My dog is rubbing her mouth and won't eat dry food. What's wrong?

If Kayla won't eat her normal dry food but will eat canned food, I'd be concerned that she has a dental problem causing this change in eating. Dental problems can be common in senior dogs, and can include a tooth root abscess, broken tooth, or severe periodontal disease. I see as well that she isn't spayed, and a pyometra (a life threatening infection of the uterus) can also be a cause of a deceased appetite and a reduction in energy. Given the risk of a pyometra in an older dog, the best thing to do for her is take her into a vet today to get the cause of her symptoms diagnosed so she can be treated. Should she have a pyometra, spaying her is part of the recommend treatment. Good luck, I hope this helps!

I don't know if I would be necessarily worried but maybe a bit concerned. She may have a dental problem that is causing the issue. I suggest you get her to the vet for an exam to check her mouth thoroughly to be on the safe side.

It is definitely suspicious that something is hurting her mouth and causing her to not want to eat, but this would not normally cause her to vomit. The bile staining in the vomit doesn't tell much other than she is vomiting on an empty stomach. This is not specific to any one disease, but indicates that something is either directly upsetting her stomach, or generally making her feel nauseous. It would be best to first have a good look on her mouth using a flash light to see if there are any obvious injuries or something stuck in her mouth. I recommend having someone help you with this. In order to discover the cause of this problem you will need to take Zoey to a veterinarian for an evaluation. They can help narrow-down the cause of this and provide treatment to at-least make her feel better. For more information about vomiting, I recommend you read the article at the link below. https://www.petcoach.co/article/diarrhea-vomiting-in-dogs-when-to-call-your-veterinarian/ If you have further questions or need further clarification, then you may consider having an online consult with one of our vets on Petcoach. This way, you can send unlimited pictures and have a text conversation with a vet. I hope that helps and Zoey gets better soon.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Rosie. See if she will allow you to look in her mouth. You even use something soft like a Q-tip to lift her lip. I am concerned that she has a painful mouth if she will only eat the soft food. Dental disease is very common in her breed. Ear infections do not typically affect a dog's appetite. Has she had any vomiting or diarrhea? This will make a dog not want to eat. Another condition common in small breed dogs is neck pain. This could explain her screaming as well. She will need to see a veterinarian when you are able. In the meantime, offer soft food. You can add warm water to soften it further. I hope this information helps!

Not eating or more than just a day is definitely concerning, particularly if this is highly unusual and she's turning away things like chicken. I would be concerned about some sort of infectious or inflammatory process going on, a primary or secondary gastrointestinal issue, or one of her organ systems (liver or kidney) acting up in some fashion. If she also isn't taking anything to drink, I would definitely be worrying about dehydration setting in. If she hasn't taken anything for you by the morning, get her into the veterinarian for a check up. Unless they are able to make a determination which is obvious based on physical exam, they will want to likely run some diagnostic blood work and perhaps imaging. Hope this makes sense.

We can see these signs with oral or neck pain, but self limiting episodes of unknown generic pain are possible as well. Salivary glands inflammation, neck pain due to nerve impingement or more severe dynamic intervertebral discs compression are only few of the possible differentials. Practically I would recommend to monitor her and see if the signs are repeating over time. If that is the case a check up could be needed.

It sounds from what you are describing that Rosy’s decreased appetite is most likely related to a mild gastrointestinal upset or behaviour issue. I would advise the following Bland diet of boiled chicken and white rice. This will be good for her gastrointestinal tract and will tempt her to eat. Do this for a few days. Low sodium chicken broth if she isn’t drinking enough If she starts to vomit, have diarrhoea,seems lethargic please post another question here and I will help you further.