Hello (Loss of Appetite)

Hi, Hello to everyone, I have just found this site through Google whilst trying to find a solution to my Husky's problem. I must compliment the owners and moderators on an exemplary site, well run and veerry friendly....take a bow.
My wife and I are concerned over our 9 month old female Husky Zeta, she has just emerged from her first season before Xmas and seems to have lost her appetite altogether. Foods that she would normally have WOLFED such as chicken, fish, and meat, she just walks away from now. The Vet reckons that it could be down to the season thing, and it is common in all dogs (female that is). Yesterday on our daily walk she pooped and it was really hard, more like stone, and I'm wondering if this could be her problem (constipation). We gave her some chocolate last night hoping it would act as a laxative, so I hope we've done right. We will be watching for results. If some of your members have experienced this behaviour before in their dogs maybe they have a working solution, and we would appreciate any input. Thank you in advance to all, blooboy.

welcome to dogsey,

if you post this in dog health section you will probably get more replies, should just say though that chocolate can be dangerous to dogs so you souldnt really give it...
try adding some bran to her food to deal with the constipation...

hope she is better soon.

Chocolate is poisonous for dogs...

Hi Dee welcome to Dogsey. Your post has been moved to the health section where it should get more replies.

You say she had a season before Christmas so we are talking how many weeks from the start of the season?
Being in season and the change in hormone levels can affect the appetite but I am a bit surprised this length of time after a season.

Is everything else OK, is she bright and energetic, is she drinking more, any unusual behaviour , any sign of a discharge. I guess the vet has checked all these things

Depending on how long ago her season was she could be starting a false pregnancy, not a real problem.The thing to watch out for is any sign of illness/drinking more which could be an indication of the womb infection Pyometra and that is serious but not very common in such a young bitch .

As the others have said, chocolate can make dogs very ill, it contains a substance called theobromine which dogs can't tolerate.

You don't say how long she hasn't been eating. If she isn't eating it may be difficult to help the constipation . What do you feed and how often. If she is eating a little drop of vegetable oil added to her meal may help with the constipation, also fibre in the form of carrots and greens.

I would watch her closely and if she continues not to eat for more than a few days with no other symptoms I would want the vet to carry out further investigations in the form of blood tests.

Hi, thank you all for the instant replies, it's very reassuring to know there are genuine people out there.
Firstly, the chocolate was given as a hopeful laxative as Zeta would not eat anything at all, I've checked for new pooh this morning and it seems ok.
She had her first season in mid November we reckon, and then she was eating ok. She has never been really keen on dry food, regardless of brand, Pedigree, Winalot, etc. and we have given her tinned sardines, cooked chicken, cooked mince steak, sausages, to compensate. She now won't even eat these. I must add that she will eat anything that my wife has on her plate, be it pizza, pork, bacon, tomatoes etc. Herein probably lies the problem, she thinks she is human, this dog can open our back door and just sally on in. We think it's very smart of her, but now realise that it could be having repercussions.
She hasn't been eating full meals for three weeks now, though we have beeen giving her anything that she will eat just to be sure she gets something. Water intake would be normal.
She would be lying around most of the time, until Zorro comes on the scene (my daughter's male husky at 1 year old), then all hell breaks loose, time to batten down the hatches. We walk them together every day, then let them run loose for about 10 minutes, what an unbelievable sight. We even tried feeding them together without much success.
Thank you for the info regarding chocolate, it's now off the menu forever.....what is the story on ice cream incidentally, these dogs would literally take it out of your mouth. I know dairy products are off limits, but maybe as a wee treat?
Vet has said he's confident that it's all to do with the first season, and has reminded me that these dogs survive in extreme sub-zero temps, and as such should not be molly-coddled, kept indoors or humanized. We are married 35 years now and have always had a dog, and it always had the run of the house, fed titbits and fussed over. I guess we might be killing with kindness.
Wife has just moved Zeta's wee bed out into her new doghouse and we have resolved to keep her out there. Zeta seems brighter this afternoon so we'll continue to watch her, and will keep you all posted. Again, thank you for your efforts, blooboy.

