Advice needed

Tired

Hey all, Just a quick question actually two questions. Our lil fella Max (4 1/2 month old cocker) has recently gone off his food. On Monday he didnt eat any of his dried food at all (Royal Canine Dry food) so on Tuesday around 4pm or so after not eating any food at all again, i decided to open a tin of tuna and pour over his food, well low and behold he devoured the whole lot, the problem i have is that i dont want to have to do this every day. I gave him his dry food this morning and again he didnt go near it. Now before he went off his food, on Saturday he got hold of his lead and ate the leather strap handle. Am wondering would this be having some affect on his lil belly. He is in great spirits otherwise just not eating.

My other question is that after he goes out for a poo, he comes back into the house and pulls his bum along the tiles as if he is trying to scratch it. I have given out to him and told him NO which he will stop doing straight away but what i need to know is do i need to bring him to the vets???

Thanks for your help and sorry for the long winded thread!!!

IvySlayer

A pup...I assume you are trying to wean him from puppy to dog food? If so mix his new and old food and gradually get the old food out. Hvae you changed food brand at all?

Never ever submit to your dog with food :P My policy is 'You eat what you're given'. Giving tuna to a dog on a regular basis, especially from a tin, is not good for them. If you put his food down, he should eat it, if not, just leave it there and don't feed him anything else. He should eventually eat rather than starve. Of course if he's too stubborn try new food.

As for the rubbing bum....is his name Dyson, perhaps he's doing the hoovering...sorry...could be worms. The vet should know, make sure he has plenty of fibre in his diet.

peasant

Tired wrote: »

My other question is that after he goes out for a poo, he comes back into the house and pulls his bum along the tiles as if he is trying to scratch it. I have given out to him and told him NO which he will stop doing straight away but what i need to know is do i need to bring him to the vets???

most likely blocked anal glands ...off to the vet to show you how to treat them.

and don't delay and while you're there mention the chewed lead ..that could cause a quite serious obstruction in his bowels ..that's what may have put him off his food.

Tired

Hey IvySlayer, he was originally on Hills pet food for pups but i put him on royal canin which he is on about 4 weeks and hasnt had a problem eating this until Monday. I dont normally give him our food, my motto is like yours, eat what your given (which is dear food) or dont eat at all but i just couldnt yesterday. He hadnt eaten since Monday morning, yes i caved in which is not like me at all.

I think you might be right, think ill change his name to Dyson. Just thinking there he had the runs on Monday morning, maybe he might have worms...

wolfpawnat

I too have a spaniel, and I know what your going through with regards to stubbornness, the are resilient, but they have naturally easily upset stomachs and tuna is too oily for them, causing diarrohea.
At 4 months, he should still be on puppy food (recommended for the first 12 months), sometimes because of teething it maybe sore for them to crunch on, hot water in with it for a few minutes before giving it to him will soften it.
They are cunning and will go without food for days if they think they will be rewarded with a mmore delicious meal, so do not give in to it, but they do get weak without food so I know how you feel you are being a terrible owner if its not eating.
Perhaps your 2 questions are answered together. your dog may have worms, these infest their digestive tracts and cause your dog a living hell, between itching and loss of appetite. Drontal is a great one for getting rid of all types of worms (not trying to advertise dont worry) I know its expensive, but it does work miracles on worms. Beware of the dosage for a puppy, buy it at a pharmacy and talk to the pharmacist, they wont see you wrong.
One last thing, if your pup goes no. 2 again check its solidity and content, if its very dry, try to get him to drink more water and if there seems to be human hair in it, its clogging and cannot be expelled properly, in which case the drontal will sort it. (be warned the first time he goes no 2 after drontal, it is pure watery but after that solidifies again.
Good Luck

wolfpawnat

Sorry I forgot to say, beware some of the expensive brand, many of them can be too high in certain, vitamins and minerals, my other dog (A Yorkie) is severely sensitive to protein and cannot have any of the expensive brands as the are too high, I give mine red mills, available at co-ops and pet stores, but each dog is different.
Also if its not worms, the sphincter glands(responsible for the muscles of the bum) may be clogged or swollen and may need to be cleaned by a vet(painless and not life threathening), but 9/10 its just worms

andreac

Trust me, a dog will eat when hes hungry, he wont starve. My rottie is very fussy and i had started adding to his feed the odd time so he decided not to eat unless there was stuff added.

