My dog won't eat much at all...

[curlydog415]

over the past month or so my dog has slowly had a hard time eatting and has lost interest in food.  we were feeding him canned dog food with a bit of boiled chicken breast.  he then stopped eatting the canned dog food and would only eat the chicken breast.  now he won't eat chicken breast and we have to find something that he has an appetite for and he will then eat "a little bit".  when he does eat he seems to like to be hand fed at times.  we also noticed that when he eats, the food often falls out of his mouth and he seems to chew funny, like he is over chewing.  he also has bad breath, which he has had for a long time.  we are hoping that it is just some bad teeth or an absess in his mouth.  we took him to the vet 2 days ago and she was unable to look in his mouth as he gets nervous at the vet office and will nip (he has always been that way).  the vet did a complete blood panel and listened to his heart and lungs and all was normal.  he is scheduled for a "dental" under anestesia.  does this sound like it could be a dental issue?  he has never had his teeth cleaned, etc.  would a complete blood panel/test normally show any other "issues" that could be causing this?  are these the symptoms of dental problems, pain, etc??

[lindapalm]

He never should have left the vets office without pain meds, I'd like to see them get 13 teeth pulled out without anything.  Good Luck, hope he recovers quickly.

[Margot49]

Sounds like a plan and he must have had one sore mouth!!!!  Oral infections can take such a toll of the body in general.  I would feed a little bit often as opposed to a lot at one time.
Hope today goes better and he continues to improve.  Glad you got the Tramadol.

[curlydog415]

for anyone who has been following what's been going on here is an update...  thanks again for all your thoughs and feedback!!!!!!! i will update more later! :

ok... i brought him back to the vet's office this morning. she gave him a 10 minute fluid treatment, a shot of an anti inflammatory medication, some tramadol pain pills i can crush up and some hill's critical care dog food that i can inject into his mouth with a big "syringe dropper". she said his teeth were "horrible" one of the worse that she has seen in a while. he also had abscesses that were pus filled. i will feed him today using the syringe dropper and hope that as he recovers and feels better that he will eat on his own again...

[Margot49]

13 teeth pulled?  Well, that is probably why he hasn't been eating and I would not worry about him eating for the next day or two. Just make sure he is drinking.  I'm surprised they didn't give any pain meds.  Years ago, they never gave pain meds but they are more widely given now.  Hopefully, he will sleep off the anesthetic and you will notice a difference in the next 48-72 hrs.  Poor guy.  I would give a soft diet, maybe add some soft cooked rice and maybe some uncultured yogurt or acidolophus to help the bacterial flora in the gut from the antibiotics.  Always did that for my kids and animals.
Never heard of the Vit E on the gums.  Interesting
Please keep us posted and fingers crossed this will do the trick.

[lindapalm]

I can't believe they didn't give your dog some pain meds.  Our cat had the rest of his teeth pulled out (10) four days ago, and he was really miserable for the first two days, you knew he was hurting.  The hard part was giving him the pain meds cause his mouth was so sore.  After two-three days, your dog should feel better than he has in a long time.  Try feeding canned food that you mixed up really good to get soft, our cat gagged until he got used to a new way of eating.  Also, I think it helps if you pile it up high so he doesn't have to work so hard to pick it up while his mouth is so sore.

[curlydog415]

thanks misfits4me.  here is more info that i just wrote on another board.  it has a bit more details...

i need some help - advice! not regarding my diabetic dog, but my other non diabetic dog who is a 13 year old dacshund. over the past month or so he has lost interest in food. he would barely eat for the last week and when he would he would over chew his food and it would end up on the floor instead of in his stomach for the most part. yesterday he only ate 2 tablespoons of canned dog food. even his favorite people food he will not show interest in. he use to be very food agressive. i took him to the vet last tuesday and they did a complete blood panel and listened to his heart and lungs (all which were normal). the vet could not look in his mouth as he is a biter (always has been) especially when he is nervous. we scheduled him for a dental which was today. he had 13 teeth pulled out and had a couple of abscesses. has anyone had anything similar happen to them with their dogs? if so, was it a dental problem and your dog started eatting again after getting it taken care of? he has gotten so skinny from not eatting (he always was a slender dog his whole life). over the past 4 months or so he has had occasional diarrhea as well, which in the beginning had some blood in it. we took him to the vet for that and they did a rectal exam and feces test both which were normal. he was given an antibiotic and some digestive enzymes. the blood has stopped but he still has diarrhea sometimes, or maybe just soft stool (not every time though). if this were something more serious then a dental problem (such as cancer) would something have been "suspicous" on the blood panel??? the blood panel he got was called an "IDEXX Total Health" blood test.  i could only talk to the nurse today when i picked him up because the vet was taking care of an emergency... he was sent home with liquid clindamyacin (antibiotic) and was given nothing for pain. the nurse said having the pressure (teeth) removed should relieve his pain. i tryed giving him some food about 1/2 hour ago and he just walked away. he is now hiding under the bed.