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Seriously worried - dog lost his appetite + more

I changed my 9 yr old beagle's food from  hills c/d prescription, to Wellness core reduced fat. I thought this was good quality so it would suit him.

However, now all day he licks and bites/itches his pause. What in wellness could cause allergies.

Worse, now he wont eat ANY dry food. Tried giving him hills c/d again, but he won't eat it. After two days of not eating (besides denta stix and some veggies), I went and bought turkey and lamb stew, canned from wellness core.

he is eating that, but wont touch dry food after 9 years of eating it. I mixed the can food with rice, because our vet advised his stool needs to be soft to prevent strain on his hernia.

So is it the food, or fact that he is on a 2nd round of meds for anal gland infection which has had 0% improvement,
Or pills for his enlarged prostate that are making him loose appetite?

I'm concerned over the hernia but the vet says 'we will wait and see". he's old fashioned, I think he NEVER recommends surgery. This is my 2nd vet I heard good reviews of because he is cheaper. BUT not really because I've been back 4 times for the same problem!!!

My gut is telling my I should get him neutered and repair the hernia at the same time. But my vet will say no, what should I do????? The enlarged prostate makes him constantly leak blood from his penis all day. And the vet diagnosed it based on appearance, no bloodwork or xray.

What should I do? Keep feeding can food with rice and continue drugging him??! I'm only 22 with no income, but I'd sell stuff, whatever to help my dog!
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441382 tn?1452810569
I agree with Karla, you need a different vet, not a cheaper vet.  

Hills C/D prescription food is just that - a prescription!  Vets don't give it out willy nilly as a dog food, there's a reason they put dogs on it.  By taking him off the C/D and putting him on the Wellness, it seems to have exacerbated allergies that he has since you said that now he is chewing at his paws.  Which ingredients cause food allergies is one of the most difficult things to diagnose, so it's almost impossible to say which ingredient it is in the Wellness that's causing the allergies.  The most important thing is that when he was eating the C/D, he didn't have the biting/itching behaviors, so something in that food was helping him.  Maybe try soaking the C/D in hot water to soften it and then mush it up with a little bit of canned C/D to make it more appetizing?

If he has tooth abcess issues, then getting that taken care of should be first and foremost what is done, since eating dry food is difficult for him with a bad tooth.  In a nine year old dog, anesthesia shouldn't be entered into lightly, so perhaps look for a vet who is willing to do pre-surgical bloodwork and who then would do the hernia repair and dental work all on the same day so he'd only have to be anesthetized once.

In any case, I would look for a different vet.  Maybe they can be of more help to you than your current vet.  Trying not to do surgery is one thing, but if it's necessary, sometimes there's just no way to avoid it without jeopardizing the welfare of the dog.
Helpful - 0
462827 tn?1333168952
Amber,
The not eating is probably the Abcessed tooth from an earlier post...He probably can only eat soft food because it hurts too bad....Was the tooth issue ever addressed by your Vet? That tooth should have been pulled, immediately! Abcessed teeth are never left in!

From all your other posts, it sounds as if you need a New Vet....Not a cheaper one, but a new one!

The Vet your using now doesn't seem to want to address all of your dog's issues...(That seem to be multiplying)!

I personally, would start with the teeth issue (That can go from bad to worse), and then address all his other issues one at a time....

It appears to me that your dog is getting worse and worse & your going to hit a point of no return.....You Vet seems uninterested & clearly is not going to get the problems solved...You need to move on, quickly...I wish you well & hope it works out....Keep feeding the canned food, it's healthier anyway!   Karla
Helpful - 0
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