Old dog wont eat, drink, or go outside

[Playthunder]

My dog Laddy Boxer and acuita (sorry never seen it spelled) is 10 years old he has his days where he wont eat til the end of the day but if i give him wet food with it he will scarf it down and he goes to the bathroom regularly. But today he hasnt drank any water no matter how fresh or cold i have made it, and hasnt touched his food that i put wet food into this morning and he watched me and just sniffed it and walked away. He also hasnt even tried to go outside once, ive tried taking him out but he even refused a walk, and i am getting a little scared. what should i do?

[ginger899]

oh, I meant to mention....when you syringe the fluids (he won't be used to taking drinks this way) do it a very small amount at a time, give him chance to swallow properly before syringing some more. If it all goes in whoosh! it's possible he could inhale some of the liquid. The best position for the syringe is the small gap in between the large back molar and the small "side teeth" and the fluids should go on his tongue there nicely.

[ginger899]

I hope he was ok. Like fabledeb said, they do get their little upsets and get over them ok, but it can take more out of them when they get very old. Sometimes  it can take them longer to bounce back even from something simple like a tummy upset.
Going without food for a day or two won't hurt him, but fluids are essential Get a needle-less syringe (maybe from a pharmacy -they might sell them, or from your vet) and give him water in which a little honey has dissolved. Honey will give him a little strength, needs almost no digesting, and will make plain water more interesting. Syringe down small amounts (maybe 2 or 3 syringe-fulls at a time, as each syringe only contains about 2 teaspoonfuls) every hour or so, keep his fluids up.

However he will need to go to the vet, as soon as possible. Complete bloodwork analysis and probably urine analysis will show up -most likely- if there are any problems that need treatment. Or if this is just a tummy upset.

I hope he is better soon.

[fabledeb]

hi there,
i know what its like to have an old dog get to this stage, i think you know he has to go to the vets,it maybe hes just having a bad day but at his age it could also be serious, no matter how scared you are of what the vet says you will know your doing the right thing.
best of luck, and ireally hope hes ok.
debbie