12.5 year old Golden Retriever will not eat
Hello. Two weeks ago my 12.5 year old male Golden Retriever started to eat less than normal. Initially he was eating two cans of dog food per day plus a small amount of dry food. Two weeks ago he reduced that to one can per day and refused to eat anything else. Last week when I noticed that he was losing weight and was refusing some of his favourite foods I took him to the vet. He had lost 10 pounds since the last visit in September. Blood work, physical exam, xrays and a urinalysis were done. Nothing was detected out of the ordinary. In fact the vet said that according to the tests everything should be fine. There were no abnormalities detected in the xrays of his stomach, colon or liver and kidneys. I was given some small capsules of an appetite stimulant and asked to monitor his eating habits and report back. Since last Thursday he has eaten less and less, now subsisting on only one half of a boiled egg per day and some small (cocktail sized) all beef dog treats. He also vomits at least once daily I am sure the little he has eaten. I am extremely worried about his health as he is obviously getting weaker and weaker. One last point, and one I consider relevant. Four weeks earlier one of our cats also experienced the same symptoms and I had to take her to the vet and place her on IV fluids. In her case, despite numerous tests nothing was ever found. Thankfully she recovered fully. The vet has ruled out poisoning but I do not believe in coincidences. I would very much appreciate any input that may shed some light. Thank you sincerely.
Did they check his teeth? Did he ever had a dental cleaning in his life? I know of senior dogs that have so much teeth decay they slow down on eating...
To me it sounds like something much more than a dental issue. You say your dog is also vomiting, and this is concerning. Is your dog ever let out on his own or is he always under your supervision? Did they rule out something blocking his stomach intestines like a foreign object or a tumor? Did they do a fecal test?
Quote from RobRoy on March 25, 2022, 3:03 pmTo me it sounds like something much more than a dental issue. You say your dog is also vomiting, and this is concerning. Is your dog ever let out on his own or is he always under your supervision? Did they rule out something blocking his stomach intestines like a foreign object or a tumor? Did they do a fecal test?
Robroy,
The owner claimed they did an x-ray of the stomach, so that should rule out blockages, at least blockages from items that you can see on an x-ray. I mentioned dental problems because I have known of senior dogs that have so much dental diseases around that age that they becomes very reluctant to eat and sometimes even get an infection, usually though there's some swelling in the face though.
Even if your dog's bloodwork, exams, urinalysis came back fine, he sure is not. It's not normal to not want to eat and vomit. Yes, as dogs age they may eat less because they no longer smell food as well as they used to, and yes, they may have dental problems, but sounds like there's something else that needs further investigating. The fact he vomits bile though may be also due to the stomach being empty for too long (Bilious Vomiting Syndrome). I would follow up with the vet to say that things aren't improving. Let him know he is vomiting bile, the vet may put him on a stomach acid reducing drug, but it's important to get to the bottom of this and figure out why he is not eating in the first place. Maybe he needs an x-ray with a barium test to see if things are moving through the stomach/intestines or even an abdominal ultrasound. In a dog this old, not eating an vomiting can put a toll on kidneys and his liver. If your vet won't pursue more testing or cannot come up with something, I would consult with an internal medicine specialist before he gets too sick to recover.
Thank you for your replies and insight. His teeth were checked and nothing out of the ordinary was found. But, because he has eaten nothing today, as of 2:00PM, I am taking him to the vet in one hour. He did unfortunately have diarrhea so I don't think I can afford to wait any longer to bring him back. And to answer the other question, when he goes outside in back he goes alone so yes, he could have consumed something there or even at the dog park where we walked daily. The one nagging issue is that one of our cats had the exact same symptoms yet she has recovered, mind you, subsequent to having had IV fluids at the vet. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will have him in my life fora few more years, at least. Thank you for listening.
And so I returned to our vet this afternoon with my ailing Golden. The vet ran more blood tests, ran a blood test for pancreatitis which he apparently does not have, examined a stool sample I brought in, no blood, took his temperature, stuck a syringe in his tummy to ensure he was not bleeding internally (because one of his blood tests shows borderline anemic), and gave him a barium capsule by mouth. I am to bring him back tomorrow morning and he will have xrays again to see whether or not the barium shows a blockage anywhere along his gastrointestinal tract. In the meantime he lost another pound from last week.
Thanks for the update, keep us posted on your vet's findings. I hope it's something easily treatable.
I too hope your dog can be treated and resume his normal activity and normal feeding. It's so frustrating when a diagnosis can't be made and vets seem to run out of options. I lost my dog a couple of years back while the vets were trying to figure things out, very frustrating and it felt awful. Turned out he had advanced cancer, so there wasn't really much to be done, but still the wait was terrible and not being sure I was treating him for the correct thing made it scary.