[Antiant]

Hello, my dog has been refusing to eat for 3 days now, when We put food in front of his face he turns his head away from it or leaves. We had him taken to the vet yesterday because he was refusing to eat. The vet didn't really tell us what was wrong with him, they said that his blood is clean, and that he lost 10 pounds as of yesterday. They gave us antibiotics, wet food, and had injected him with something to help with his sickness. They also suggested that he might have cancer. This all started on Monday with throwing up and diarrhea, after Monday he refused to eat but he will drink water. We are considering force feeding him but we're not sure how to do that. We give him homemade wet food. Can anyone help us?

 

[JoanneF]

Rather than force feed him which would be distressing for him and might make him even more reluctant to eat, can you try sausage, tuna, or anything regardless of how unhealthy in the short term? Or your vet ought to be able to give you an appetite stimulant.

How old is he?

 

[Antiant]

Rather than force feed him which would be distressing for him and might make him even more reluctant to eat, can you try sausage, tuna, or anything regardless of how unhealthy in the short term? Or your vet ought to be able to give you an appetite stimulant.

How old is he?

He is 9 years old, we haven't tried sausage or tuna but we'll give it a go. According do my brother they did give him an appetite stimulant.

 

[JoanneF]

Sorry, I should have asked his breed too - trying to gauge whether he is an 'old' dog or not.

 

[Antiant]

Sorry, I should have asked his breed too - trying to gauge whether he is an 'old' dog or not.

American Bulldog Rottweiler mix

 

[JoanneF]

I know little about American Bulldogs but Rotties do seem to be at risk from cancers. I do hope that isn't the case.

 

[Antiant]

Did the vet check teeth right at the back?

I'm not sure, my brother was the one that took him there and he didn't go into the room where they examined him. But either they did or there was nothing wrong or they forgot to. What would the back teeth say about his health?

 

[M.puetz]

have you consider a multivitamin?

 

[Antiant]

Good news, he's started to eat again and is no longer throwing up all the food he eats. It turns out he has slight cancer and that's what was causing the illness and weight loss to happen. It seems like he is recovering from it though.

 

[JoanneF]

What is a ”slight” cancer? And is he being treated?

 

[DogFaming]

Cancer needs to be treated or it will become far more serious. If there is anything you can do surgery wise or anything else, do it asap.

 

[doctorlesley]

Hello, my dog has been refusing to eat for 3 days now, when We put food in front of his face he turns his head away from it or leaves. We had him taken to the vet yesterday because he was refusing to eat. The vet didn't really tell us what was wrong with him, they said that his blood is clean, and that he lost 10 pounds as of yesterday. They gave us antibiotics, wet food, and had injected him with something to help with his sickness. They also suggested that he might have cancer. This all started on Monday with throwing up and diarrhea, after Monday he refused to eat but he will drink water. We are considering force feeding him but we're not sure how to do that. We give him homemade wet food. Can anyone help us?

Did your vet check a lipase level to look for pancreatitis? I don't know what is wrong with your dog but several years ago, my boxer had similar symptoms and it was from this. Good luck and I am sorry that your dog is sick

 

[Antiant]

What is a ”slight” cancer? And is he being treated?

Slight as in it's in its early stages or it was, It seems to be going away now. He's a lot more active now and is willing to eat a bowl of food three times a day. We're giving him wet food and dry food instead of homemade food at the moment. He's also gotten back into begging for table scraps again which he wasn't doing a week ago while he was very sick.

 

[JoanneF]

I'm glad he is getting better but cancer doesn't just go away without treatment - hopefully it was just a misunderstanding and that is not what he had.

 

[Laco]

If the cancer you are alluding to, is indeed present and is, as you said, in its early stages, you should be getting him to an Oncologist, since early stage cancer, can often be treated successfully. It will not go away on its own, so, getting him to the right specialist will give you valuable information, regarding his prognosis.

 

[Antiant]

If the cancer you are alluding to, is indeed present and is, as you said, in its early stages, you should be getting him to an Oncologist, since early stage cancer, can often be treated successfully. It will not go away on its own, so, getting him to the right specialist will give you valuable information, regarding his prognosis.

I talked with my parents about it, they're considering having him taken to one. My father is a bit cautious about it though, when we took to him to the vet when he was throwing up and not eating they had charged him $600.