posts

so now i am going to try to post something every morning after i do my emails, cause that way i might even get something on here..... i have permission to use some email questions as posts, so here is the first one!

Hi Pam;

Hope this finds you well ! Our little Floofer is off her food again - sigh...

She's chowing down on a shell right now and her kibble is in the bowl untouched! I started noticing changes while she was on her medication. At the same time, she was loosing teeth - one day we found 4 teeth. So, I gave her a couple of acidopholis capsules in case it was the medication. As for the teeth - I think we've found about 8 teeth -so I think she's almost done her baby teeth. During all of this she threw up a few times - I figured it's teething and/or medication. We've had about one week to see if things would go back to normal. One day I forgot to lift her bowl. She'll go over and nibble a few pieces and maybe finish it all by 9PM. If I lift the bowl she's not any more interested at the next meal time. I put Salmon on her food - great the first time - no interest the second time. She won't take the kibble as training treats anymore also. She used to love it! She loves her chew treats and she's still crazy for pepperoni. I gave her a raw chunk of beef and one chicken wing so far - she loved it. I know one other dog on the island - M. - (names removed to protect the innocent!) who loved Riplee's then went off it - and she's a grazer (doesn't wolf down her food). She's going to give me a sample of M's kibble to try.

Is this a "Poodley" thing, maybe? Is it OK for her to graze - i.e. is that possibly a natural tendency?

Time to change her food again?

Raw food time?

and the answer was...

My first thought is that she is changing her molars, and chewing hard food hurts, plus teething dogs have the same problems as teething humans- she probably feels really shitty, too, especially if she is growing in a bunch of new teeth at once. You could certainly try a different food, she may eat it out of novelty, or not, who knows? Don’t rush things- she won’t starve. I don’t like grazing dogs… I think M mat be using her food as a power trip over her Mom, they were in a class when M was little and she’s opinionated wee thing! Keela basically sounds like she is just not hungry. Is she still growing like crazy? If her growth has slowed she may simply not need as much as she did. Just stream of consciousness ideas…

and the final result? little puppy did have a sore mouth... softening her food helped her eat better, and lots of cold chew toys helped her mouth feel better, and in a week or so she was back to normal.

and the moral of the story? not everything is behavioural! dogs do not show pain the way we do, and if your dog has a problem, he may hide it from you. in this case, refusing to eat was a sign that Keela was in pain, luckily a normal pain, which ran its course and she was fine. lethargy, refusal to eat, grumpiness, changes in gait, not wanting to exercise or play, and many more subtle things may be signs that your dog is in pain, and a vet check is always a good idea.