My 10 year lab quit eating about a week ago. It first he would eat bacon, eggs & dog bisques I carried him to the vet yesterday & he ran $335.00 test with no results. When I got him back from the vet he ate a can of Aplo prime cuts, today he refuses to eat.

He ate yesterday, I'd give him a little time to work it out on his own.

When lab's are not eating their thinking about eating. You vet missed something like running more tests.

Doc

He may have eaten a non-edible item, like a piece of a toy. It could be blocking his intestines. The duodenum is a typical point of blockage in such cases. This won't show up easily on an X-Ray. Often they need to open the dog up and inspect by hand along the intestines till they find the object, then make an incision to remove it. Good luck.

Maybe another dog in heat close by? He ate after you had him away from the house so maybe take him out for a good workout...run & swim???

Rice boiled in beef or chicken broth - give him olive oil if he's got a blockage.

You quote his post where he says he took his dog to the vet, and then you more or less advise him to take his dog to the vet.

Good call.

Good thought.

Also, is the dog shietting/pissing regular?

If it persists, who should he take the dog to? A chiropractor???

Did the dog suddenly stop eating or was it gradual? Seems kind of gradual the way you describe it. Was any bloodwork drawn? Did they check the creatinine and urea levels when they did bloodwork? How much weight has the dog lost since last physical? I hope everything works out well. Labs are such great dogs.

Exactly, something is wrong. Keep us updated please.

A dog will consume beaver meat when they will eat nothing else. Had and saw dogs that were weak that wouldn't eat. Nursed back Heath. Try to give him a couple of small cotton balls w buttermilk. This will help sometimes straighten out his gut if its slightly twisted. Good luck

Also IV can help get him over the hump sometimes

gahuntertom,

I went thru this with my old Lab. She lived to be 14, but the last year of her life was a continual struggle to get her to eat.

We finally found a combo of cooked rice and hamburger, sometimes with a little Beneful dog food. Sometimes she would eat cooked fish, or canned tuna, other times not. At one point, we had to hand feed her with a fork or spoon, the only way she would eat.

After she passed, we must have given away 200 lb. of various dog foods, treats, etc. that we had bought, trying to get her to eat. Wife and I looked and sounded like hospital dieticians when we would drop her off at the boarding kennel.

He gradually stopped eating. the blood work came up all clear. he has gone from 100# when he was weighed 3 months ago to 94# Friday. A neighbor gave him a raw hide bone for X'mas & I am afraid he has a blockage.

Those rawhide bones are about the worse thing to give a dog. They swell up after they get wet. Probably won't show on an x-ray either.

Are his stools normal? Does he strain more now when passing a stool? I have used a small amount of mineral oil, about a tablespoon, to help a dog with blockage from hair and it worked. Just added it to his food and he really liked it. Good Luck.

I had a male GSP stop eating suddenly and he had prostate cancer, his bladder was he size of a football, he could't piss,had to put him down (he was neutered at 1 year old, this wasn't supposed to happen) and a female GSP stopped eatig and couldn't stand up, she had a tickborne disease (not Lyme). IV, anti biotics and Rimadyl helped alot but did not cure it. I would see another Vet. Good luck.

That's almost certainly it.

I learned by lesson with raw hides decades ago. Bad stuff for dogs. Asking for trouble.

I am on labs #4 and #5. Every time one of my labs stopped eating something was wrong, and unfortunately, seriously wrong. Take him back to the vet!

Kidney failure...

IVs for a lot of hydration might help if that's the case.

Good luck with your friend. You'll both be in my thoughts.

That would have shown up in the blood test.

if it's a blockage do the oil thing.

Take a bunch of veggy oil, and put it in a turkey baster - grab him by the muzzle and lift if up and put it in his mouth and squeeze it while he drinks it down.

If you are worried about taste, then put a bullion cube in a pot with the oil and melt the cube so it tastes like beef.

You can do that 2-3 time but give it time to work through him between them.

The other thing you can do is to put 1-2 table spoons of citrucel / metamucil in his food (like rice) to help give him some fiber to pass it.

Good luck -
Spot

How far do you go on a 14 year old dog,in terms of trips to the vet? My lab quit eating Thursday, drinks a little water here and there, she has a hard time moving around much, shes done the wander off, looking for a place to die thing a couple times. Rapid weight loss. Does not seem to be suffering, or in pain, she's just sick as hell and seems like she knows it's time to go. I had the vet put her partner down a few years back as he was obviously suffering, so as much as I hate to make that trip, I'll do it if necessary, shes just acting so sick I expect to find her gone when I get up every morning. I'm torn between taking her in for the needle, taking her in and spending whatever it takes to get her well and buy some more time, or letting nature take its course...

