Hi,
Just wondered if anyone can help. Millie (lab, 9 months old) has been refusing her usual food for the last day or so. She will eat it though if I mix in sardines or something equally smelly so she's not off food altogether (was trying to blag some toast off me again this morning!) and she's drinking as normal.

I was wondering if it was to do with the fact that we wormed her on Wednesday - she was ill later that day and I thought maybe she associated the illness with her usual dinner as to her that would have been all she'd eaten.  So, since Wednesday she has only eaten two meals and she had bought up to pools of bile this morning, which could of course just be due to the lack of food in her stomach.  I don't want to keep pandering to her fussiness by giving her fish or wet food. 

She's still on three feeds a day at the moment and refused her breakfast twice this morning. I've taken it away but am not sure whether to try her with lunch or just skip it and hope she's hungry enough to eat her dinner.  It's so odd because she's fine in herself, bouncing around and being mad as usual!

Any ideas welcome!

Many thanks

Ali

A labrador that refuses food must be ill

Surprised she is still on 3 meals a day.

If she is ill stop feeding her the usual diet and give her some live yoghurt which is easy to digest possibly with some slippery elm bark, both of which will soothe and heal the gut.

Sometimes the digestive system needs a rest.  Two meals of live yoghurt and if she throws them up go and see the vet!

Hi Tohme,
I know, it's a shock with a lab refusing food, but she's not refusing ALL food - if I were to give her some fish she'd scoff it in no time. I'll see if she'll take some live yogurt.  I was told to keep her on three meals a day til she was a year old, is that a bit odd?

Thanks

Personally I would skip her lunch and not offer her anything till her evening meal. She's plenty old enough to drop to two meals a day (ususally the third meal is dropped at 6 months), and it will give her system a rest.
:)

My lab was on 2 meals a day at 6 months old,
when Toby was younger i found he went off his food when wormed,
I would do as Tohme says with the yogurt,

Heidi

I am suprised that she is still on 3 meals a day. Mind you my bitch would eat 8 times a day if she was allowed! but by 9 months they would be on 2 meals a day.

My labs love fish. Perhpas she needs a bit more variety. I put a lot of different stuff in my labs food - I give them fish, chicken, and vegetables (cauliflower is their favourite) and fruit, bananas in particular.

Perhaps you should try a little variety.

hi alic i have had the same  trouble with my puppies after worming they feel groggy and wont eat. worming dogs or puppies can do weird thing to them i try lots of diffrent wormer and all ways had one in the litter that fall ill by it it takes about a week for them to recover!.now i only use drontal tablet one dose that all it takes. i should not worrie to much as long as he wants his fish he ok ? what food do you feed

Hi Ali

I have a 17 months old labrador bitch.

She didnt eat properly for about a month. This was caused by a false pregnancy and a move.

My vet was satisfied aslong as she was drinking. And she did.

I've been told by a lot of people: Don't worry its never been heard that a dog starves itself to death. She'll start eating again, just keep putting it down and take it away again if not eaten in 15 minutes.

When she's hungry she'll eat! I cant comment on the wormer thing as here in Denmark we are only allowed to treat worms, not prevent. So we only give tablets if or when the dog has worms.

PS Luna is now eating properly again. But as I said it took about a month or more.

Good luck

Jeanette

Hi all
Thanks for all your messages. You'll be pleased to hear normal service has resumed and Mills has finally started eating again. I managed to get her to eat half a meal yesterday (with the help of some gravy, which she licked off first and then eventually ate the biscuit!). She's eaten properly this morning. I've bought lots of different things to feed her so she gets some more variety though will continue to use Hills as the basis of her diet. I can only think it must have been the worming tablets as they were different ones than we used before, will go back to using the other brand next time we do it and keep an eye on how she is then.

Thanks again

Ali