German SHepherd will not eat? - Page 1

One year old throughbred very tall, stopped eating dry food.  He's as thin as a rail, will eat canned but not enough.

Recently his littermate a female was taken to a new home, and I think this is what triggered it.

THey both were awfully thin when acquired, and tested for worms-negative.  SHe was more aggressive, but the male now is very sad and not eating.  I think he should go to a vet immediately for bloodwork and perhaps medication etc.

I have tried everything putting cheese on his food, mixing wet food in (he picks it out).  He's a relatives dog that I am wathcing for the weekend!!

Any suggestions or comments owuld be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

What dry food are you feeding him? Sometimes dogs don't like certain dry foods. Or you can try to moisten it with warm water, it makes a kind of gravy, some dogs really like it.

Are you looking for ways to get him to eat, or support on your thoughts about taking him to the vet?  Either way, I think you need to discuss your concerns with the owner if possible.

Based on the information you've posted, anything I could suggest would be a pure guess.  It sounds like his weight has been an ongoing issue...not just something that happened since the female left, so that makes me think depression isn't the answer...though he may feel unsure in his new surroundings (assuming he's staying at your house for the weekend, rather than you going to his home to care for him).  Does the dog have any other symptoms, like vomiting or diarrhea?  Have his teeth/mouth been checked to see if an cracked molar or something is interfering with his eating?

Bottom line...a healthy dog will eat, so my guess is there might be something going on that needs to be addressed. Its probably not something you'll be able to fix in a weekend if the owner hasn't figured it out yet.  I've seen a number of dogs with unresolved SIBO or IBD that won't eat due to inflammation in the GI tract, so that's a possibility...especially if this has been an ongoing problem.  Here's a link that might help the owner get to the bottom of the problem with his/her vet's input...

HOLISTIC APPROACHES TO INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE

http://www.ivis.org/docarchive/proceedings/NAVC/2007/SAE/018.pdf

As far as enticing the dog to eat in the meantime...if you stray too far from his normal diet, you may end up dealing with diarrhea.  Did the owner leave instructions or a variety of "allowed" foods?  You could try a bland diet of lean meat and well cooked rice or pasta just to get something in him.  I've used a little canned goats milk (Walmart) or broth mixed with a bland diet for sick dogs, so that might be helpful. Sometimes either warmed or chilled food is preferred by the dog as well.  Children's unflavored Pedialyte can be used if you feel he's getting dehydrated...and if that's the case, I'd definitely be updating the owner on his status.

Good luck.

Thank you for your help!!

Yes the owners are taking him to vet this coming week, and I did mix water with his food "Ekanuba large breed" and he ate some finally. 

THe link on the bowel situation is very good, since he does have ongoing issues with diarrhea.

He's beautiful and so smart and sweet that I want to help him.  He needs to gain at least 20 tp 30 pounds.

I feed him canned food this weekend as well.  SHe will try cooked chicken and rice with his food, and hopefully the vet will do bloodwork, and get to the bottom of this issue.

Do the bloodwork. Don't let the vet talk you out of it. I'm paranoid, as my dog is dying of kidney failure becasue the vet told me we didn't need to check blood or urine because her only symptom that she was sick was anorexia for 6 months. Not saying this is the case with your dog or anyone else's, but at least you will have the peace of mind. I don't want what happened to me and my girl to happen to anyone else. In my case, we discovered a UTI and after treatment, she started eating like a champ, anything I would give her she would scarf down. But it was still too late for us. Good luck!!

My previous dog would not eat food if left at a kennel....do you know the dog...

Many gsd's have GI issues and trying to force a dry kibble diet may kill her.  Do the blood work, as Champion says; I, too, lost a girl before her six birthday to kidney failure after following the advice of a vet who said I should let her eat as little as she wanted (and it was far too little to be healthy).  Some dogs WILL starve themselves to death.  If you can't get her to eat great food, say a turkey dinner (without the bones, of course) then she has a serious medical problem.  But if you keep starving her on kibble, the responsibility is yours.

Sounds like a complete workup is in order.

If the normal blood tests are inconclusive, and the diarrhea has a very strong smell it could be SIBO (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth).  Check the cobalamin (B12)/folate levels as they can be helpful in diagnosing SIBO and/or malabsorption caused by ongoing inflammation.  A lot of vets leave it out of the initial work up and its one of the first things I would check with a dog that persistently won't eat, but otherwise seems healthy, as it gives clues to the health of the intestinal tract.  Go to this site and scroll down to SIBO for a chart on what the cobalamin/folate levels reveal...
http://www.newmanveterinary.com/VomitingDiarrhea_SmallIntestine.html

This site has a lot of good information about EPI and SIBO...  http://www.epi4dogs.com/ .

Probiotics can be very helpful in restoring a healthy balance to the GI tract...especially if the dog has been on antibiotics.  I prefer the predominant lactobacillus and bifidobacter strains, such as those found in Kyo-dophilus, over E. Faecium which in my opinion has risks to it.

Good luck to the pup.

Have you tried adding a quarter of a can of canned salmon to the food (mix it in well) and two tablespoons of Safflower oil to add calories?  Safflower oil is high Omega 6 and in vitamin E and the salmon adds flavor and smell. 

That being said, you might want to try a higher quality kibble (grain free) like Evo or Taste of the Wild or raw diet.