Need Help Getting Dog to Eat.

You could try making her boiled chicken & rice. It is very easy on the digestive system and she'll probably enjoy it. My dog sometimes goes for days without eating and he also has that bile throw up on those days. It's best not to do any kind of food change abruptly. I know you're concerned about her not getting enough to eat, but believe me, when she gets hungry enough she'll eat...regardless of what's in her bowl. Hope this helps! Good luck!

I would try putting water in her kibble. Let it set for about 10 minutes to soak up the water. Then the kibble will be soft enough to eat. Often this is suggested for puppies. If she has a sensitive stomach, perhaps she isn't able to breakdown the food very well when it is solid.

I have tried several different food for my puppy to see which agrees with her tummy. I have tried organic foods. I tried a Solid Gold. PetSmart has a brand called Healthy Balance that is organic. My puppy does well on both of those. The kibble is really small. She seems to like the taste. Sometimes I add water to is because she likes softer food.

How funny!! I just watched an episode of the dog whisperer and a woman on there had the same problem and you know what cured it what exercise the dog was not getting enough exercise to make him hungry! I would try waliking him alot and see if he gets hungry! Little dogs are usually very high energy and need exercise!

S., first you really need to stop the cream cheese. Then you will have to tough it out for a short time. Don't continue to try her or him on new foods, stick with one and leave it out all nite for her, if she gets up to puke just let it happen, nothing you can do about it anyway. Your dog will get hungry and start eating, especially if your vet is not concerned you shouldn't be either. I know this must be hard on you but,its like weening a baby from the bottle,patients.. good luck

I sometimes have a hard time getting our beagle to eat her dog food too. I put just a little bit of chicken broth on her hard food and she gobbles it down. The vet might not agree with that method, but I think the chicken broth might be better than the cream cheese - I only have to put a bit in to get the regular food wet, so she's not getting too much table food from it. She gets the empty stomach syndrome too.

Good luck.

Science Diet does make a canned dog food that will be much more similar to the food she's "eating." Going from a decent quality science diet food to a poor quality Ol'Roy is bound to upset her tummy. I have also added water to the dry food and let it sit for awhile to make it softer which would keep the same food in her system and might make her more interested.

I'm thinking you should take her to another vet. I personally am not a big vet person, but I have 2 close friends who had the same thing happen to their pets(1cat, 1dog.) Both situations started with the pet not eating and then vomiting. The cat was put to sleep for kidney failure. It was 16 or 17 years old, but the dog went through treatment of IV, special diet, and meds. When I say special diet, I mean my friend was boiling potatoes and chicken water for this dog! I thought she was crazy for the treatments, but the little booger is the same old hyper minpin she was before!

We have this problem with our dog too. It seems to be even worse with the hot weather.

Our vet also isn't concerned aside from the vomiting. We feed him twice a day, so our vet said if he didn't eat his "breakfast" to give him a bone/treat to prevent him from throwing up. Same thing at night. She said he'd eat when he was hungry otherwise. Does your dog like any kind of treats that would tide her over?

I think our dog is obsessive compulsive though because if we kick his food out onto the floor, he'll "clean up" all the food on the floor. When we go away, that is how my sister gets my dog to eat.

Have you tried adding warm water to her food to make it soft?
Some animals have very sensitive digestive systems just like people do. Before you give her zantac try Papaya enzyme.It is sweet and all natural if you find a good health food store.It calms the stomach and keeps gas from building up which is probably why your dog is vomiting, she eats too fast.Ever think about hand feeding her?

You have received some good responses already. I worked in a pet store for 7 years and before that I thought pet food was pet food but now I know that the quality of the pet food that you buy is important. The more natural and organic foods that are out there now are far better than the some of the other brands out there. If you look at the ingredients some of them have meat by-products, whether it be chicken or sometimes they just say meat!! They don't even say what kind of meat! By-products are leftovers that we wouldn't even eat!! Corn is another big one that they put in there for a "filler" and it really dosen't have any nutrional value to it. Some dogs are allergic to the corn and gluten like one person said on here. I would pick a better quality food and stick with it. Ol' Roy is lesser quality with probably some nasty ingredients. I have always bought Nutro pet food and my pets have always seemed to do well on it. They also make a food for smaller dogs, I think it is called small bites and it is a smaller kibble so it may be easier to chew and digest. I think there are a few other brands out there that offer a smaller kibble for smaller dogs so which ever one you go with I would try that. Giving your dog a Zantac might not be a bad idea to try because if there is any sort of reflux or stomache upset it might help and also calm the vomiting. Worth a try anyway.
I don't know if I offered any more insight but whatever you try I hope it works!! Good luck.

Our dogs have had issues like that as well. We put yogurt on their food and it seems to help. And you alos can try mixing in some rice with the food to help a bit as well. And you might want to find another vet that will take the issue more seriously. Good luck.

My advice would be a different vet for a different opinion. Your dog is sending you a message. I have had many dogs over the years. Only twice I had a dog that does what yours does. I also feed my dogs Science Diet. When my St. Bernard had that problem the vet recommended a bland diet of cottage cheese, ice cream and rice. The lining of the stomach may be aggrevated. I would put my dogs on that diet for 7-10 days so the stomach could heal. After that they would be fine. Neither vet I had really knew what was causing the problem but diet was able to get them relief.
Throwing up too much is bad internally. Just like a person who keeps throwing up, it eventually eats away at the esophagus causing even more problems.