So when i put the food down with nothing added he turned his nose up, but thats all i offered him and if he didnt eat it i took it back up around 10 mins later.
He got nothing else at all, so after about 3 days, he gave in and just ate what was given to him, so hang in there, they are stubborn little buggars but they wont go hungry, i promise you.

spurscormac

My little cocker used to be very fussy on eating - you could leave the bowl there all morning & he'd take hours to eat it.
Never gave in though, just added a small bit of water or milk to soften it a bit when he was younger.
He's 6 months old now & he gets super excited to see me going for the food bag.

I'm also feeding him Royal Canin (Medium Junior), seems to be doing fine on it.

Can't say I've seen any bum dragging, but I have witnessed the runny number 2 after he gets his worming tablet.
Check with your Vet & mark on your calendar when he should be due his next tab. Ours advised every 3 months, and we just have to ring them with his weight (difficult to measure, ended up holding him while on the scales & reducing my own weight), then they'll give the appropriate dosage.

Beth

Seems the previous posts covered it. Sounds like he's training YOU to add to his food.

But!!!!

On the scooting after the loo, bring him to the vet and get his anal glands checked like Peasant mentioned. If they need doing badly, it can have them go off their food. If they need doing and arent done, it can lead to infections and impaction which is not nice for the dog at all.

The vet will show you what to do if you're interested in learning about how to do it. If you're not, you could need to get them done every month or every 2 months until he's off the puppy food and completely out of his system as the specialised puppy food tends to cause problems in that area.

Do mention that he had a chomp on the lead too just in case.

Tired

Thanks so much for all your replies and sorry i didnt reply sooner. Well got home yesterday at about 3pm, went out the back to inspect the poo, noticed bits of the leather strap in it which is a relieve, at least i know its passing thru his system. His poo was solid which was good to see. Sorry for all info.... Gave him his food which again he turned his nose up at... He didnt bother with but kept going over and have a lil nibble then leaving it. So at around 7pm (gave him his food at 4.30/5pm) myself and my lil one sat on the ground with the bowl infront of us, he started to wolf the food down once he knew we were paying a bit of interest in it, praised him for eating his food and sat with him till he was finished (trained him so we can stick our hands in the bowl while he is feeding and rub him) and low and behold he ate the whole lot. I'll see how he gets on today. Re the bum rubbing, he went the poo yesterday evening and again this morning but no bum rubbing so i think ill hold off and see how he gets on, if he persists with it ill bring him straight to the vets. So once again thanks for all the replies.

Beth

Thats good news so.

If it was me, I'd still bring him for a check up to be sure the glands aren't beginning to fill and that all the leather is out and not causing an obstruction. It only takes a small bit. Keep a close eye on him though.

andreac

Personally i wouldnt be sitting on the floor with the pup eating, dogs usually prefer to eat alone and if you encourage this behaviour they might always expect it so honestly, if the pup is hungry it will eat and it shouldnt need to be molly coddled into doing so. It will only lead to more problems down the line.
Best thing is to put the food down, leave it for around 15 mins and if its not finished take it up again and they get nothing til next feed time. It might sound harsh but dogs thrive on routine and in doing this you are establishing your rules and routine. It shouldnt be up to the dog when he decides to eat, your are the boss and in control so you should control feeding times.
If the dog is hungry he will eat, so dont worry too much if they dont.

My rottie went 4 days without eating and finally gave up when he realised it was all he was getting. Dogs arent stupid and they think they can win us over, so just hang in there.

Tired

Thanks Beth, will check his poo again today, I swear it is like having a child. He is in great form otherwise...

I hear what your saying Andrea, to be honest i cant keep sitting on the floor with him, just thought id try it out last night, yes your right ill have to toughen up, so as you said its either eat or dont. Its his choice. They are cunning lil feckers.

Thanks!!

Incheerocket

the bum rubbing is blocked anal glands, its not a nice job to do but if you have never done it before take him to your vet and they'll show you how to do it, if he is on dry food all the time with good solid poos it shouldn't need doing very often, however some dogs need it done on a regular basis. As far as the tuna on his food personally I'd say hes just being fussy and like someone else said don't give in, he will eat when hes hungry, if he really isn't well and off his food you will know by his behaviour that he's 'not right'.