Not eating - UPDATE ***

Took Maisey to the vets last Thursday as on the Monday prior was sick.  She went completely off her food and when she did eat a little something was sick again.  She was given an injection and a weeks supply of tablets - had lost 2 kg in weight but had no temperature so the vet thought she probably just had some sort of stomach bug or had eaten something that had disagreed with her.  Suggested I fed her on only bland food, boiled chicken and rice.

Next morning boiled her up a little chicken breast with rice and she ate a little and did keep it down.   However, Maisey has been fed raw food now for over a year and has always done really well on it.  However, it is now Tuesday and she still has no appetite.   I am having a real job getting her to eat her normal food which is good quality meat and fish.  I am even resorting to sitting and hand feeding her little bits.  She is not interested in her treats (tripe stick and puffed jerky) and doesn't even want to lick out the empty yoghurt pots (her favourite pastime).  

I really don't want to resort to putting her back on commercial dog food but I am at my wits end.   Apart from having lost weight, she does look fine in herself and maybe I am getting unduly worried over nothing but any suggestions would be really appreciated.

Have you tried her back on raw chicken or are you still cooking it?

I am trying to get her back onto raw food but she just doesn't seem to want it. I only cooked the chicken breast twice and added rice just to get her to eat something but she didn't even eat all of that. She just seems to have lost her appetite completely.

It may be a good idea to pop her back to the vets for advice. It's possible that they might be able to detect symptoms now that weren't obvious last week.

I am going to try her tonight on a bit of Nature's Diet dog food just to see if she will eat that as she turned down cooked chicken breast last night as well. If that doesn't work I will take her back to the vets. I know the vets are not an advocate of raw feeding and they will probably try to blame that??? She looks absolutely fine, apart from a lot skinnier than she has ever been.

Update.   She ate a few mouthfuls of dog food before turning away on Wednesday night.  Had a few chicken hearts Thursday morning but turned down filleted fresh steamed mackerel (which she normally goes mad over) last night so fried up some chicken breast for her and added a bit of rice.  Ate a couple of mouthfuls  before walking away but then sat and ate a good couple of mouthfuls of my gammon, which I know isn't good for her but at least she ate something.   Not interested at all in having to chew anything so Roxie is getting all the chicken wings, lamb ribs, etc, etc.   Give her another couple of days, I suppose, just to check she is not just being fussy and enjoying all the attention and then back to the vets. She is not being sick any more thankfully.

Aww I hope her eating picks up, thanks for the update, let's us know how things go if your of the vets

Thought I would give a quick update. Took Maisey to the vets on Monday 7th and only picked her up last night. She was jaundiced and slightly dehydrated. They took her straight to the hospital and was put on a drip to flush her system out and they took daily bloods to keep an eye on her liver function which was under some distress. They took a sample for leptospirosis and because it was suspected she was put in isolation. Still not got the results on the lepto but the vets agreed it was not fair to keep her confined to a small cage for any longer so we picked her up last night with 2 weeks of medication and strict instructions on how to clean up after her as lepto is transferred via urine. I am constantly chasing vets for the results as obviously can't take her out until she has the all clear. Any way she now has her appetite back and her liver is starting to respond to the medication and she no longer has jaundiced. It has been a really upsetting time for us and I am just so pleased to have her home. She is really skinny but full of bounce and already chasing the cats around the house. I can only think she picked something up whilst we were in Cornwall. We spent all week on the beaches and walking in the wilds.

How horrible it must have been for you  So glad Maisey is on the mend now though, hope you get the final results soon  xx

Just rang the vets again and it is negative, thank goodness. She is on a special diet now though for a couple of weeks and regular blood tests as her liver is still not working properly. We will do everything that we can to ensure she makes a full recovery

Ah that's great news  Keep us posted on her progress xx

What a terribly worrying time for you!

I take it she's eating properly now?

What a worrying time for you! I'm so glad to hear that Maisey is picking up at last.

Pleased to hear the test result is negative, would be interested to know what caused it. Did you contact any vets in Cornwall to see if anything in particular has been doing the rounds ?

Maisey has her appetite back.  She has to eat a prescribed liver diet, however, which is kibble.  We are allowed to mix a little cottage cheese with it which she liked for all of one day??   I am going to buy some natures diet dog meat just to mix a little bit in.  The vets were not keen on her being put back on her normal 'raw diet' just yet, something to do with the make up of protein.

No didn't think to ring any vets in Cornwall - still don't really know what she has, some form of bacterial hepatitis.  The blood tests on Friday I am hoping will show her levels are getting more normal.  She is still drinking an awful lot and on Friday did wet indoors which is something she has never done.   Liam is staying home with her today to keep an eye on her.  

We are just so pleased to have our cheeky mischievous little monkey back, we missed her so much.

Aww that's fab news, hopefully she's on the end off whatever it is and continues to improve

Thank you all for your support  

Glad she is getting better. Why did her liver go upset though ? Just because of the lepto?

So pleased she seems to be getting back to normal. Let's hope it continues to go well! 

 Pleased for you too. Long may it continue

I don't think we are ever going to get to the bottom of how she became ill.  Her bloods came back yesterday following her check up on Friday. The bilaruma is now at 29 whereas it was at 78 (normal is 1-15) so not surprising she was feeling so rough.  Her liver enzymes are slightly reduced so her body is now starting to deal with the toxins.   She has to stay on her medication for another month and on low protein food.  So lovely to have her jumping about and barking again when I get home for her treats. We are keeping a very, very close eye on her to make sure there is no reversal in her progress. Thank god for insurance, although I would have mortgaged the house, if necessary, to get her better : 

Aww sounds like she's recovering well so happy for you.