

Here's the catch: Bernie still perks up his ears when he hears the cheese wrapper, and he's really excited to eat a slice of cheese. He will eat stinky treats when I give him some. (Like bully sticks or dried liver bites.)

 

Any ideas here? Thank you!

 

That is a lot of additives! Can you try going back to basics and just feed his regular food?

[silverfish]

Might be a lot of add-ins, but if that's what he's used to, this is still a worrying deviation from normal and I (who also feed a ton of add-ins) would be looking for a different answer if he were mine.

 

You say this began at your parent's house at Christmas, and Prairie Prof is telling us that his half-sister has pancreatic issues. It doesn't, of course, mean that Bernie has pancreatic issues, but it's just really common for dogs to develop pancreatitis at Christmas if people feed them all kinds of high-fat titbits, like turkey skin, sausages, bacon, cake, etc. When I was reading your post about it beginning over Christmas, it was the first thing that came to mind.

 

Did anyone feed him anything that might have set this off? Could he have stolen something? One of the big symptoms of pancreatitis is loss of appetite. Dogs will also often have a 'tucked-up' appearance or look depressed. They might have some very unusual stools, or even yellow/orange, greasy ones.

 

You say he's still eating treats and is interested in the idea of food .. well, many dogs with stomach issues will still perk up and want to eat, only to lose interest when it's in front of them and the digestive juices are flowing and causing discomfort. They might pick at a bit, but then stop.

 

Another thing which can cause this kind of inappetance is if they have eaten something they shouldn't, like a sock. This thread is about a dog who ate not one, but FOUR dog boots and had very similar symptoms.

 

Personally, I'd get him to the vet for a full check up, including bloodwork.

[Laurenbiz]

Might be a lot of add-ins, but if that's what he's used to, this is still a worrying deviation from normal and I (who also feed a ton of add-ins) would be looking for a different answer if he were mine.

 

You say this began at your parent's house at Christmas, and Prairie Prof is telling us that his half-sister has pancreatic issues. It doesn't, of course, mean that Bernie has pancreatic issues, but it's just really common for dogs to develop pancreatitis at Christmas if people feed them all kinds of high-fat titbits, like turkey skin, sausages, bacon, cake, etc. When I was reading your post about it beginning over Christmas, it was the first thing that came to mind.

 

Did anyone feed him anything that might have set this off? Could he have stolen something? One of the big symptoms of pancreatitis is loss of appetite. Dogs will also often have a 'tucked-up' appearance or look depressed. They might have some very unusual stools, or even yellow/orange, greasy ones.

 

You say he's still eating treats and is interested in the idea of food .. well, many dogs with stomach issues will still perk up and want to eat, only to lose interest when it's in front of them and the digestive juices are flowing and causing discomfort. They might pick at a bit, but then stop.

 

Another thing which can cause this kind of inappetance is if they have eaten something they shouldn't, like a sock. This thread is about a dog who ate not one, but FOUR dog boots and had very similar symptoms.

 

Personally, I'd get him to the vet for a full check up, including bloodwork.

 

Thanks to everyone who has responded! For Silverfish: No, I am not aware of him eating anything while on our Christmas trip that he shouldn't have. Well, other than cat food that was, of course, supposed to be for my parents' cats. We took his regular TOTW food, along with yogurt and boiled eggs in a cold lunchbox for the drive. We gave him his usual food and treats there, even though he didn't eat everything in front of him. After a long drive and being in a new place, though, we figured that he may be a little stressed. So the fact that he wasn't eating well while he was there didn't really bother us.

 

His various add-ins are what he's been used to. Like at Christmas, we tried the yogurt with pieces of boiled eggs. Most recently, we've been adding in raw beef ground chuck, yogurt and a small handful of peas. This morning, I tried simply just the dry food with a successful two or three bites, and then he left.

 

Bernie also isn't a big chewer. He definitely chews bully sticks or bones when we give them to him, but we've never caught him chewing something that he wasn't supposed to eat. He occasionally will 'stockpile' our slippers on his bed for whatever reason, but he doesn't chew them.

 

In other news, his stools have been totally normal. Just this morning on his walk, he had a normal stool. It looked fine coming out and wasn't too mushy or runny. I easily picked it up. I guess his few bites of food here and there are still enough to make him poop!

 

I made an appt. with our vet! He can see us this evening, so I'll report again later. Thank you again!

[silverfish]

Well, cat food is higher in fat and protein than dog food, so theoretically could trigger a sensitive dog's pancreatitis. Might be worth mentioning to the vet if he ate much of it.

