Why has my senior dog stopped eating and drinking? What can I do?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Rottweiler | Male
I have a 9 year old Rottweiler who has stopped eating or drinking.
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on November 20th, 2019
There are many reasons why an older dog would stop eating and drinking. Ideally, Rocky should be physically examined by your veterinarian. Lab work (CBC, chemistry panel, urinalysis, fecal test, thyroid panel) may be submitted after an exam. Supportive care (IV or subcutaneous fluids, parenteral nutrition, etc.) can be administered until a diagnosis is reached. In the meantime, you can try offering a bland diet (boiled boneless/skinless chicken + plain rice) as well as a 50/50 solution of water and unflavored PediaLyte. Warm the food slightly or mix in some plain baby food to stimulate the appetite.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on December 30th, 2017
You can mix the chicken and chicken broth with his dry food to see if that helps him eat more. If his appetite does not return or he is drinking more water than normal , then I would have your vet check him. This can be a sign of kidney disease or diabetes and it is best to start treatment early
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Health & Wellbeing
Hi my dog is very sick he has not been eating for 2 days, he only drinks a little water and today i did a blood test
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! Loss of appetite can be observed with many conditions such as gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, kidney disease, pancreatitis, among many other possibilities. On the CBC (on the right side), I can see that Rocky has a mild to moderate anemia and mildly elevated white blood cells. These are relatively non-specific factors that can be associated with many diseases. The data on the left side I unfortunately cannot read as I do not understand the language. I recommend that you have Rocky evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. If he is not drinking water well, he should be evaluated by a veterinarian as soon as possible to prevent dehydration. They would be able to check for these possibilities and others depending on the findings on exam. Treatment would be based on findings. Good luck and have a great day! Hoping for a speedy recovery!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Training & Behavior
My dog Rocky is started having problems with holding his bladder. He will leak while he walks around and started peeing in his cage. I started putting a diaper and wrap to make sure he will be okay and he leaked through both and had very little water
Hi there and thank you for using Boop by Petco to address your concern. With Rocky's age and these symptoms, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine him so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. The increased thirst and urination could be due to a systemic illness such as diabetes, cushing's disease, etc. I would recommend having Rocky's blood tested initially to help rule out these causes. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has refused to eat all day. She has seemed very tired and has drank quite a bit of water. She is 14 years old.
Poor girl. She may have an internal illness that is causing her to not want to eat and have excessive drinking. Several things could be causing this including a bacterial infection, liver or kidney disease. I would recommend offering her some canned dog food or boiled plain chicken and rice to see if that entices her to eat. However, if she has not eaten after 24 hrs, or seems to be declining at any point, its best to get her seen by your vet for a proper exam and some diagnostic tests (i.e. bloodowork) to help identify the underlying problem so that we know how to best help her. I hope that your fur baby Minnie is able to make a full and speedy recovery from her illness. Best wishes and take care.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My black lab is 7, she stopped eating (usually wolfs it down), and her eyes look cloudy. All she does is sleep and drink water. Lost a lot of weight. Can't afford vet. Help!! Thanks!
She is getting to be consider a senior pet. Due to that they can develop diabetes or kidney disease or cancer or some other metabolic disease causing the weight loss. A vet is the best option to run blood work to check for these disease as some are more manageable than others. If she goes untreated, you may notice the weight loss continue and even vomiting or diarrhea ensue due to advanced disease. On average it is more economic to treat and manage a disease when they are healthy, so the sooner the better you can find a way to take Roxy in the better. Different clinics might accept different forms of payment, so it may be worth checking around
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Food & Nutrition
We have a 8 year old boxer lab mix. A few weeks ago she stopped eating her food but she will eat her treats, and she acts normal as usual but drinks a ton more than normal too.
Poor Nella! This decrease in appetite could be due to a number of problems such as dental disease, liver disease, kidney disease, systemic illness, infection, inflammation, or injury. The drinking a lot more could be caused by kidney disease or diabetes to name two causes. I would take her into a vet today or tomorrow. The vet can do a physical exam, geriatric blood panel, and urinalysis as a start to try to figure out what is going on with her. Once a cause is diagnose, the vet can discuss treatment options. Best of luck, I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
my dog stop eating for the whole day and do not want to eat anything
Hello, sorry to hear about Rocky. It sounds like he is feeling unwell but these signs are non-specific. It may be caused by multiple reasons, most often a dietary indiscretion, ingestion of foreign material, or in puppies this young an infection with a virus or parasite may cause this. If Rocky is not eating by tomorrow, or if he begins to vomit, have diarrhea, or lethargy then he needs to be evaluated by his veterinarian immediately. You can offer him a bland diet tomorrow of plain white rice, skinless and boneless boiled chicken and cottage cheese low fat. Hope this helps and best of luck.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Our 14 year old boy is not eating as well as usual. We were feeding kibble and watering it down, then switched to a raw food diet. He is still not eating as well. Recent vet visit he was ok, although slowing down quite a bit. Heart sounded fine,
I would definitely recommend some blood work, if this hasn't been done recently. Older dogs are prone to a number of health issues that can cause decreased appetite along with being less active - chronic kidney disease and hypothyroidism are two possibilities that are both very common. In many cases, these issues are treatable (at least to some extent) once a diagnosis is made, so it's well worth checking for them if you can - hopefully, there are some things you can do to make him feel better for as long as possible, even though he's getting older.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Dozer with the heat the last few days is not right the last day or so I can't get him to take him tramadol and today he won't eat a thing and if he did I came out both ends like a rocket lol I called my vet They said it would be OK to give him one Im
There are numerous reasons why he may be vomiting and not eating, but unfortunately it will require an exam and possibly other diagnostic tests in order to determine the diagnosis. If his issues have gone in for more than 24-48 hours, your veterinarian should look at him to see what may be going on. He may have a bacterial infection, viral infection, may have eaten something that is making him sick, may have kidney or liver issue or possibly a mass or tumor involving the GI tract. Since he vomits anything he is ingesting, it is really not possible to treat this at home. Dozer should see his veterinarian ASAP.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has arthritis in his back legs. So he has a hard time getting up in the mornings, but he usually gets up when we wants to. But this morning is different he’s up and he’s wobbling everywhere and acts like he doesn’t know how to walk and when h
This could be a balance problem called old dog vestibular disease. They can be wobbly, usually have a head tilt and are often nauseated and don’t want to eat or drink. If so it generally improves in a few days. Since he’s an elderly dog it could also be from a tumor affecting his neurological system, liver or kidney disease, or an inner ear infection among other things. This sounds quite serious so I recommend a veterinary exam. They will check him over and perhaps do an X-ray and blood panel to determine the cause of his symptoms. Once they have a diagnosis then they can initiate treatment. Thanks for using Boop by Petco to help you care for BJ.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog is senior dog lost of appetite for he's dry food but drinking plenty of water .also if i offer him boiled chicjen he'll eat that
You can mix the chicken and chicken broth with his dry food to see if that helps him eat more. If his appetite does not return or he is drinking more water than normal , then I would have your vet check him. This can be a sign of kidney disease or diabetes and it is best to start treatment early
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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