My chihuahua/terrier is not eating and has lost weight.?

Question

I thought it might be from the weather change but she's not acting herself. The vet said she's fine but I don't think so, I know my dog. Anyone else have one that does this? She's normally the first one to finish eating and last night I had to more or less force feed her. She's 11.

Answer 1

Hi, I know exactly how you feel. I have a 3 year old male chihuahua who stopped eating regular meals after my female had puppies. Before I brought him to the vets, I called him first and explained the problem. At first, the vet told me, that it was probably depression, because his female companion was spending all her time with the puppies and he felt lonely. I waited like he told me to and still nothing improved. I took him in to the vets and it turns out that he had a bad lung infection and the lab showed his kidneys were not working correctly. They treated him with antibiotics and rehydrated him, and they put him on more antibiotics for 10 more days. He's doing great now! Everything is cleared up and back to normal. What I'm trying to say is, this particular vet may not have found anything, but there is obviously something going on and I think it would be a good idea to visit a different veterinarian. Tell him everything that's going on and how she's acting.Try not to worry! If they run the right tests, they'll find the problem and hopefully correct it!
Good Luck! I hope this helps a little and your little girl gets well soon.

Answer 2

Get her to another vet, pronto. She is old and she is not eating---this is not her normal behavior. I had this same thing happen to my little terrier a few years ago and it turned out her kidneys were failing. You said it yourself, you know your dog. Trust your instincts on this. Vets are like any other doctor---they can be wrong.

Answer 3

Force feeding her is a no no its cruel.. Shes getting old and old dogs eat a lot less than a young dog, Just like people.. Leave her alone. she will eat when she wants..