Expert: Jannie Balliett - 2/12/2010

Question
My 6 year old male boxer, recently stopped eating his food/treats. We took him to the vet thinking it could possibly be his mouth. The vet informed us that he was changing his diet and to try a different food. We purchased new food and treats with no success. He will eat some people food, and a treat after quite some time he sort of picks at it. We are going to get bloodwork done tomorrow, but any suggestions or points to bring up to the vet?
Thank you so much

Answer
Hello Jean,

First, you didn't tell me what your vet said about his mouth, his teeth, etc.

Secondly, what diet change and why?

Is his new diet for senior, inactive dogs? And hopefully, it does not have corn and glutens in it. Boxers do not do well (and can be allergic) to those ingredients.

I suggest checking his teeth because that can cause them to not eat. And do blood work and check for diabetes and other problems.

Has your vet run tests on his kidneys? Renal (kidney) failure causes them to loose their appetite and sometimes they vomit, even with an empty stomach. It is bile that the kidneys are not processing.

I would also try to entice his eating, by stimulating his appetite with plain, whole yogurt (no flavors and generic brand okay) by putting 1/2 cup on his dog food. This is healthy for their digestive tract and they love it.

See if that helps, and ask your vet to run the tests.

His new dog food diet should be corn free, gluten free, easy on his stomach, (lamb and rice, chicken and rice, sweet potato, etc.) and low in calories due to age and inactivity.