My 14-year old Brittany quit eating a few weeks before she died. The vets couldn't do anything for her. They told me it was just the process of the body shutting down in preparation of dying. Sort of a purging. Hope that is not the case for your lab.

Be careful with the oil in the baster thing. Doesn't take much oil going down the windpipe to be lethal.

At fourteen, if it's a medium dog or larger, that's about the age that represents their lifespan. As for putting a dog down, it's much better if you can have the vet come to the house than to take the dog there, IMO.

PS Sorry to hear this.

I had the same dilemma years ago. My dog was 15 and just stopped eating. Vet diagnose renal failure. He was still loving and wagged his tail/body, just wanted to lay down and die. Wasn't crying out in pain. Just wanted to die. And that is what he did, in the house he grew up in, in the bed he slept in, I was with him and petting him when he took his last breath. I couldn't put him through the stress of being hauled off to die. That is the same way I want to go also, in my house, in my bed.

I've got a 14 year old dog whose breed average age is 13 years. He's lost his night vision due to cataracts but he's healthy and in otherwise good shape.

I know the day is coming soon when I have to face the inevitable with him and its gonna kill me.

This is always the best option IMO, but in our case she had lost control of her bladder and stool, and was somewhat overtaken with dementia.

You lose a big piece of your soul every time you lose one, don't you? Same here.

its hard not to when an animal dedicates his life to protecting you and your family the best way he can and being a constant companion.

He's under my feet as I type this now and when I'll get up to go into another room, as old as he is, he'll get up and follow me.

btw, fwiw, I've been giving my dog plain a table spoon of yogurt mixed into his food for the past few months. He loves it and it keeps his digestive system ( as well as his horrendously bad farts) in check. For $5 a month, its a pretty good investment I think.

I think my wife wants me to start eating it too.

Feed him Vaseline. No kidding

My dog gets all the gut flora she could possibly need by eating every fresh pile of chicken crap she finds in the yard.

+1

Should be illegal to sell those dam things.

Labs are the best.
Hope you get it worked out.

I lost a lab 9 years ago he was 10. Had and have lots of dogs. This one hunted with me 4 or 5 days a week since he was born. I keep my rifle by the back door. He could be asleep anywhere in the house. When I walked to that corner and picked up that rifle he would get up and be setting by the back door with-in minutes. I think of him most days to this day. I have more respect for dogs than most people. Truly hope yours come thru. Mine was suffering and it was the HARDEST thing I ever did looking into his eye's helping him move on.

Common Labrador Health Problems - VetInfo there are a few Labrador health problems that may occur. ... Twisted Stomach.
...?????????

The vet would have caught that.

He will eat when he gets hungry enough

And first light will appear tomorrow precisely at dawn.

Did the vet say anything about liver enzymes? Our old lab was about 8 when he went off his food. It was the first sign of failing liver. He didn't eat much after that. Took a while to for them to determine that was the issue.

Hoping for the best for your friend.

Don't they run a probe through the intestines before they cut them open? Also, docs can see poop in their x-rays and don't ask me how I know.

What did the vet say about that, when you took your dog in?

Our vet told us white bread soaked in milk for a blockage. We live way out on a ranch. Our dog is always finding some kind of bones. The bead/milk combo has gotten her going again several times.

Olive oil! I went through hell with a lab I had a few years ago eating stuff he shouldn't. Ipecac after ipecac, he swallowed a dish rag and had to be opened up once and had it removed. If your not sure what's going on try olive oil, if that doesn't work see a better vet. Maybe a 1/4 cups worth.

Second on having the vet come to your home if you can. We had a traveling vet come in the last time. Cost us over $400 with them taking the body (too big to bury in our small yard) instead of the $100 or 150 to take her in. But I have never had a dog that wasn't scared going to the vet, and then the wife or I have to drive home crying so hard it is dangerous. We were lucky enough to have a couple just drop, one went to his favorite spot in the yard and laid there, when I checked him before leaving for work he was gone. Then I had to go to my son's work to tell him as it was really his dog.

Hope the whatever it is passes.

