Older dog not eating

[yibbet]

I am very worried about our 14 yrs old Blue Tick hound and Black Lab Mix. He is not eating. I can not get him to eat anything, Things I have tryed. Moist dog food, hambuger & rice, hot dogs ( he did eat a couple but now nothing), Ground turkey I even went to mcdonalds and got him a cheese buger and nothing. I know his teeth are bad but i am afraid to put him under to have them taken care of b/c i dont think he will wake up. I also feel that it is my fault b/c six weeks ago I introduced a husky mix 8 week old puppy to the house. I am at my wits end and seeing that it is sunday the vets office is closed. He did eat 4 slices of turkey for me this morning and he is drinking but I am afraid any help would be greatly appreciated. I am taking him to the vet first thing in the morning but what else can i do until then.

Please help me.

[lindapalm]

I agree with you, when they're old you have to keep trying to get them interested in eating by variation.  I put soup or gravy on our 15 yr olds food hoping it will help, sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.  My husband says to leave it there and when she gets hungry she'll eat, but at 15 I don't think she should go too long without eating.  I'm going to buy chicken and cottage cheese this week and see how that goes.  Gook luck with your old girl.

[Anniefromedh]

My 16 year old poodle has gone through phases of not eating.  Then I change the diet and she eats.  She kept being finicky with each new thing I tried (ground turkey, ground beef, shredded turkey slices etc etc) then we found liverwurst and she's eaten that non stop for months.  Then she just had another scary spell in the 100 degree heat (although our house has ac) so may not have anything to do with it.  Anyway fed her minced turkey breast last night after 48 hours of absolutely nothing to eat.  She devoured it.  This morning I fed her turkey deli slices shredded into tiny bites...devoured that.  Then minced beef slice deli style....devoured.  Soooo...all that to say.  They get finicky and would almost rather die than eat the same old thing.  Trust me.  My 98 year old grandma was the same way.  When my sister had her it was "she never eats. will not eat"  But I gave her something new and a whole variety of fun and interesting food...voila!  She ate!  So the key might just be.  Mix it up a little and make life interesting for your old dog (or grandma!)

[Jaybay]

Jim, I'm really sorry but your dog is very ill.  I would guess one or more of his organs is beginning to shut down, but I'm no vet and I could certainly be wrong.  Your golden's symptoms are just too familiar to me and the outcome was never good when they appeared in my dogs.  It's time to find out for certain what is happening.  Please post back and let us know what the vet discovers.

[Sandra_G]

Please take your dog to a Vet. This could be one of a host of problems & no-one can tell you but a Vet. My heart goes out to you & your Golden. I hope he gets better. Keep us posted here.

[Jim59967]

I have a male golden retriever, he is 13-1/2 years old and I'm extremely worried.
My dog hasn't been eating properly for the past few weeks, he refuses to eat his  normalNormal saline flush food so we've been cooking him rice/eggs/meat/liver etc. Then after a while he doesn't eat himself unless we feed him by handsHand or foot spasms
Hand tremor..and now he doesn't eat at all.  Though he does eat some type of snacks. Now, he doesn't seem to have the energy to get up. He would try to get up but his legs seems to be weak or something. I tried helping him up and everything but I don't know what is wrong. Just now, he got up to drink some water but I noticed that he was sort of limping. I'm really worried and I don't know what to do. Please help me figure out what could be the problem and why is he sick. Is he depressed? Bored of food? Thank you so much for your time.

[yibbet]

Thank you for your concern. We did end up having to put Roscoe down on Tuesday. After we got the blood results back and x-rays were taken it was really bad news. He had issues with his liver, kidneys, heart (very small), vessels enlarged trying to pump blood, bladder enlaged (he as no longer able to pee a blockage of some sort). There were just too many problems and to be honest he was really really tired. He went peacefully in my arms and we miss him dearly this is the second one we have had to put down in 16 months. And yes it is also the hardest thing I have ever had to do. But I remember all the good times we have had and just what they brought to our lives and I would not miss that for the world even if we only have them for a short time.
Thanks so much
yibbet

[luckydzack1]

I had a red doberman that slowly lost weight & stopped eating. He (Max) was our baby. The last thing that I found that he would eat was lamb & rice. I went to the store & got lamb & cooked it up for him. Mixed it with the cooked rice. He eventually stopped eating that too.
One day we came home & he had diarea all over the carpet, it was blood red. He felt bad so he just went & hid. Well you can't give a dog **** when he has the diarea & your not home. That night I cooked up the lamb & rice & he wouldn't eat it. The vet was just down the street so I rushed him in there. He wasn't acting sick just wouldn't seem to eat. Well they did all the needed tests & it came back that his liver was diseased at it was the size of a pea.So unfortunately we had to put him down that night. It broke our hearts so much that we even missed the next days work.
It is an awful thing to have to do but an animal can not tell you if he is sick. But we figured if he wasn't eating & his liver was the size of a pea he must be in pain. We didn't want him to suffer anymore. It would have been selfish to keep him alive. It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. We had him cremated & he now sits on our bedroom dresser with his collar & his paw print in clay & pic's of him.
I am thinking of you as you go through this awful time. I am just crying thinking of it. It has been over 7 years now & I still cry when I think of him.
Well god bless you in your time of need.
luckydzack1

[peekawho]

I'm so sorry to hear all this.  Its not much consolation, but having a dog live to the age of 14 shows how well you two have cared for him.  

I hope its something that is easily taken care of, and not bad news.  I think you've done fine by Roscoe.  Some things are unavoidable.

Many good thoughts from me for tomorrow.

[yibbet]

Thank you for your comments. I should have taken him in a long time ago. I have feared that he may have some form of  cancer he has many lump on him that not only can you feel but you can also see them. But with his age I opted to let him live out his life. This is my husband's dog so I have to leave the decission up to him and the last thing he wants to hear is the C word. I lost my best friend a year ago Janurary to bone cancer so I know how hard it is to have to put them down. Besides Roscoe's teeth his stools have been really odd for months and I should have instisted on taking him to the vet then but once again i left it up to my husband. He had roscoe before we were together and this is his best friend. I guess I just feel guilty. I should have just done what "I" thought was best months ago. He does not seem to be in any pain tho. And yes he ate turkey today but he didnt eat anything yesterday and then Friday my husband got him to eat five hot dogs. I just dont get it. And trust me when I say Roscoe looks horrible. If the HSPCA saw him they would think that we were starving him. The vets office cant not come soon enough for me.
Thanks

[peekawho]

I'm glad to hear you are going to the vet in the morning.  It sounds reasonable, if he did eat something (the turkey) today, and drank some.  

An elderly dog may have many reasons for this to happen, and a vet is the best source of information for you, after he sees your dog.

I don't think the new puppy has anything to do with what's happening.  Some dogs may be put off for a day or two when a new puppy comes into the pack, but after 6 weeks, things should be settling down.

However, that would be the best explaination for your dog, so I'll be hoping that that's all it is.

Good luck, keep us informed.