Loss of Appetite - Page 1

I have a healthy dog for all intents and purposes but lately seems to have a loss of real appetite. He is in good spirits and energized but just not eating like I would like him to any comments would be much appreciated?

Doomsayer, There are a host of things on the market for this First have you checked for any intestinal parasites? Although some are not visual to the naked eye but worms for instance may sometimes cause loss of appetite Also depending on where you are located, during the warmer season it is not odd for a dog to eat less or somedays not @ all. At any rate, a brewers yeast combination pill may do the trick since some have enough Vitamin B in it to stimulate appetite. I personally try alfalfa (herb)chewables which do the same in stimulating appetite The Brewer's yeast tablets can be on going but it's typically recommended not to take alfafa for no more than 8 weeks consistently. I would not expect your problem to be that lengthly but did want to add that to my recommendation. Good luck!

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I'm located in Minnesota and the weather has just gone from 20 degrees to consistently 60 or warmer. Brewer Yeast or Alfafa chewables will do the same thing. I give him Heartguard and Advantix so I'm hoping parasites are not the problem. So your recommending the Alfafa chewables as I only have to do those for up to 8 weeks and then I can stop?

Is there a female in season close by? That can make him loose his interest in food. Have him checked by the vet, to see if there is anything wrong with him. Some dogs are just poor eaters. THe more you fuss about it the worse it will get as he will learn quickly that this will get your attention. But no dogs will starve himself into sickness, and a GSD can be quite lean and still remain fit. Are you free feeding? In other words food is always available? If so, stop that and give him his rations once or (preferrably) twice a day. Then take food away after 10 minutes. He has to learn to eat now, or else he has to go hungry. And no snacks inbetween. If you use food as a reward, use his regular dog food instead of biscuits etc. and keep an eye on the amount, he may well be getting a full mean in snacks. If all seems well after he has seen the vet I would put him on a fast for 2 days and see if his appetite is changing when he gets fed again. If he is still not interested in food, there may be an underlying medical problem. Last time one of my dogs slowed down eating we finally discovered that she had been chasing the big carpenter ants around here and as she was swallowing them, several had attached themselves to her upper palate and the far back of the tongue. You had to press the tongue down to be able to see it. She needed to be sedated to have them removed. Those little suckers did not go down without a fight and they let her know it. :o) Eaglepack (your other post) is a very good food BTW, can highly recommend it. Adult kennel pack or Natural formula would be good for a GSD. Eagle is one of the few pet food companies that has their own rendering plant, and were one of the first to use natural preservatives.

Isn't Eagle owned by IAMS ? That was going to be my other caution -- These extruded feeds are preserved with ethoxyquin - NOT A GOOD THING !! Ditto - don't fuss over picky eaters - put the food down and walk away - come back in 10 minutes and take it up -- do it again tomorrow - a HEALTHY dog - NO TEMP, NO INTERNAL BLEEDING, NOTHING STRANGE GOING ON INSIDE - CAN EASLY GO 4-5 DAYS WITHOUT FOOD - only WATER -- My friend went through this and after the dog refused food for 3-4 days in a row -- she stopped putting it down altogether -- another 2 days and the dog came around saying - hey, did you forget my dinner? - another 2 days and he was BEGGING FOR FOOD !! He never missed another meal !! That doesn't always work -but if he's holding out for something better - and you give in - he'll be looking for something different next week -- Test him out with some Chicken livers -- see if he's shopping around for better food --

No free feeding. I do have female she isn;t in season yet. 20 minute feeding period once a day.

Since I have switched my dogs to raw, my female who was always picky and went days without touching food, now enjoys every meal time and never puts her nose up at anything except yogurt, so she gets acidopholus tablets. I quit feeding kibble due to all the "junk" they think dogs should eat, corn, and many presevatives that are completely un-called for. Raw is very good for them and I only by organically raised beef, lamb, chicken and turkeys, and I grow my own veges, the dogs like to eat something different every day, I never feed the same thing 2 days in a row. I hope this helps.

vomveiderheiss, where do you get organically raised beef, lamb, chicken and turkeys???? I mean, I know I can get it at "Whole Foods", but it's a bit expensive. Can you share a cheaper source? For now, I get "bell&evans" chicken necks&backs for $0.49/lb, but would like to get some variety.

If the dog is totally healthy and becomes severely underweight, you might try a cycle of ABS. You can ask your Vet if a 6wk cycle of equipoise would be possible. A weekly injection of 50-75mg will make a dramatic improvement in his appetite. Winstrol-V is alright but has much lower anabolic properties than the equipoise and the dog will retain much more of his gain with the equipoise.