[Dailydrool] Dog Won't Eat

[Sarah]

Penny is the same way.  I have had her for over two years and in that time I
don't think she has ever eaten dog food.  She will even starve herself to
the point of vomiting bile rather than eat something she doesn't like the
smell/look of.  In February of this year she vomited blood and off we rushed
to the vet.  Her bloodwork was normal (thyroid is fine), x rays were clear
only showing some gas bubbles in her intestines.  She was put on antibiotics
for a couple of weeks and pepcid AC plus the chicken and rice diet.  I was
given instructions to back off the chicken and rice after a few weeks and
put her back onto normal food.  We are still on the chicken and rice!  All
that chicken and rice gave Penny a bacterial infection on her skin and she
ran out of energy really fast but the vet just kept giving antibiotics.

I found a new vet and Penny now still gets the chicken and rice but mixed
with a teaspoon of cod liver oil and a crushed up multi-vitamin.  Once the
cod liver oil was being mixed with her food I found that I was able to start
mixing kibble in - I am not using taste of the wild duck because she loves
the taste of the oil.  Right now she gets half chicken and rice and half
kibble with her additions (oil, vits). Plus she gets a probiotic pill
between meals.

Penny has nothing wrong with her teeth but she has never eaten crunchy
treats; she gets chicken jerky dog treats and that is all she will eat.  But
even now she will refuse to eat a meal or two until she makes herself ill.
When she has missed two meals in a row I give her Pepto-Bismol before her
next meal and that seems to make her feel like eating again.

For all her finicky eating she came to me two years ago weighing 35 pounds
and now weighs 50!  SO her rations have been cut because she will not walk
further than the end of the street and back when we go for a walk.  Of
course she would love to be eating what we eat so, if I put her bowl down
before we eat, it will remain there untouched until all hope of something
better has passed (after I am most of the way through doing the dishes).

The new vet's diagnosis? There is nothing physically wrong with her she just
thinks she deserves to eat what we eat and can't understand why her slave
will not comply.  She also thinks she should get indoor plumbing so she
doesn't have to pee in the rain but that is a whole other story!

Sarah