# I don't know what to do



## Monica_K (Mar 3, 2021)

First, I’m so sorry this is happening. Caring for senior dogs can be such a challenge and watching them change (personality wise, or health wise) can be devastating. I’m going to link to a checklist I found to be helpful when evaluating my last dog’s health status as she got older: Quality of Life Scale. 

While it may seem a bit “cold” to use a checklist to make any sort of decision, it can also be useful to get a little bit of emotional distance from the situation so you can honestly look at how your dog is doing. 

Of course, this decision is yours, but since you asked for suggestions, this is what I have to offer. I hope it can be of some use to you during this emotionally saturated time.


----------



## Berna (Jun 14, 2016)

I guess the vets did x-rays and/or ultrasound? Checked his heart?


----------



## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Regardless of what the vets said, this is not normal. No Golden who is in good stead skips food for three days. 
So, something is amiss, he needs imaging, an ultrasound and radiographs.


----------



## Dunmar (Apr 15, 2020)

How are his teeth? My older gal lived 3 months shy of 15. She quit eating and we found she had a couple bad teeth that didn't look bad on a visual exam but during a cleaning were very obvious. 

Also, she ended up o. A high does of joint support supplement around 10 which seemed o help along with previcox which made her act like a 5 year old.


----------



## Katie2 (Apr 6, 2018)

I'm so sorry you're going through this. As suggested above, it sounds like he definitely needs x-rays and ultrasounds and to check for dental issues or oral growths/ulcerations that would make eating painful. Are his lymph nodes a normal size? Sometimes bloodwork can come back normal in cases of lymphoma, even if the lymph nodes are swollen--but I'm guessing your vet would have checked those. Is he still drinking water? Rice water or chicken broth might be helpful to get some nutrients in him--for rice water, I boil one cup of white rice in four cups of water for 10-30 minutes (covered, but with the lid a little askew for some steam to escape), until the water turns creamy white--wait until cool to serve, of course. I hope you & your vet are able to figure out what's going on and that it's something that can be treated and resolved.


----------



## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Hi! I second getting diagnostic tests like an ultrasound done. My boy, Bear, went off his food. We took him to the vet and found nothing out of the ordinary that would cause this. We assumed it was a flare up of his auto-immune disorder and increased his medication to compensate. No change. Went back for an U/S. They found cancer in his abdomen and spleen that was pushing on his stomach most likely causing pain and nausea, hence he didn't want to eat.

I'm not saying that's what's going on with your dog but an U/S would help clarify things.

Edited to say the above re: teeth and mouth health is a great point too! My senior torti went off her food and we thought it was a bad tooth or an abscess. In her case it was oral cancer that was finally breaking the skin and growing into her mouth (it was all in her jaw bone, etc which is why we didn't catch it sooner) but mouth pain can definitely cause an animal to go off their food.


----------

