My female pit has a long heat cycle and only eats treats. Why?

Poor Kardie! You could try to offer some plain boiled boneless, skinless chicken and white rice to see if this entices her to eat. There are so many things that cause decreased eating and drinking including but not limited to parasites, liver or kidney disease, bacterial or viral infection, toxins, foreign bodies, and much more. I strongly recommend to have her seen by your vet. Your vet will be able to do a fecal, blood work and every x-rays if needed. If left untreated, she could become very dehydrated and keep getting worse. I hope this helps and she starts to feel better really soon.

Yes that could be completely normal, especially during heat period. As differential can be many, the approach must be logic, starting from offering different kind of food. A check up is needed if inappetence is complete and last for more than 24hours. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hello, sorry to hear about Trig-z. She could be eating slower because something is bothering her mouth. Things to consider include dental fractures (especially if she chews on rocks or bones) and tooth root abscesses, especially if she has not had teeth cleaning recently. She could also have a systemic illness such as liver disease or kidney disease, but these typically cause inappetence or vomiting. If these signs persist longer than 2-3 days, or if her signs worsen, then she should be seen by her veterinarian soon. Hope this helps and best of luck.

I would be suspicious there is another cause for the change in behavior. Swelling of the vulva happens early on in the heat cycle but everybody is different. With her age it’s possible she may not proceed quite as normal since she is young. It’s possible she does not feel well. It’s also possible she is starting to test her boundaries and where she fits in the pack hierarchy. Since she can’t talk and tell you, I recommend to have her examined by the veterinarian. If the veterinarian does not find any obvious source of pain, they may look into a bladder infection or anal gland infection as a cause for discomfort. It is always important to rule out medical causes. I hope this helps.

She may have a uterine or vaginal infection that is making her feel bad or this maybe unrelated to the cycle. a decrease in appetite can be from eating something she should not have or an infection. You can try boiled chicken and rice and if no luck then I would have her seen by a vet since it has been 2 days and I would worry about her getting dehydrated

It sounds like she's trained you to give her the good stuff :) I'd first start with a vet visit to rule out a medical cause (Anxiety, intestinal parasites, an issue with her liver processing nutrients called a liver shunt). If everything is normal, then slowly start weaning her off the treats and on to food. It's ok for her to go a day or two without eating a normal amount while you're transitioning her.

Poor girl. Some dogs have a tougher time than others when it comes to their first heat cycle. However she does seem to bra late bloomer as most dogs have their first heat cycle around 6-10 months. If she is this ill I would recommend having her to examined by your vet to make sure she isn't having any complications or other underlying illness that's causing this. If she is found to have a ln abnormally intense heat cycle, then the vet can prescribe some safe pet friendly pain medicaiton for her to get for the next few days until the brunt of her menstrual cycle has passed. In the meantime I try placing a warm compress on her belly for a few minutes (be very careful not to leave on too long or you can easily burn your pets skin) to help ease some of the discomfort. hope she feels better soon!