Need help again :( Not eating food.

[Holly Doodle]

I posted this on the main page but thought I'd post it here too....Holly seems to have lost interest in her food. I know that this can be a
normal thing for dogs, but her #1 motivation in life, her reason for
getting up in the morning, going on walks, doing ANYTHING is food! She
has always been extremely food motivated. She usually inhales her food so fast that we have trained her to stop on command, just to slow her down.
      It started last week when I noticed she was eating significantly slower
than usual. At first I was very happy, because like I said she inhales
her food. I thought maybe she had just learned to slow down. This lasted
for 2-3 days. Then Friday afternoon, I set down her food bowl and
released her to start eating. She walked over to the bowl, smelled it,
and walked away! I was in shock! My DH and I examined her mouth for
sores or a loose tooth and found nothing. We checked the bag which
luckily was still in the garage, to make sure the food wasn't expired.
She was otherwise acting normal.
      I was leaving for Las Vegas that night so my husband had her over the weekend. He said the only way
he could get her to eat was by adding a little peanut butter to her
food. Now this wouldn't normally be that big of a deal, but she has
serious food intolerance and/or food allergies and gets terrible bouts
of diarrhea and vomiting when she eats anything out of the ordinary. We
don't give her any treats, we use her food instead.  She's also been on a
digestive enzyme for going on 2 months which we give her daily. We
tried to wean her off of it after switching to a grain free food with
few ingredients (TOTW), but she immediately got sick so we've kept her
on the enzyme.

I am just wondering if anyone else has had a dog go from being extremely food motivated to not wanting to eat. I can't
figure her out! We have an appointment for shots on Friday so I'm going
to talk it over with the vet and probably switch foods again (it will be
the 6th time in 7 months or so), and hope we can find a food that she
tolerates and likes. She's been on this food for approximately 2 months
also. Thanks in advance for any advice or ideas!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

When a dog who has always been interested in eating suddenly stops being interested in food or shows a marked absence of appetite, it can be a symptom of illness and not really related to whether or not the dog likes a particular food. I do not want to alarm you, but there are certain circumstances under which enticing a dog to eat when she doesn't want to can make matters worse, i.e. in cases of bloat or obstruction. So the general rule of thumb is that you should always trust a dog who is normally a good eater when she tells you she isn't hungry.
I am sure you will get all kinds of advice about other brands of food and toppings, etc., especially in the main forum, lol, which I will probably not look at, lest I see someone telling you that you should try Beneful. Since Holly will be going to the vet in a few days, i would continue to monitor her eating & digestive issues carefully. Make sure she's drinking sufficient water, and if she shows any signs of illness, see if you can't get her appt. moved up. A normal healthy dog will not starve herself, and when they get hungry enough, even the pickiest dog will eat what's available. Once we know that there is nothing physically wrong with her, we can start looking at some other food options for Holly if you want.

[Holly Doodle]

Thanks Karen, I appreciate your response. I may have mislead you a bit, she is still eating, but only when we give her the peanut butter with her food. If we don't, she doesn't want it. I at first thought it was a loss of appetite, but when she smells the peanut butter she seems interested in eating. I truly hope it's not a medical issue but you are definitely right about the possibility. I feel like maybe she's bored with the food, but I don't know why this would suddenly happen, maybe she enjoys changing foods so frequently :). We will keep a close eye on her and keep you posted. Thank you!

[Erin]

Hershey has never been a "food-inhaler" but goes through some weeks, just kind of "meh" about food.
I have little organic peanut butter dog cookies (they are about the size of a teaspoon). When she starts looking like she not eating when i put her food down, I crumble one in and she totally goes for it. I don't see much wrong with it, other than she has me trained to make her food more "interesting" when she's in the mood. :oP

That being said, I would DEFINITELY let you vet know, and keep track of how long this has been going...

Sometimes when Hershey doesn't eat she ends up throwing up bile... And then she seems to want to eat... weird.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The eating when peanut butter is added is what I mean by enticing her to eat. I personally feel it's better not to do that, unless there is some medical reason that it's imperative to get the dog to eat within particular time frame. A dog could be feeling ill and have no desire to eat, but if you add something they can't resist to the food, they may be tempted to do something their body is telling them not to do.
Jack gets bored with his food easily; I don't worry about it, because he's always been a picky eater, I know he is far from underweight, and he always ends up eating when he gets hungry enough. I do add fresh foods to his dinner several times a week because I believe the variety & additional nutrients are good for him. But if Jack seems uninterested in his food, that's normal bhavior for him, so it's not a cause for concern. If a dog who lives to eat suddenly refuses their food, that can be a sign that something else is wrong.
I really hope there isn't anything wrong and Holly is just bored with her food. I just wouldn't want to take the chance of advising you to do something that would add to the problem if there is one.
Please keep us posted.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Echoing Karen, just monitor her for the next few days. You might also want to try adding just a little water to her food. Don't go overboard with the PB or other toppings, you don't know if she is having something else going on.
I always go with my gut for my dogs. With Peri, if she doesn't eat, I get pretty worried (she is very food motivated). Taquito, however, goes through bouts of not eating. I try not to add anything out of the ordinary to his food when he does this (we usually add fruit or veggies at dinner only). However, if he goes longer than a day, I have to worry more with him because of his kidney issues. So, there is just not a clearcut answer since dogs are all different. I would explain these concerns to the vet. If Laci stops drinking water or if she throws up (or stops pooping or gets runny poos), that is cause for concern. Just wait it out and see how she does the rest of the week. Keep us posted!

[Holly Doodle]

Thanks everyone. Holly had another accident on the carpet last night, and she started licking her privates frantically two or three times. I'm thinking she may have a UTI, and for whatever reason that's causing her to not have an appetite. I got the vet appt moved up to tomorrow afternoon so hopefully he can help us figure this out. Otherwise she's still acting like her goofy self. We have stopped adding the PB to her food so she doesn't have to eat if she's not feeling well. Thanks again for the help!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I hope it is a UTI - better to deal with than the stomach issues/pickiness. Please keep us posted about how it goes today!

[Lauria Orr]

So glad to hear you got your appointment moved up. It sounds like she needs some blood work and UA for ruling out medical conditions. If it is a UTI, that should be easily rectified. Please keep us posted!

[Holly Doodle]

UPDATE!
So it turns out it is a UTI. The vet also did an x-ray to check for kidney stones, but everything looked good. He gave us an antibiotic and said her appetite should come back as she gets over this UTI. It actually has already gotten much better since yesterday, and the doggie daycare lady said she acted normal all day and ate her lunch just fine! Thanks for all of your support, I always feel so much better after reading everyone's responses :).

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm so glad you got a diagnosis and Holly is feeling better already! I hope she gets well very soon!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

That's great....what a relief!

[Lauria Orr]

Oh, thank goodness! I wish our dogs could talk to us in a language easier to understand! I am thrilled Holly is getting better and has no evidence of any other issues. Big relief! Thank you for the update.