So true. I put my last, a ten y/o GWP, down myself after witnessing a semi-botched, traumatic put-down of a pet before. I know I cried off and on most of the day and it's not for everybody. I don't know if I'd do it again either.

They warm your heart and at some point break it.

I've heard it said that when they die you have to pay back, in mourning and heartbreak, all the joy they gave you during their lives.

Does anyone know what happened to his lab? Just curious...

He has cancer, my best friend dug his grave today & the vet is going to come to the house Monday morning to put him down.
It is a really sad time around our house.

Thanks for your concern.

Sad news. Sorry to hear it.

Dayom. So sorry to hear that gahunter.

Sorry to hear this Hang in there bud; take care.

This a pic of my old beagle, Sadie. I had to put her down last fall due to complications from Lyme disease. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

So sorry to hear this I have had to put two down because of cancer, it is not easy your in my prayers !

Put my Sadie down last year too. German Whirehair.

That's not true at all. They just die. Then you find a new dog.

Preferably with papers.


Travis

I didn't post earlier because I was hoping it wasn't, but in my gut I knew it was, because I lost my last 2 labs to that dreadful disease. My deepest condolences. I know exactly how you feel as I was there 1 month ago.

Look at this

Sorry to hear bud, I just hate losing pets especially dogs.

It's a dog, it will eat or die, which it is gonna do sooner or later anyway, then you get a new one, like you did last time, and will next time too.

Our (my wife's) lab has allergies. He was scratching his hide off everywhere he could reach with a paw or his mouth. Local vet could not figure it out so he sent us up to the vet school at Auburn University. My wife called from school to let me know his condition was treatable, but pricey. $1000. I mentioned we might need to think about this. I was quickly told there was nothing to think about and to figure how I was going to pay for whatever Woodrow needed.
Last week, I was out of town and the wife was walking out the door when Woodrow started raising hell and barking on the other end of the house. One of the tv's was smoking. Turned out, we had a neutral power problem coming into the house. We lost a couple appliances and electronics, but the house did not burn. The electrician and power company said that was very possible if my wife had gotten out the door before the dog alerted her.

That is a great best friend you have there Tom. And your buddy who helped you by digging your best friend's final resting place is a pretty good guy as well.

I am sorry for your troubles. Been there myself. Had my old dog put down a few years ago here at our house with me holding him and petting him as he went out. Kids got to say goodbye and then sent them off as they were too young to fully comprehend at the time.

Thoughts are with you.

The Lab and I are down out of Kotzebue and in Soldotna for a few days. Ain't a speck of moose poop left in the yard...

He's pushing 11, in good health but slowing down (thank God!), but I'm already dreading the day...

I've found those Costco chinee "Kirkland" treats are bad for him. Ditto on the Rawhides thing. Stick to Milkbone.

When our 11 year old Weasel (Dachshund) got sick a few years ago he quit eating and went into renal failure. Small dogs are 'sposed to last longer than that... Vet never did figure it out in the few weeks before we put him down, but in retrospect, I think he may have gobbled some moldy cheese on a walk in Denver at Thanksgiving. There's a cheese mold that will do that. We put him down on New Year's Eve, but should have 2 weeks earlier...

My wife pays the bills, and I never asked...

worth a try ... but mostly get your lab back to the Vet.

"
I think my wife wants me to start eating it too."

Is it time to open the windows there?

Ask her if she is ready for the results!

I'm sorry I asked. But thank you for the follow up. I know it's not an easy time, hope everything goes as well as it can given the circumstances. Been there several times, it's never easy.

Nope, it's never easy and it don't get any easier either. But you know, most of the time they give us so much more than anyone of us 2 legged sob's are worth. Magnum man

This is spot on !When my lab stops eating he is sick, real sick. your vet missed something

Spaghettios (or how ever you spell it). It was suggested by my vet and gave an extra year for my dog. Trust me, try it.

apparently you guys haven't read the whole thread..............you should.

This was sad news, indeed. You have my deepest sympathy. Dogs aren't just something you have for a while, then replace...or at least they shouldn't be.

When the time is right, rescue a critter who needs a chance at a good life.

I hate to hear about any loved pet having to be put down. Been through it many times and have many more to go. It's not easy on this old man. My vet comes to the house to put them down. He's a great vet and knows that I'm going to cry like a baby so he understands. In fact, I shed tears over every post here about a dog having to leave his master. Even writing this does it.