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Teething pup not eating?

3K views 19 replies 11 participants last post by  Wayne Nutt 
#1 ·
Have a young male that is teathing. He completely quit eating dry food and after a few days I took him to the vet to have him checked over. Vet said everything looked fine and suggested canned food which he snarfed down for two days with very loose stools and now today he won't even eat the canned. His teeth are in and I am a little lost?
 
#2 ·
I have never seen a pup that is teething not eat. I would get a second opinion.
Got ticks in your area? My dog had Lyme's and the first thing I noticed is she quit eating......or more realistic, quit swallowing.
Don
 
#4 ·
Loosing weight
Walking stiff
Hanging out in the kennel not wanting to come out
Difficulty walking down steps
Inflamed tick bites
Fever
acting like he is in pain

Not saying it's a tick infection, there are more than Lyme's but it's a thought.
Is you pup up to date on shots? I am no vet but it sounds like more than teething.
Don
 
#6 ·
May be nothing but I just never have seen a dog not eat just because it's teeth are coming in. More likely with teething, unless you look, you would never know the transformation would take place and one day they just have new adult teeth.
Is he getting food somewhere else? Neighbor?
If he acts healthy, that's a good sign. With tick infections they do not act fine.
He will eat when he gets hungry if there is nothing else wrong.
Do you free feed? I give my dogs 5 minutes to eat and then pick it up. Gets them to eat now and not fool around.
Don
 
#9 ·
Ok , my pup is back to the vet. All the blood work is good and he still has energy, shots are current. We have 7 labs and this guy is the only one having issues. Fed him some cottage cheese over his food Saturday and he snarfed it down. Sunday not so much interested but he did eat. Today again he won't eat? You can see he is losing weight and its killing me to find out what is going on. I feel my vet is very qualified and he thinks maybe it isn't medical? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I am grasping at straws.
 
#11 ·
Overcook some white rice until it is mushy and mix it with chicken broth. I had a young pup showing the same signs as yours. Never found out what the problem was but the rice and broth got her back eating. You only have to do it for a couple of days and then she should get back to her regular food.
 
#13 ·
Barry, What is the brand and formula of food your feeding the puppy? If your pup will eat a dry dog biscuit I doubt it's his teeth. Years ago i had a pup do the same as yours and I just offered high quality dry food 2 times a day for 10 minutes. She was so stuborn (an Alpha bitcvh) that she went 3 days (6 meals) until she ate the botom out of the bowl on the sixth meal. She never had another eating issue the rest of her life. I just had to be the boss and toucher than she was. She played the alpha game most of her life, she just learned I was still the boss. One of the greatest dogs I have ever had. She lived 14.5 years.
 
#14 ·
We have him on Pro Plan Sport. He has never had a issue eating until the end of last week. The Vet called me earlier and said they put a can of Science Diet AD in front of him and he cleaned it up. The big thing is he will do this for a day and then sit there and stare at the food the next. I always pull the food after 5-10 minutes.
 
#15 ·
Might be psychological - it hurt to eat the food last time, he doesn't want it this time.

Do check his mouth thoroughly. Broken teeth, sticks, bones, etc present? Is he regurgitating at all after eating?

I'd try really soft food - make a slurry - hand feed if necessary. Will he lick wet food off your fingers?

Barring psychological issues, the next step would likely be dental xrays to rule out tooth root abscesses followed by an esophageal to proximal intestine barium study to rule out PRAA and foreign body obstruction.
 
#18 ·
It's my experience that the more you change the food with adding this and that the picker he will become. I would try adding a small amount of warm water to his food and start the 10 minute rule. It may take a few days be he will start to eat.
 
#19 ·
Just giving an update. My wife spent the day at K-State with our pup and he has Giardia. Spelling might be wrong but we now know what is wrong. We now have medicine and can work on getting him back to normal. The vet at K State knew almost immediately when he saw him. He told her it was from stagnant water or maybe water that a dog had pissed in? Anyway here we go and hopefully back to himself soon!
 
#20 ·
Hmm. I have never heard of not eating because of that. Other symptoms but not eating. Hope he gets better soon.
 
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