# Dexter refuses his food after being unwell over the weekend



## Sarah H (Nov 19, 2013)

Hi All,

I wonder if any of you have experienced what Dexter is doing at the moment?

On Saturday morning I went down to the kitchen to let him out of his crate, and he was still laid down. I knew instantly that something wasn't right as he's normally excitedly sat at the front wanting to greet us.
It soon became clear after doing his morning business that he had an upset tummy. Diarrhea and sickness.
After refusing his meal at breakfast time, he eventually ate the majority of it at lunchtime.

By Sunday his energy was back up, but his bowel movements were still very loose.

We considered ourselves lucky that this happened over the weekend while we were home to care for him...then it kicked in again on Monday morning!

He's getting back to his normal self now in terms of mood, but he's still refusing his food. At best he just picks out the chunks he likes. 
He'll take his treats and pig ears. He must be half starved! His ribs looks like a xylophone. 

Has anyone else experienced a picky vizsla after being unwell?


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

I haven't personally experienced it, but it's normal for dogs to self-fast after digestive upset. See if he'll drink some warm chicken broth just to get some calories into him. I'm sure his appetite will return soon.


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## mlwindc (Feb 8, 2013)

We've had this with Wilson before. He had a serious stomach upset and we had him on rice and chicken broth for a day, added some pumpkin, sweet potato for another day or two, before we started mixing in kibble. It took about 5-6 days to get him back to normal.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Good advice from mlwindc! Have you ever figured out what Dexter got into that might have made him sick? Or maybe it was some sort of virus? Hope he's better very soon!


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## mlwindc (Feb 8, 2013)

FWIW, I really wanted to firm up W's poop before I started feeding him other stuff - the rice/broth + pumpkin will help with that. As you add in the kibble, you can tell right away whether it will agree with him or not. I just added more or less depending on what it did to his poop (adding too much right away made it really nasty and watery). 

Our big horrific stomach experience occurred last October when Wilson decided to eat a bunch of dirt and grass and his insides basically exploded inside our house! It was awful! He was ribs for a long time, but I just took him to the vet on Monday and he's a beefy 64.9 lbs (ribs still show, he's just big) . So, he will gain the weight back, eventually. In the meantime, focus on his stomach and getting it settled.


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## Kafka (Jul 24, 2013)

I've had a similar experience this last weekend.

Kafka vomited a lot on Friday. My husband said she ate some dirt, so we think that might have been it. We've never seen her vomiting this much before though.
She basically didn't eat all weekend (except for some chicken I hand fed her) and slept most of the time. 
Since Monday she started eating a bit again and is a bit more active. She's still a lot calmer than usual. A very strange experience 
I've been cooking her delicious food (she had steak yesterday.. fish today... somehow she seems to always eat better food than I do ) to try to have her gain some weight. She lost about 1-2lbs I think (She's around 40lbs).
She's definitely feeling better every day, but still not completely back to her normal energy level.

Rice/pumpkin usually helps, and if his stomach is doing ok, tasty meats will help put some weight back on.

Maybe, if Dexter vomited after eating his kibble, he is less likely to want to eat the kibble now. Perhaps some rice and meats/fish will make him eat enough and when he's all better again he'll eat his kibble again.
I hope he'll feel better soon!


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## Sarah H (Nov 19, 2013)

Thankyou so much for your replies.

We've tried him on a few things the past two days. We normally soak his kibble, but this morning I had a breakthrough when I offered it to him dry. He ate a fair amount, and went on to have a solid poo! Ah the things we get excited by when owning these lovely creatures!
My partner is home with him now, and has text to say he no longer wants his dry food, so he's tried him with a little wet meat pouch, which apparently he's wolfed down.

I'm just concerned about him having a variety of food, I don't want that in itself to upset his tummy. He seems like he wants to eat, just not the food he used to love.

The chicken broth and rice idea seems a winner, gentle and tasty for him. 

We have also bought a different type of food for him...the same brand, but for sensitive tummies. Hopefully once he's back to his normal self, this change will be suitable for him.

Thanks again everyone


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