Hi Dee OK it is possible that it could be a false pregnancy but without other symptoms (nesting/milk in teats) I think that unlikely. The problem could have begun with the change of hormones then was exacerbated by trying to persuade her to eat .

I am not sure I agree with some of your vets comments unless you have a working dog, most of us have dogs for companionship.

Now to the food issue, I would guess from what you say that the problem is too many treats. Dogs really don't need things like ice cream and some of the foods you mention are full of salt so another big no there .

I think for the sake of your puppies health you need to be sensible about this if you want her to have a long and healthy life.

So this is what I would do. At 9 months she should be on 2 meals a day. Pick a good food mixer and meat or complete, follow the manufacturers instructions as to daily quantity and divide that by 2 for the 2 meals a day.
Put the food down for twenty minutes and if it isn't eaten remove it and feed nothing and I mean nothing until the next meal is due.
I am sure you will find your dog will start to eat and the constipation will disappear too. Once she has started eating you can introduce treat like dried fish for dogs and carrots, and of course things to chew like good quality chew toys.

It really is possible to kill a dog with kindness .

Thank you for your advice Minihaha, have been watching Zeta carefully. She has eaten nothing other than a morsel this last 2+ days. Even coaxing her with Zorro being there doesn't work, she just sniffs at the food and walks away into her box to lie down. Somebody mentioned a false pregnancy and 'Nesting', well she has really taken to one of her toys, a squeaky doll, and she must have it in her box at all times. We've tried lifting the food after some time and setting it down again later, but to no avail. We have cooked chicken, cooked meat, sardines in tomato sauce/sun flower oil, minced steak, with or without gravy, all turned down.
Wife is really concerned that we're going to lose her.
She still loves her walk and her 10 minutes of freedom, I can't think where she is getting her energy from.
If she doesn't eat tonight or tomorrow, I'll take her back to the vet. Thank you all in advance, I'll keep you informed, Dee.

Hi Dee possession of a toy as I said in post no 4 could indicate a false pregnancy, you can also test the teats for milk, if there is milk this too can indication a false pregnancy, they are very common. It could also account for the loss of appetite over a couple of days but not for a prolonged period .

Is Zeta still peeing and pooing ok and well in other respects?

If you are sure Zeta is not getting food of any kind anywhere else , no ice cream or tip bits, and she won't eat it does need further investigation from a vet. There are a number of conditions that could account for it but that is best left to a vet to investigate.

Hi, Zeta has become very possessive of one toy in particular just recently, and spends a lot of time in her bed with it. Wife and I will check teats for milk, but would milk be seen in a dog so young? Motions are ok, although pooh is scarse, probably due to not eating. Definately no titbits or treats since we discovered that chocolate was not good.
This evening she turned away from her food, so we tried sardines in tomato sauce, just to get her to eat something, had one sniff and turned away.
We were having Irish stew ourselves for dinner, and Zeta opened the door, come in and plonked herself practically on top of me, I think she was starving. So when I finished I cooled some stew and tried her with it, she ate it and I gave her some more. She had a good feed but not too much, and we were relieved to see it. Tonight she seems to be back to her usual destructive self, a good sign, so we will be watching her.
We hope that she is coming out of whatever tunnel she was in, time will tell.
Thank you again, and I'll keep you updated, Dee.

Hi, Sounds like Zeta has you well trained, lol. Irish stew instead of dog food, hard choice

I may be wrong in the food department but i remember reading that a dog WILL NOT starve themselves and it may take 3 or 4 days before they eat what you offer but they will eat! I had a dog (i think most people have) that got accustomed to having chicken and rice or eggs etc because he was ill, when i put him back on dog food, you would think i had done the cruellest thing possible. It did take 4 days but eventually he did eat when he realised i wasn't giving in.

However, i hasten to add if there is other symptoms then i would always check with a vet - as has been advised, i believe.

Hope all goes well and Zeta is recovered soon.