Won't Eat Breakfast! But Stomach Is Growling!

[Guest Bree]

Chai's favorite thing in the world is food. We usually feed her at 7AM (or whenever she wakes us up on the weekend) and 6PM. But lately, instead of gobbling up her food in the morning with her usual excitement, she won't eat it for hours and/or needs coaxing. I know she's hungry because I can literally hear her stomach growling loudly!! Nothing has changed about her food or our routines (other than storing the food in a can in the kitchen instead of basement but she started doing this before that).

 

So what's up with her sudden lack of interest with breakfast? Do greyhound eating habits change on their own or is something wrong that we should be looking for? As far as we know she's in otherwise good health, 4 years old, no other previous eating issues.

[CharlieRhea]

Sometimes a growling stomach can mean an upset stomach. Give it a day, give Charl something easy on the tummy ie boiled burger or chicken and rice. I hope it passes soon.

[Riverhound]

Try giving a snack before bed so her tummy isn't totally empty for so long. A Pepcid can help if she's not feeling well.

 

That said, mine usually don't bother to eat in the morning. When I first got Joe, I stressed out over it and tossed lots of extras into the morning meal to make him eat. He got porky. I quit doing that and he got himself down to a good weight on his own.

[Guest Bree]

She's been doing this off and on for probably a week or so.

 

Thanks, I'll try giving her a snack.

[CharlieRhea]

How are Charls stools? I always watch my dogs stools, it lets me know how their tummys are doing.

[Time4ANap]

Rocket goes through this early in the mornings sometimes. He doesn't want his kibble when his stomach is growling or squealing, but he will usually accept a few saltine crackers or ginger snaps and that's enough to settle his stomach out. I usually feed him a few hours later without incident.

 

I also keep some canned food on hand which he has never turned down. I think it's easier on an upset stomach. It's not for every day feeding, but I use it when he needs something bland. I use canned Evanger's Organic Chicken and give him 1/4 to half a can. It can also be used as a bland diet by adding some mushy over-cooked rice or pasta when you need a bland diet. There is nothing in it but ground chicken and water.

[Guest Bree]

How are Charls stools? I always watch my dogs stools, it lets me know how their tummys are doing.

Chai's stools have been pretty usual. She's has good poops and sometimes less solid ones (usually only on long walks) but nothing out of the ordinary lately.

Rocket goes through this early in the mornings sometimes. He doesn't want his kibble when his stomach is growling or squealing, but he will usually accept a few saltine crackers or ginger snaps and that's enough to settle his stomach out. I usually feed him a few hours later without incident.

 

I also keep some canned food on hand which he has never turned down. I think it's easier on an upset stomach. It's not for every day feeding, but I use it when he needs something bland. I use canned Evanger's Organic Chicken and give him 1/4 to half a can. It can also be used as a bland diet by adding some mushy over-cooked rice or pasta when you need a bland diet. There is nothing in it but ground chicken and water.

 

Thanks, I'll have to give the bland canned food a try!

Edited April 27, 2014 by Bree

[greysmom]

My Lilly goes through the "tummy squeaks" once a week or so. When they start happening, just about anything you can get into them will help settle their stomach. Lilly, however, likes to eat non-food items like plastic plants and toilet paper. I have to watch her like a hawk. I have even resorted to feeding her several pill pockets or a small rawhide chew.

 

Feeding Chai a small snack right before bedtime will probably help (or if she gets up to potty in the night try leaving some food out for her). You can also give her an acid reducer - generic is fine - just make sure it's the regular strength version and doesn't have xylotol in it.

[Guest Bree]

My Lilly goes through the "tummy squeaks" once a week or so. When they start happening, just about anything you can get into them will help settle their stomach. Lilly, however, likes to eat non-food items like plastic plants and toilet paper. I have to watch her like a hawk. I have even resorted to feeding her several pill pockets or a small rawhide chew.

 

Feeding Chai a small snack right before bedtime will probably help (or if she gets up to potty in the night try leaving some food out for her). You can also give her an acid reducer - generic is fine - just make sure it's the regular strength version and doesn't have xylotol in it.

 

Good to know... sometimes we do give her a treat or two before bed, but I'll try and be more consistent about doing that and see if it helps!

[Feisty49]

Annie's tummy doesn't growl (though now that I think of it, with my hearing, I might not hear it), but she gets weird sometimes and doesn't eat breakfast, or she'll eat it when she feels like it, which screws up our routine. What gets her back into schedule is putting down breakfast the usual time (6:30 to 7, depending on when we get up) and taking it back up about 8 if she hasn't eaten it. That jump starts her and she's fine about breakfast for a while.

[Guest OPointyDog]

We get this sometimes with Zoe, particularly if it's been a long time since she's eaten. I agree that a snack before bed helps. We also sometimes give Zoe 10-15mg of pepcid (Famotidine) to help settle her stomach, but you may want to check with your vet before giving her a new medication.

[kudzu]

My little girl, Sunita, consistently has this problem if she goes more than 10-12 hrs without food. Once she starts with tummy gurgling she won't eat, not even favorite treats. Then it is usually another 24 hrs before she will eat again. She is already a very lean dog & the sour stomach problems makes keeping weight on her a struggle.

 

All my dogs get fed two meals a day, approx 8AM & 6PM, plus a snack at bedtime. However, Su requires a bit more than that snack to prevent morning tummy troubles. She needs something equivalent to about 1/2 cup of food. Usually that's somethings like a Dentastix plus ~1/4 cup kibble. So basically she's getting a small meal that helps tide her over until breakfast. This allows me to get the 7-8 hours sleep I really need while still letting Su feel good enough in the morning to eat her breakfast happily.