My German Shepherd is a picky eater because of sensitive teeth/gums and a sensitive stomach. We brush her teeth regularly to help with the mouth issues and feed her yogurt to help with the tummy issues

When my dog was upset and wouldn't eat, my vet told me to give him hamburger and rice cooked together. I'd put a lb. of hamburger in the microwave with about 2 cups of rice and cook them until the rice was soft, let it coold down and give him some of that. We had a big dog, so it lasted about 2-3 days. It may last longer for you. He liked it and it was soft so he could get it down and keep it down. Good luck to you, pets are like kids, they tug on your heart strings.

Dear S.,
Why did you go to the vet? If you aren't going to take his advice you just wasted your time, gas, and the cost of the visit.
Why are you against giving the dog the Zantac? We think of our dog as one of the family so if my vet said to give her any medicine that is what she would get.
I think it would be worth a try to give her/he the Zantac and see if it works, it isn't expensive and it may just be what your dog needs. Also I think that breed of dog are a little high strung so she/he may just have a nervous stomache. Anyway good luck and hope it all works out for you and your dog.

Dogs are such a trip!! When we go away, a lot of the time our dog gets depressed and won't eat, sometimes for a few days, sometimes long enough that I get worried. There are also times when he throws up the bile, like your dog does.
When we first got him, he got really dry skin in the winter. My vet suggested giving him a teaspoon of grease (animal) and a teaspoon of vegetable oil on his food in the morning. He loves it! I don't always put it on, but when I do, it whets his appetite and he gobbles his food up. Save the grease the next time you cook up some meat and put it on the dog's food. It can't hurt to try and it will help his coat to shine.
The cream cheese probably tasted great to the dog, but there may be some concern on, your vet's part, about the dairy content.
Another thought: When we were growing up, my cousin used to fix his German Shepherd hamburger and rice as a treat. This would be an expensive way to feed a dog, but it may be worth considering.
I hope this helps.

My dog was once sick and in the hospital and when we brought him home they told us to boil chicken and rice and feed that to him. Maybe that would work for your dog if she has a sensitive digestive system because it's bland. Also, for your carpet, there is a product called "Nilodor" and it will take ANYTHING out of your carpet. It is a pet product I used with my dog when he was a puppy (he's 9 now) and I still keep some on hand in case anyone spills anything. I don't know where you live, but I know Fishers grocery store in Massillon and Canton OH sell it. The place where they make "Nilodor" is in Navarre, OH. Good luck, I hope your dog gets better. It's rough when they're not doing well. Let me know if you need anything else.

If your dog threw up when he ate the new food too it doesn't sound like he is just a picky eater and throws up when he has an empty stomach. It sounds like he has some type of stomach issues. I don't know anything about dogs. I am just thinking outloud. Maybe it is a bit like having acide reflux to the point your throw up. I experienced that when I was pregnant and hated eating because I didn't know what was going to trigger it. Maybe that is what your dog is going through and the zantac would calm it down. Like I said, I have no knowledge of dogs, but am just throwing out suggestions. Good luck. It sounds like a situation that I am glad I am not in. :)

We've had a couple dogs with stomach "issues." The best thing we've found is, when you have time, cook a big batch of ground turkey/chicken/beef (whatever's on sale) and mix it with rice. You can keep it in the fridge for a week. Give it to her alone or mix it with dog food. It's not a perfect solution but she should eat enough of it to keep from getting sick.

S.

Maybe the dog food makes her sick, so she doesn't eat, which causes her to throw up bile. My dog throws up any food with gluten in it. Most have gluten, wheat gluten specifically. I feed her Wellness, which has human grade chicken, available at Complete Petmart.

WOW. I never heard of this one. Does your vet know that you are giving the dog Zantac? Lay off the cottage cheese and dairy products. They could give your dog bladder stones from the excess calcium. Our Bichon got a painful bladder stone with bleeding because we listened to somebody's advice that cottage cheese was good for a dog's coat.

Have you tried Bil-Jac dog food? Have you tried smaller bowls? I read somewhere that small dogs are intimdated by larger bowls. Try emailing the Pedigree Dog Food Company. They may give you some good advice. Good Luck.

I have 2 cockapoos. A 3 and 2 yr old. The 2 yr old has stomach issues right now on empty stomach so we have to make sure she eats at night. We hand feed her with a spoon if need be. She's had this issue before and was given a vet prescribed science diet which helped 100% at the time. She has a sensitive stomach. When this happens we cut apples and ham and she gobbles it up! The apples seem to help. She likes going outside and eating leaves which can cause problems if there are parasites on the leaves. Her feces was a little soft and gooey today also becuase she was sick. She even shivered at times. She's better right now but she has to be hand fed tonight to avoid the a.m. vomit. It's yellow vomit like bile due to empty stomach and or stress..The food from science diet from the vet is a good choice but it's expensive. Look for healthier foods. Google "bad dog food" and stay away from those brands. Buy the best...natural/expensive. NO CORN OR FILLERS or Meat BY PRODUCTS OR ANYTHING THAT SAYS "MEAL" IN INGREDIENTS. We love our dogs and they are worth the research to make them comfortable and happy. We use Merrick dry dog food from Centinela. It's healthy at least if you can't cook for your dog.

When my dog was sick, we fed him cat food. Our vet said this was fine until he got better. Most dogs love cat food! You could even try mixing it in. I hope your sweet little dog gets better. Best of Luck1