My 4-year-old Fox Terrier is 5 weeks pregnant. As of tomorrow, it will have been nearly 2 weeks since she has eaten properly. She only manages a few bites at lunch and dinner (fresh steak, chicken, ham, or bacon bits, because dry food and wet food are completely out of the question).
We have been to the vet five times. She has had two blood tests to check for poisoning, and two scans which confirm the pregnancy and show no signs of any dead puppies. She also had an X-ray which didn't reveal any issues. Despite this, she was put on a course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, as well as stomach medication, but there is still no improvement.
I should mention that she hasn't lost any weight, but she obviously hasn't gained any either. She doesn't have a temperature.
She isn't acting sad or anything; her behaviour is just the same as usual.
The three different vets we have seen are a bit stumped and have tried pretty much everything.
Has anyone else dealt with this before? Any advice or shared experiences would be a huge help. Thanks a lot.
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Hi there,
In some pregnant dogs, especially between the fourth and sixth week, a loss of appetite is quite common and can last for several days. The fact that she’s maintaining her weight, staying bright, and that her scans and tests have come back normal is very reassuring. Keep offering her small portions of very tempting food and keep a close eye on her general condition. If her appetite doesn’t pick up or if she seems to take a turn for the worse, you'll need to take her back to the vet for another check-up to rule out any less common causes.
Kind regards,
Romane
My Pekingese girl is 5 weeks pregnant and has completely stopped eating. Occasionally she’ll have a little bit of milk bread soaked in rice milk, but she’s not drinking anything either. I’m having to give her goat’s milk diluted with water using a large plastic syringe; otherwise, she’d have nothing in her system at all.
Hi @Guessv,
I’m in the same boat as you with my two-year-old Leonberger, first litter. Except mine started turning her nose up at her food the moment we got back from the mating. The stud went very well; the male was very gentle and the owners were very kind and attentive with her, so there was no trauma there...
I’ve been raw feeding (BARF) my dogs for nine years. She’s now only a week away from whelping, and it’s getting worse; I’ve even tried offering her premium dry food for the past two weeks, as well as chicken thighs and duck necks (she absolutely won’t touch veg, salmon oil or standard meat anymore). But it’s the same story—all in all, she’s eating less than 1.3 lbs a day...
We’ve done blood tests; everything came back clear. We've had scans, everything’s fine, and the vets don’t really understand it either. She’s expecting at least eight puppies and has gained about 13 lbs since the start, so everything seems normal, but I’m constantly worried. How will the puppies be? Will she have enough milk...? Anyway, I’m in the same situation as you, but I’m afraid I can’t offer a solution...
Hi, my 3-year-old girl is expecting puppies and she's almost a month along now. She's stopped eating her dry food and keeps isolating herself. I’m really worried as it’s her first litter.
Hello, my 4-year-old Fox Terrier is 5 weeks pregnant. As of tomorrow, it’ll be two weeks since she’s hardly eaten anything. She only has a few mouthfuls at lunch and dinner (fresh steak, chicken, ham, or lardons, because dry food and tins are completely out of the question). We’ve been to the vet five times. She’s had two blood tests to check for poisoning, and she’s had two scans which confirmed the pregnancy and showed no signs of any dead puppies. She also had an X-ray which didn’t show any problems. She’s had a course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, as well as some stomach medication, but there’s still no improvement. I should mention that she hasn't lost weight, but she obviously isn't gaining any either. She doesn't have a temperature. She isn't acting sad; her behaviour is the same as always. The three vets are a bit stumped and have tried pretty much everything. Has anyone else experienced this? Thank you so much for any advice or help you can give.
Hi @Guessv,
It’s a real shame you’re not taking @Sofi771’s brilliant advice on board. It’s spot on, as the issue almost certainly stems from her diet. I’m not familiar with the BARF diet, but for a pregnant dog, it’s important to switch her over to puppy dry food. Salmon oil can indeed help kickstart her appetite, but she seems to be getting a bit picky given the treats she’s currently getting. Just so you know, it’s completely normal for a pregnant dog to lose her appetite during the first few weeks; it’s very strange that none of the three vets reassured you about that, as it’s common knowledge and you’ll find it on every website about pregnancy. Be careful with vets—pushing for constant tests and exams is very profitable for them. Listen to the advice from well-meaning people and don’t get defensive, even if it isn’t the answer you were looking for.
I don’t mean any offence at all, but if you’re saying she won't touch her dry food but will eat other bits and pieces, then the issue isn’t a lack of appetite—she’s just being a bit fussy, isn’t she?
My dog used to turn his nose up at his meals when he was on dry food, and it’s actually pretty common. If she’s refusing her dry food, it doesn’t necessarily mean she isn’t hungry; from what you’ve described, it’s just the food itself she’s got an issue with, not her appetite.
I’m not being defensive; I actually thanked you for your advice. We’re in our 40s and we’ve kept the same breed for years, always using the same food. I should also mention that we have four dogs... She used to be a great eater and we haven’t changed a thing; she just stopped eating overnight out of the blue. So, we’re adapting and, on the advice of three different vets, we’re now varying her diet.
I’m looking for advice from anyone who has been through this exact situation. I’m not looking for feeding tips—don’t take it the wrong way, but that’s all you’re focusing on, and a dog that refuses a bit of fresh steak isn't going to suddenly go mad for salmon oil. I appreciate your replies anyway, but they aren't really relevant to our problem. That’s why I’m not paying them much more attention. Thanks.
I’ve already suggested that if she’s had a loss of appetite and you’ve started offering alternatives like meatballs and so on, it’s only natural she’s no longer interested in her dry food. You aren't the only owner to have made this "mistake," and you can't exactly withhold food from your dog to get her back on her kibble given that she’s pregnant. However, the diet you're providing will lead to nutritional deficiencies, so you can't keep going with that either. You could try salmon oil, but you haven't acknowledged that, so clearly you aren't interested, and I doubt it'd be more appealing to her than meatballs and ham anyway.
Now, if you've checked with the vet and the issue isn't physiological, it's almost certainly behavioural.
To avoid deficiencies, you could switch to Raw or BARF, but that seems to be going over your head. If my help doesn't interest you, you can just tell me straight. I've given you some leads and solutions, but if they don't suit you, then so be it. I hope you find the answers you're looking for from someone else, even if—aside from cutting out the treats and using salmon oil or switching to raw/BARF—I don't see what else you can do.
By the way, Royal Canin isn't a brilliant dry food and it’s pretty pricey for what it is. I don't suppose you're interested in knowing that, but if you want to give her a better diet in the future, you'll need to rethink her dry food.