 

Su has had fecal checks & is on parasite preventatives so it seems not to be related to that. We have considered trying famotidine or other acid reducer but I'd need to use it on a routine basis. Since it seems to be just an extreme case of empty stomach symptom I decided to simply add another meal. This is a complication at times, though not a difficult one. If we are leaving the house for a time period that spans mealtime then Su gets a small meal before we leave. And I can't oversleep or it makes my dog sick. Hey, no ones perfect & this is a physical problem that I find fairly easy to work around.

Edited April 27, 2014 by kudzu

[juliemac]

I have Riley, the grumbly tummy boy. Marrow bone treats sometimes work if I catch the grumblies early (they seem to be a good barometer for him, and if he won't eat one I need to break out the acid reducer). We started having an evening snack before bedtime (around 8:30p) a couple of years ago, and that reduced the number of grumbly mornings, but we still have them (always followed by poisonous gas when everything worked its way through his system).

 

If I didn't do those things, though, Riley's tummy issues will resolve themselves within 24-48 hours.

[Guest Bree]

Great advice, everybody! Thank you so much. Good to know it's not something serious (as long as it's not on-going). We have a routine vet visit coming up and I'll ask about the pepcid.

[Guest Houston1219]

Lilly, however, likes to eat non-food items like plastic plants and toilet paper. I have to watch her like a hawk.

 

You can also give her an acid reducer - generic is fine - just make sure it's the regular strength version and doesn't have xylotol in it.

This was quite an ah ha! moment for me! We went through an expensive medical mystery with Houston where he was drinking and peeing like crazy, and a few episodes of foamy yellow puke (stomach acid) that vet suspected was from the stress (he is very ashamed when he has an accident in the house, even though we don't scold. This cleared up and he was given a clean bill of health and it was chalked off as a behavioral thing.

 

He has recently began eating everything in sight, including toilet paper and plastic plants! It has to be stomach acid causing the problem, rather than stress causing the symptoms/behaviors.

 

Oh greysmom, I could hug you! Lol to think all of our problems (and his discomfort) could be solved by some pepcid. I'm surprised the vet didn't suggest this before the hundreds of dollars worth of tests we had run. She even suggested a full ultrasound before the idea of simple indigestion. I'm slightly peefed. Hmmpf...

 

Also: when he had a tummy bug a few weeks back, we were recommended to give him peptobismol and pepcid. He improved dramatically and was unusually peppy for a dog with a stomach bug. I wonder if it was because the treatment helped with the underlying problem? This is all starting to make sense

Edited April 27, 2014 by Houston1219

[greysmom]

Hope that solves the problem!

[Guest Houston1219]

Is pepcid something that can be given on a routine basis? We are already planning spreading meals throughout the day but the pepcid was such an improvement I wonder if a low dose given daily could be a solution?

[greytpups]

Katie also gets frequent stomach upsets. We always feed a little kibble before bed or she will get the gurglies and not eat. then she'll eventually throw up bile, so I have to get it under control with Pepcid tablet. I don't know if frequency is an issue, I hope not because they are the only thing that will make her comfortable since she won't eat anything, even her favourites.

[greysmom]

Check with your vet to make certain, but it should be safe.

[brianamac]

Sounds like you've gotten great advice. Just one thing I thought I would mention: Our first warning sign that Boo had hookworms (months after we adopted him) was his stomach growling often very audibly, and him refusing to eat meals that he previously would eat.

 

You'd probably notice more soft stools if this was the case, but just in case it continues, you could always drop a stool sample at the vet to be sure.

[Guest FordRacingRon]

Is pepcid something that can be given on a routine basis? We are already planning spreading meals throughout the day but the pepcid was such an improvement I wonder if a low dose given daily could be a solution?

We have spent almost 3K in the last 6 months trying to find out what is wrong with Leia. In the end,,after seeing an internist, a cardiologist and a neurologist. The ultimate conclusions was she is getting old. However the internist did say she had very slight intestinal swelling that we could deep ly investigate further if we wished (ie,,get out your 401k to spend it on your dog, I want your money) which we declined. However the neurologist looked over the results and told us just giver her a Pepcid everyday and she'll be fine.

 

We don't do that because other issues have risen, but my point was we had a vet tell us it was okay.

[Guest arwalk]

My boy just started this gurgling tummy thing this morning. I rescued him in November. All of your responses have been SO helpful!!! I gave him a cookie, and now he's eating his breakfast. I think I will give him a snack right before bed from now on. He likes to go out for a long walk as soon as he gets up, and I think he got TOO hungry this morning. THANK YOU ALL!!!

[kudzu]

Have had a problem with a couple of my dogs in the morning so all of them get a bedtime snake. Even then, waiting too long before serving breakfast after getting up is almost certain to give one of my current hounds an upset tummy. If breakfast is served after walkies then a cookie before starting the walk is a good idea.

[Guest FordRacingRon]

My boy just started this gurgling tummy thing this morning. I rescued him in November. All of your responses have been SO helpful!!! I gave him a cookie, and now he's eating his breakfast. I think I will give him a snack right before bed from now on. He likes to go out for a long walk as soon as he gets up, and I think he got TOO hungry this morning. THANK YOU ALL!!!

I talked about Leia and her current problem but when she was young this was a problem for her too. She would actually vomit that green bile stuff if she didn't have a snack at bedtime, so bedtimes snacks were,,and still are,,a must to prevent that and the gurgles. Many time she would go out and eat grass and that would come back almost instantly until we discovered the almighty bedtime cookie.

Edited March 1, 2016 by FordRacingRon

[Hawthorn]

.................... so all of them get a bedtime snake.

 

A non-venomous one I hope!