Bronx is off his food and losing weight - advice welcome

Hi all.

We have a pure bred Rotty named Bronx. He is 8 years old and is generally a healthy dog. (Saw the vet about 6 weeks ago for a check-up and all seemed fine.)

For about 8 days now Bronx has been off his food. He will eat a little if coaxed, instructed or hand-fed (!), but does so seemingly reluctantly.

Bronx appears to be having difficulty defecating, and he is also producing more saliva than usual. Several times in the past week he has had saliva hanging from his jowls, which is not usual for him.

The other notable symptom is that Bronx has gagged on a number of occasions, particularly after eating or drinking. This morning he coughed up a sizeable amount of saliva / sputum. However, he does appear to be drinking fairly normally.

Bronx is less lively than usual, is clearly under the weather, and I'm at a loss.

I intend to phone the vet on Monday if there is no improvement, but would welcome any thoughts which may help.

Thanks - from me and Bronx.

To be honest if he has not eaten for 8 days i would have phoned the vet days ago.

If it has gone on this long it sounds like its not going to cure itself.

Have you noticed if he has chewed or eaten something he shouldnt...i am thinking he could have a possible blockage.
Does he appear in any pain at all? What does his tum feel like ie soft and normal, or hard?

i actually advice the vet TODAY if he cannot go toilet, is gagging and not eating

Hmm when you say difficulty defecating what do you mean ? Is he constipated, straining to go and can't or is there very little if anything to produce if he isn't eating very much?
Is it possible he's swallowed something and it's causing a blockage? My OH had a leonberger who swallowed half a tennis ball that got stuck but it was acting like a valve opening and closing so it wasn't obvious there was an obstruction as half the time she was fine and the other half not.
I guess you've already checked the back of his mouth and throat for an obstruction, such as something caught across the roof of the mouth or stuck in his teeth etc.
Is your vet not open today or available for phone advice?

Yes, it sounds like a blockage. Call the vet. Don't give him a laxative. It could cause a big problem if it is a blockage. Tempting him with rich food is a mistake too.

Hello HoneysMummy. As you say, if Bronx hadn't eaten at all in 8 days, I too would have taken him to the vets sooner. He has eaten but doesn't seem to want or enjoy his food in the way he does normally.

To the best of my knowledge, he hasn't chewed or eaten anything he shouldn't. He doesn't appear to be in pain - just out of sorts, not as lively as usual.

Hi Trouble.

Normally Bronx crouches, deposits and moves off. He is still defecating but he has to crouch for a long time (somewhere between 20-40 seconds) before his feces is deposited. I have checked - it is soft and there are no signs of blood.

We have also checked his mouth, throat, gums - all seems healthy.

His vet provides emergency cover only at the weekend. As Bronx is able to run, doesn't appear to be in pain, is eating something and drinking, I'm reluctant to class this as an emergency.

Yes sorry have just reread it and saw you said he was eating a bit.
I would try and starve him for 24 hours and see what happens....if he has a blockage you could just be adding to it!
And as trouble said have you had a good look in his mouth??

I would keep a very close eye on him. You can wait till mon if he seems ok....but be prepared for an emergency vet visit if things go downhill.
If he also has a drynose, listless eyes and pale gums i would go to vet immediatly....but its hard to say without seeing him x

Thanks Labman. I have thought about the rich food approach - but not done it. Whilst we don't normally give him treats, Bronx does like the last mouthful when my husband eats a custard tart. 2 nights ago, as soon as my husband sat down with one, Bronx was there, waiting for his usual titbit. So I know he hasn't lost his appetite completely! It's just so disstressing that he doesn't want to eat when he normally looks forward to mealtimes.

Yep, I tried starving him. Gave him breakfast Wednesday morning and nothing until dinner on Thursday. He ate a lot more of his food Thursday evenining than he had in the past few days, but come Friday morning - Bronx didn't want to know.

If his appetite is fine but he's reluctant to eat it does point to mouth pain, have you checked his teeth to make sure he hasn't broken one on a bone. Is he fed kibble ? making it moist with warm water and leaving to soak may help as he wont need to chew.