How long can a dog go without eating?
Discussion
Hi all,my 11 year old akita is pretty poorly,he has some sort of lung infection/respirotory problem,which results in having the most awful violent retching episodes and he has a very congested sounding chest,the meds he is on are Enrox tablets which are for respirotory infections,Antepsin,metacam,and once weekly dose of Milbex to treat for possible lungworm,my worry is that he is not eating,all he has had since weds is a handful of charcoal biscuits and some syringes full of liquified chicken/scrambled egg.he is drinking,so my question is really how long can he go on not eating before other problems arise? I am loth to drag him back to the vets as he is getting SO stressed being there .Thanks.
Hi so sorry too hear he is still not well 
.
If he is not eating you must stop the Metacam as it should never be given on an empty stomach.
They can go without food for several days if they have to but obviously this is not ideal.
Try feeding very little and very often. A few mouthfuls 10x a day, for example, will get him by.
Your vets will probably sell a high calorie soft food that can be watered down if necessary such as a/d or recovery (they'll know these names)
True anorexic patients benefit from iv fluids but this may be a problem if if hates the vets as he'd have to stay there.
Basically offer whatever you think he'll eat at the mo (within reason) sponge cake if you have to! (as long as he doesn't have allergies etc)
I really hope that helps a bit fingers crossed he feels better soon. I assume they don't know what's going on yet, have they considered referring him yet?
.If he is not eating you must stop the Metacam as it should never be given on an empty stomach.
They can go without food for several days if they have to but obviously this is not ideal.
Try feeding very little and very often. A few mouthfuls 10x a day, for example, will get him by.
Your vets will probably sell a high calorie soft food that can be watered down if necessary such as a/d or recovery (they'll know these names)
True anorexic patients benefit from iv fluids but this may be a problem if if hates the vets as he'd have to stay there.
Basically offer whatever you think he'll eat at the mo (within reason) sponge cake if you have to! (as long as he doesn't have allergies etc)
I really hope that helps a bit fingers crossed he feels better soon. I assume they don't know what's going on yet, have they considered referring him yet?
Thanks for the replies,he is definatly brighter than he was but because he is not eating apart from the small amount of liquid food he has taken he has not beeb to the loo(weeing ok)Bex thanks for the reply when you say metacam cannot be given on an emty stomach we have been giving him the liquidised food and then the metacam maybe half an hour later as I think this is helping have a restful night,the thing is I am pretty sure he wants to eat but with the retching and all the fluid he has on his chest /lungs he probably finds this uncomfortable as we do when we have this kind of thing,off out now to get some lambs liver and mulch it up for him,Thanks Bill& Zak.
Will he eat a little liver? The smell could entice him (A few people have used baked liver for dogs who don't eat with a fair bit of success).
Has the vet actually diagnosed anything? Have they checked his cavities for fluid build up? Has he had an X-Ray to check for a blockage in the stomach/intestines?
Metacam in my experience makes a dog feel worse, there are alternatives - don't know if previcox would be sufficient.
Has the vet actually diagnosed anything? Have they checked his cavities for fluid build up? Has he had an X-Ray to check for a blockage in the stomach/intestines?
Metacam in my experience makes a dog feel worse, there are alternatives - don't know if previcox would be sufficient.
Hi all,I have just got some steak mince and lambs liver and will put it in the liquidiser for later he has allready had a small amount of liquid food this morning and I want to give it to him little and often.He has got such a lot of mucus on his chest and in his throat I am almost 100% sure this is what is preventing him from wanting to eat,The vet rang this morning and has been having another look at the xrays and she cant see anything to cause this if we can get rid of this muck I am pretty sure he will feel a lot better,as for using the metacam I really dont think he could have got much worse.Bill&Zak.
Good stuff. Can you get hold of lights/kidney or even heart? Lamb heart your butcher would have. Just thinking of a little bit of variety for him - and also (I am sure you know but belts and braces is best IMHO) don't give too much not least because it can be too rich (if your dog is used to kibble) for him.
Hi All,Zak is still not eating,just a little tuna yesterday,spoke to the vet yesterday and she said if he does not start to eat soon he will have to go back in to be fed intravenously,which is out of the question as because of this illness he is getting hyper stressed at the vets and I feel this would have a massive negative effect.Its not that he cant eat,he is drinking ok,he wants to eat but seems reluctant to do so as when he swallows I think his throat gets filled with mucus and he starts to retch,the vet said she has had another look at the xrays and their are no blockages or anything more sinister showing up,I am going to start feeding him hourly using the syringe its the only way I can think of to start getting his strength back.On the upside he is much brighter and walking around and he had a little bark at a dog on the other side of the fence yesterday.Just of out to get some chicken soup for him,wish us luck.Bill&Zak.
I don't mean to be difficult at such a stressful time for you but I did suggest hourly feeding a couple days ago, how often have you been trying to feed him?
Also did you look into doing coupage on him?
Good luck with the feeding.
They could sedate him for the iv fluids if they felt it was appropriate. If he was ok for a ga then they could fit an oesophagostomy tube which would make syringe feeding him much much easier. A much under used tool in these situations but a potential life saver.
So there are many options it just depends on how far you want to go and what your vet thinks.
Continued positive thoughts for his speedy recovery. All the best to you both.
Also did you look into doing coupage on him?
Good luck with the feeding.
They could sedate him for the iv fluids if they felt it was appropriate. If he was ok for a ga then they could fit an oesophagostomy tube which would make syringe feeding him much much easier. A much under used tool in these situations but a potential life saver.
So there are many options it just depends on how far you want to go and what your vet thinks.
Continued positive thoughts for his speedy recovery. All the best to you both.
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