[Guest verthib]

My first grey got into the catfood. It caused her to have a bout of something, though I'm not sure what it was. Now we have it behind a baby gate and only the cats can fit through. I would do what the other poster said and talk to your vet. There are also other things in cat food that dogs shouldn't eat that might have an effect. It's strange that it hasn't really cleared up. That's what makes us wonder if it's a foreign body. Good luck!

[Laurenbiz]

Hello all,

 

We went to the vet this evening, and Bernie seems to be okay.

 

The vet listened to his heart and abdomen area. He said that everything sounded clear, and his liver did not feel inflamed. He did not notice jaundiced coloring of his eyes, gums, ears, etc. He checked his mouth and he said that he saw no issues. Also, with Bernie's interest in treats - even super-crunchy ones - he said any pain in his mouth (that would cause him to avoid food) was unlikely.

 

Dr. Williams did talk about the possibility that Bernie may have eaten something that made his stomach feel a little 'off,' and he noted that he may have eaten something like rabbit feces in our backyard or something else like that.

 

But let's talk about cat food ...

Honestly, I never mentioned the cat food to him. Here I go sounded ignorant, but I actually didn't know about differences in cat and dog foods! At our house, we don't want him munching on our cat's food 24/7, so we always keep her food on our kitchen counter. My parents have two cats and no dogs, so they leave the cat food bowls on the floor at their kitchen, which is why Bernie easily ate some. I made sure that I picked up the food bowls after that so he wouldn't eat it! The cat food at my parents' house must have been a rare treat. I'm sorry I didn't read this Greytalk thread again before the vet, or else I would have mentioned the cat food.

 

Most of our discussion dealt with whether this is a food change or a pancreatic issue. This HAS been going on with a new bag of food, and he noted that food companies may not always be very informative to consumers if the formula or some ingredients have changed. The other part of our discussion was about the pancreatitis. Our vet said that he could do additional tests to determine if Bernie had some level of pancreatitis, but he said that the results of those tests can vary from dog to dog, and even week to week. He said that because he didn't feel the test was very reliable, he didn't want to jump on it today and do it. He said if Bernie doesn't seem to have a better appetite in the next few weeks, then we should consider that.

 

He said it's totally possible that Bernie has a mild case of it, and this could be a small flare-up that causes his stomach to feel a little goofy, making him not want lots of food. He said, though, that since Bernie does want to eat some things and doesn't appear to have the symptoms of bad pancreatitis (like lots of vomiting,) then a possible mild flare-up is okay.

 

Also, he said that if it came down to it, treatment of pancreatitis would be the same, with or without the blood test mentioned above.

 

The good news is that Bernie is at 70 lbs. The last time we took him to the vet for his annual check-up in November, Bernie was 64 lbs. We didn't know why, and his weight should be 70, so we started feeding him more! He is now heavier, and we take him to the vet because he's picky with food.

 

Well, we're happy that we went for the peace of mind.

[silverfish]

Well, that sounds like a pretty good report! And honestly, I'd say that most people don't know about the difference between cat and dog food.

 

To be fair, it's usually a lot more important the other way round, because cats need a lot of taurine in their diet, and dogs don't. So if cats eat too much dog food and miss out on this part of their nutrition they're all going to be in big trouble, whereas if dogs eat too much cat food, it's really only going to be the sensitive ones who suffer, especially since the chances are that they won't be limiting themselves exclusively to cat food, but adding it in to their diet as a tasty extra. However, if you have a dog who is inclined to suffer from pancreatitis or other digestive issues, it's a bad idea to let them snack on cat food.

 

The new bag of food - as I think someone else said earlier in the thread, do check the smell and appearance of this bag. It happens sometimes that food has been badly stored or even contaminated and this will cause apparent loss of appetite and, in some cases, illness. Check the expiry date, and maybe do a search online for the batch number to see if there have been problems. Even if you don't find anything obvious, it might be worth opening a new bag to see if his issues disappear. If they do, contact the manufacturer and who knows? You might get your money back!

[Batmom]

If he's gained several pounds, could be he's self regulating and just isn't hungry.

[silverfish]

If he's gained several pounds, could be he's self regulating and just isn't hungry.

 

That too! There is no way to make Ranger eat anything if he isn't hungry. He'd rather try to bury it with his nose!

[Guest verthib]

My concern is that like a previous poster mentioned, he could still have a foreign body. That previous thread she referenced showed the dog ate off and on and still liked treats, etc... For my peace of mind I think I would have requested an ultrasound or xray, but that's just me.

[Laurenbiz]

Thank you again to everyone. He has still been 'iffy' with his food after the vet visit, but he has consistently taken down maybe half of the food in his bowl every time.

 

Last night, though, he totally ignored his dinner. This morning when I got up, I noticed two spots in the house where he vomited in the night. It's nothing substantial because of course he didn't have dinner. The vomit spots on the floor are yellow in color and they are just liquid.

