Sorry for the long post, but I’m worried about our dog and wonder if anyone has been through something similar.
We were out of town last week and our pet sitter contacted me concerned that our dog didn’t eat the first day we were gone. I asked her to hold off and see what happened on Day 2. By the end of Day 2, he still hadn’t eaten so we agreed that she’d feed him chicken & rice. He gobbled it up for a day or two, but then got very sick - vomiting and diarrhea. She took him to the vet last Friday. They rehydrated him, did a complete blood work-up on him, and gave him anti-nausea meds, as well as prescribed an intestinal antibiotic and an antacid.
He hasn’t vomited or had diarrhea since being treated at the vet, and his energy level and general demeanor are back to normal. However he is not eating much and has to be coaxed a lot to eat at all. The vet said a possible next step is exploratory abdominal surgery to see if there is an obstruction in his digestive tract. The X-rays and barium test he had last Friday were inconclusive and while no obstruction was apparent, the vet said it’s possible there is one. He said an Ultrasound could also be inconclusive, while exploratory surgery would produce a more definite answer.
I hate to have surgery done on our dog when he has no symptoms other than a low appetite. OTOH, it’s very stressful feeding him and realizing he isn’t going to eat meal after meal. He will eat treats but even rejected cheese today.
If this were your dog and he continued to refuse food, would you have the surgery done? Or what else might you try? I did try making fresh chicken and rice, which he ate with gusto for a day but then began to refuse it.
We were out of town last week and our pet sitter contacted me concerned that our dog didn’t eat the first day we were gone. I asked her to hold off and see what happened on Day 2. By the end of Day 2, he still hadn’t eaten so we agreed that she’d feed him chicken & rice. He gobbled it up for a day or two, but then got very sick - vomiting and diarrhea. She took him to the vet last Friday. They rehydrated him, did a complete blood work-up on him, and gave him anti-nausea meds, as well as prescribed an intestinal antibiotic and an antacid.
He hasn’t vomited or had diarrhea since being treated at the vet, and his energy level and general demeanor are back to normal. However he is not eating much and has to be coaxed a lot to eat at all. The vet said a possible next step is exploratory abdominal surgery to see if there is an obstruction in his digestive tract. The X-rays and barium test he had last Friday were inconclusive and while no obstruction was apparent, the vet said it’s possible there is one. He said an Ultrasound could also be inconclusive, while exploratory surgery would produce a more definite answer.
I hate to have surgery done on our dog when he has no symptoms other than a low appetite. OTOH, it’s very stressful feeding him and realizing he isn’t going to eat meal after meal. He will eat treats but even rejected cheese today.
If this were your dog and he continued to refuse food, would you have the surgery done? Or what else might you try? I did try making fresh chicken and rice, which he ate with gusto for a day but then began to refuse it.