My dog is not eating, shaky, and unsteady. What should I do now?

Poor Ava sounds pretty sick, and she may have a stomach illness. She could be trembling because she has a fever, and I'm concerned that she's not eating much. Try feeding her a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in her normal diet. If she refuses to eat the bland diet, she vomits the bland diet, develops diarrhea, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, she will need to see a vet right away. I hope this helps!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If Ariel is not eating and is shaking, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine her so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I would recommend having her blood tested to see if there are any abnormal levels that need to be addressed. If she is shaking, this is likely a sign that she does not feel well. You can try and offer her several things from the bland diet list below and see if she has more of an interest in the food. If not, I would get her examined by a vet sooner rather than later. 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. GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm. TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days. If stools continue to be firm then continue substituting the regular diet in 25% increments and feeding the combination in 2 day time intervals until the diet is 100% regular diet. Minimize treats for 1 week after moving the diet back to 100% regular diet.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Loss of appetite can be observed with many conditions such as gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, kidney disease, pancreatitis, among many other possibilities. I recommend that you have Panda evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. 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!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I'm sorry to hear Bella isn't behaving normally. Non-specific signs like you are seeing are a little difficult to pinpoint the source of; shaking can be due to pain, nausea, anxiety, or another underlying issue. I would recommend having her evaluated by her regular veterinarian to see if they are able to find anything that could explain what is going on, and if any further needs to be done for her. Good luck!

Unfortunately, those are very general signs of illness that can be a part of a lot of different issues. Parasites, illness, obstructions, infections, etc can all be potential causes behind vomiting and refusal to eat. If she's only vomited once or twice, you can try a bland meal of boiled rice and chicken to try and settle her stomach, however if she keeps vomiting, is refusing all food, is very lethargic, or seems painful or in distress, it is best to seek veterinary care ASAP.

Traxex is experiencing very general symptoms of disease, these symptoms could fit almost any internal condition, maybe she is suffering from nausea due to a gastrointestinal disease and maybe she is in pain, from the symptoms described it's very hard to know. i would recommend taking her to the vet as soon as possible in order to get her checked, if she doesn't show any other obvious symptoms during the examination, a blood test and possibly an ultrasound will be needed in order to try and find out what is wrong with her.

These symptoms could have a wide range of causes, including fear, anxiety, pain, nausea, diarrhea, organ failure, etc. I would recommend watching Loki for the next 12-24 hours. If additional symptoms develop, if she isn't back to normal tomorrow, or if you are concerned she is getting rapidly worse, she should definitely get examined by a vet.