 

Because the spots are yellow, I did look at his eyes and gums, but they are the usual color - not jaundiced color.

 

Bernie was very interested in his food this morning and actually ate all of it!

 

Are the vomits a cause for concern and warrant another call and/or visit to the vet?

[Batmom]

Tummy juice is yellow.

 

If he has another episode of vomiting and/or significant lack of interest in his meals, I'd get back to the vet. Abdominal x-ray if he hasn't had one.

 

Hope he's turned the corner, tho!

[Batmom]

Tummy juice is yellow.

 

If he has another episode of vomiting and/or significant lack of interest in his meals, I'd get back to the vet. Abdominal x-ray if he hasn't had one.

 

Hope he's turned the corner, tho!

[silverfish]

Dogs can vomit (and yes, on an empty stomach it will usually be yellow) for a variety of reasons, but coupled with the inappetance, I'd certainly take him back to the vet.

 

As Batmom said, he may need x-rays or an ultrasound, or both. Hope he's okay!

[MaryJane]

It sounds like Bernie is still a little off. At this point since it has been going on since Christmas I would bite the bullet and do bloodwork, urinalysis, and an abdominal x-ray (hopefully they do not have to sedate for this).

 

Also, I would check the treats (like the bully sticks and anything else you are giving) and make sure they are not made or originated in China. You really want products assembled and made from animals raised in the US or Canada (Euro zone is OK too).

 

Everyone mentioned the food changes but, what about changes in the house like ...have you had new rugs installed, painting, new furniture, or anything giving off fumes? What about at your parent's house, have they had any work done recently ...

[Guest verthib]

Thank you again to everyone. He has still been 'iffy' with his food after the vet visit, but he has consistently taken down maybe half of the food in his bowl every time.

 

Last night, though, he totally ignored his dinner. This morning when I got up, I noticed two spots in the house where he vomited in the night. It's nothing substantial because of course he didn't have dinner. The vomit spots on the floor are yellow in color and they are just liquid.

 

Because the spots are yellow, I did look at his eyes and gums, but they are the usual color - not jaundiced color.

 

Bernie was very interested in his food this morning and actually ate all of it!

 

Are the vomits a cause for concern and warrant another call and/or visit to the vet?

 

Based on others' experiences, please get him ultrasounded and/or xrayd.... He might have swallowed something. Someone posted a prior thread which showed weeks of off and on vomiting, eating normal, then not eating, etc.... the dog had swallowed doggy boots and they would not have known that without an ultrasound/xray.

[Guest NJgrey]

Sounds like Ellie when she had her pancreatitis/ colitis/ HGE episode last year.

 

If he doesn't want to eat, don't make him eat. Just let him fast for a day, it's no big deal. He'll always be enticed by high value treats but don't let that fool you. A healthy dog wants to eat. Dogs are also "pleasers" - he knows you want him to eat so he's going to try even if he's not feeling well.

 

Back to the vet, get a blood test done and have them test for pancreatitis.

[Guest verthib]

Hi all,

I hope you can give me some suggestions for whether Bernie is just suddenly picky or if he may have a bigger problem that deserves a talk with our vet. Ever since we adopted him in October 2010, he's done a great job going to the raised feeder after I set his food down, and he eats it all at once. But he's changed that pattern in the past few weeks.

 

For Christmas, we took him with us on a long drive to my parents' house. Being new in that house, he didn't eat very well. We would set his food bowl in his raised feeder, and he wouldn't go to it. Maybe he'd walk up to it 10 minutes later and take a few bites. I was concerned about him not eating, so I stuck some of that food in a Kong and gave it to him on his bed. He ate a little bit of that here and there.

 

And ever since then, he hasn't really eaten his full meal in one sitting at his raised feeder. He may eat only half and leave - or he may sit around the house and go to the feeder later and eat a little.

 

I am taking the food away after about 20 minutes to keep the consistent meal time regimen.

 

We have not changed his food or meal times, other than the three or four days where he ate at my parents' house two weeks ago. He eats TOTW Sierra Mountain mix (all lamb-based) with a combination of extra fillers: salmon oil, yogurt, TOTW canned food, peas, broccoli, bananas, scrambled/hard-boiled eggs, carrots, sweet potatoes, beef ground chuck and canned pumpkin. We usually rotate every now and then; he usually has two or three extras mixed in with his kibble.

 

Here's the catch: Bernie still perks up his ears when he hears the cheese wrapper, and he's really excited to eat a slice of cheese. He will eat stinky treats when I give him some. (Like bully sticks or dried liver bites.)

 

Any ideas here? Thank you!

 

So how's Bernie doing?