Poorly Dachshund Won't Eat

As my Facebook friends know Wilbur the dachshund has been poorly for nearly a week. Last Sunday he deteriorated to the point where he was obviously in extreme pain and was rushed off to the vets. His only other symptoms were a tummy that was tight as a drum (it was thought he might be holding himself rigid to guard a back injury) and refusing to eat or drink. He has had xrays, numerous blood tests etc. and we still do not have a diagnosis, although we know his back looks no different to the last time it was xrayed and that his white cell count is higher than it should be so he's being treated with antibiotics. He spent Tuesday at the vets on a drip to get some fluid in to him as he wasn't drinking. Since then he has taken a few sips of water once or twice a day. But he still won't eat much. We're tempting him with every low fat treat we can think of, but having eaten nothing on Sunday and Monday in the last three days he's only managed half a sardine, a small slice of turkey, a small slice of chicken and a spoonful or two of rice, far less than he would normally eat in a day let alone 5, and only ever a few mouthfuls at a time. The vet wants a stool sample but there's been so little going in there's nothing coming out.

Two questions ... has anyone any ideas re. what this might be ... and can anyone suggest ways we might get him to eat ??

Cheers

A very worried Annie

Poor little fella, i hope someone has some ideas for you )

i found some stuff simliar to a doggy marmite in pets at home , i think its call nurishem??? its suppoosed to be an appetite stimulant? this may be of some help , i hope wilbur recovers quickly , ill ask a friend whom is on dachy forum to see what they suggest too x

Oh no, I'm sorry to hear he's not well, I really hope the antibiotics make a difference. I assume the vet has ruled out any chance of a blockage?

It is horrible when they won't eat. I've had some success with getting very old/poorly dogs to eat a bit of Complan, which gets some nourishment into them even if they only eat a tiny amount. Tinned chicken soup (low salt variety) sometimes works too.

Everything crossed here that he perks up very soon :luck:

Last year I was given by a greyhound man a bottle of something called DYNE. It is a high calorie food replacement. He told me it was used for animals that were convalesing or not eating. He gave it to me as I was and still am struggling to get weight on William after his accident 2 years ago.

I don't know were to get it from but try the places that sell stuff for racing greyhounds they might have something similar. William had to have 2 spoonfulls a day but he had it mixed in with his food. He didn't like it so I used to spoon it onto his tongue it was very sweet and had the consistancy of treacle.

I've just remembered a tip I had from a vet once for a dog who wouldn't eat, which was to rub a tiny bit of honey onto his gums which triggers a reflex to lick it off. Dogs' blood sugar can drop very sharply if they don't eat, and that can make them lethargic and less likely to feel like eating, so a small amount of something sweet can help break the cycle.

Nutri-Cal is supposed to be good, too.

FeeFee said:

I've just remembered a tip I had from a vet once for a dog who wouldn't eat, which was to rub a tiny bit of honey onto his gums which triggers a reflex to lick it off. Dogs' blood sugar can drop very sharply if they don't eat, and that can make them lethargic and less likely to feel like eating, so a small amount of something sweet can help break the cycle.
Nutri-Cal is supposed to be good, too.

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i had a problem getting one of my bitches to eat after she had had a stomach bug and after trying loads of different foods to tempt her and all failed i googled the problem and found a piece that said to try something sweet (honey) to bring her blood sugars up ,i did try straight away and was suprised at how quick she started asking for food and was eating everything that was offered her well worth the try :thumbsup:

Thanks guys ... I did know about the honey and had tried that ... had to rub it on his tongue as he wouldn't lick it off my finger ... but it didn't help. But ... back at the vets today for the poor lad to have more bloods taken and the vet gave him a shot of appetite stimulant ... brought him home and I thought rather than faff about with all the things we'd been trying to tempt him with I'd offer him a bowl of his normal Chappie - not the best food in the world but it's recommended for dogs with Lafora's (myoclonic epilepsy) like Wilbur and is what he normally has in the evenings although he'd refused it since Sunday - anyway ... he scoffed the lot!!!! So long may the eating continue as he's lost nearly 1/2 a kilo this week which is a lot when you only weighed 6 ish kilos to start with.

Vet doesn't think that there's a blockage ... they have treated for campylobacter in case, otherwise so far they are clueless

posh totty said:

i found some stuff simliar to a doggy marmite in pets at home , i think its call nurishem??? its suppoosed to be an appetite stimulant? this may be of some help , i hope wilbur recovers quickly , ill ask a friend whom is on dachy forum to see what they suggest too x

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Nourish-um was great when my friends girly stopped eating during pregnancy, it's high calorie and will give them a bit of an energy and appetite boost :thumbsup:

my Gin was very ill a couple of months ago and after a long bout of vomitting her insides were all very sore and she refused to eat or drink for 4 days, i spoon fed her a mix of slippery elm, honey and bio live yoghurt to soothe her digestive system

hope he is feeling better soon :luck:

beaker said:

posh totty said:

i found some stuff simliar to a doggy marmite in pets at home , i think its call nurishem??? its suppoosed to be an appetite stimulant? this may be of some help , i hope wilbur recovers quickly , ill ask a friend whom is on dachy forum to see what they suggest too x

Click to expand...

Nourish-um was great when my friends girly stopped eating during pregnancy, it's high calorie and will give them a bit of an energy and appetite boost :thumbsup:

my Gin was very ill a couple of months ago and after a long bout of vomitting her insides were all very sore and she refused to eat or drink for 4 days, i spoon fed her a mix of slippery elm, honey and bio live yoghurt to soothe her digestive system

hope he is feeling better soon :luck:

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Thanks, hadn't thought to try slippery elm, although he's not got an obviously upset tum, it's just the pain and the loss of appetite ... worth a go, and the Nourish-em

Sorry to here he's not been well Never had a problem as yet with our Dachsies,so can't give any advice,but i hope he gets better soon hun :luck:

Hi Annie. I hope you don't mind me butting in and I do hope Wilbur is feeling better than he was. A Dachshund not eating is a hard thing to get to grips with if he's anything like my gannets! Haven't any ideas on what it could be, my first guess would have been back as I had one being treated for a bad stomach, with all the tests, for a fortnight before it was realised she did have a bad back! My old mongrel is very partial to finely grated parmesan cheese sprinkled on her food when she's not got much of an appetite, works most times. What I did want to ask you was concerning Wilbur and his Laforas. I'm 99% certain that one of my Mini Wires has got it. I've never had her diagnosed but she is showing all the classic symptoms which have been coming on gradually over the last few years, she was 9 last month. I was very interested to read what you said concerning Chappie being good for these dogs. Would it be alright for me to email you about Laforas as you seem to be very knowledgeable about it. Regards, Karen

Hi Karen, of course I'm happy to pass on what I know about Lafora's ... you have a pm

Annie