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Sheltie Has Lost His Appetite


Sheltiesrule1
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My sheltiesrule has just turned 10 and about 8 weeks ago he became increasingly fussy about what he eats. Now some days he barely eats and doesn't seem to have much energy. My question is this normal for this age or could there be something wrong. I'm not sure what to ask the vet to do when I take him... should I get a blood test or an ultra sound... Not sure where to start or if there are some common problems in shelties which could cause these symptoms :(

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Definitely go to the vet. How are his teeth? This can be an issue but you need to get the vet to look. I've just rescued a dog whose owner neglected his teeth - according to the owner's vet, for years. Finally, after 3 yrs of the vet advising the teeth needed doing urgently, the dog stopped eating and the owner acted.

There are of course other reasons for dogs not eating. At 10 yrs of age, it is not normal at all for a dog to stop eating.

One of my own dogs is 15 yrs old, he has dementia and has to be tempted to eat, one day he'll eat a particular kind of food with enthusiasm and the next day won't touch it. I have a wide variety of foods here and eventually find something - he is hungry and wants to eat but is just odd.

I hope all is well but will be interested to hear what the vet thinks. Blood tests etc may be necessary to determine the issue.

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Yes, a visit to the vet will sort if it's something simple that can be fixed or something that needs more attention.

I'm not suggesting this is the case with your sheltie, but my 8 yr old tibbie girl periodically just won't eat her breakfast... comes on suddenly even tho' she generally loves food. When it happened a couple of times, a pattern emerged. She needs anal glands emptied about every 4 months or so, by the vet, for a very modest cost. And Annie gives the signal when it's needed .... she'll not eat her breakfast. I take her straight to the vet, the glands are emptied, we go home.... & she happily eats a meal. The vet agrees it's how Annie tells us her level of anal gland discomfort. She's never been wrong.

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My sheltiesrule has just turned 10 and about 8 weeks ago he became increasingly fussy about what he eats. Now some days he barely eats and doesn't seem to have much energy. My question is this normal for this age or could there be something wrong. I'm not sure what to ask the vet to do when I take him... should I get a blood test or an ultra sound... Not sure where to start or if there are some common problems in shelties which could cause these symptoms :(

My brother's and mothers's mini schnauzers both died of kidney failure at 13. The first sign of trouble for both was that they stopped eating.

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Should I take a sample of my dog's stool to the vet?

You'll need pee :)

may as well get some poo while you're at it. Fresher the better.

How does one get pee!

Usually I wait with a takeaway container (large dog people use frypans or saucepans). Anyway, take them outside or for a walk, you stalk them and when they get into the pee position, swoop in with your catcher. :)

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Should I take a sample of my dog's stool to the vet?

You'll need pee :)

may as well get some poo while you're at it. Fresher the better.

How does one get pee!

Usually I wait with a takeaway container (large dog people use frypans or saucepans). Anyway, take them outside or for a walk, you stalk them and when they get into the pee position, swoop in with your catcher. :)

Bahaha...okay :)

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Bahaha...okay :)

:rofl: It's always a good look.

If you do get some fresh poo to take as well, they can do a faecal float. Whether they find anything or not it'll still help with the health check.

And there's two types of blood tests. An in-house one that is all the basics and the complex version that they send out to pathology. Vet will guide you.

Wishing you all the best of luck :)

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