My overweight dog stopped eating after finding moldy food. Is he sick?

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Moldy food can produce serious problems, like uncontrolled twitches, lack of balance, hypersalivation or even seizures. It usually takes 1-6hrs after ingestion of mold for the symptoms to develop. If Indy is acting normal and he is not showing any of these symptoms, you should monitor him at home. However, if he starts acting strange, if he develops muscle twitches and problems with walking you should take him to your vets as an emergency.

Dogs developed as scavengers so they can tolerate some food that we would consider rotten or moldy. He should be fine. If he was going to have a stomach upset it probably would have happened already, so no treatment is needed. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Alfie.

Poor Wyatt! It sounds like he is a bit sick from eating the moldy dog food, which would make him lethargic and might give him a fever. The risk of eating moldy food is that he could get toxicity from it. I would monitor him for now for signs of toxicity, which include vomiting, agitation, walking like he is drunk, tremors, seizures, and fever. If you see any of those signs, take him into a vet right away. Check his temperature now, and if it's above 103F, he will need to see a vet now. In the meantime, feed him 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 his normal diet.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am concerned that because he vomited so many times and had diarrhea, he could be very dehydrated. Also, mushrooms can result in liver toxicity in dogs that tends to be significant. Even if he vomited some of it, there is still likely some left in his system. I think it would be best to have him evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check some basic lab work to check for signs of liver toxicity and treat accordingly. Good luck and have a great day!

Thank you for sending your question and the photo of Oakley - he is very cute! Sometimes when our pets suddenly change a behavior, we are (naturally) inclined to look at other evernts to see if there might be a connection. While dogs do mourn the loss of people they are very close to, this typically happens when dogs and their people have lived together for many years, so I’m not sure this is a realistic cause of his sudden loss of appetite. There are just so many things that can cause a normal young dog to stop eating - parasites, a blockage in the intestines, infectious diseases like parvo or leptospirosis- it’s hard to say what is going on, but your instincts to go to Oakley’s vet are 100% correct. I encourage you to get him in and get him checked out - exam and blood work at minimum - to see what’s going on.

I would recommend withholding food for at least 6-8 hours and then initiate a bland diet as outlined below. If there is no improvement or Mary Jane worsens, I would recommend trying to get her in to see a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. You can look into CareCredit as an option to help assist in paying for veterinary care as well. 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.

Many dogs eat feces, it's a common behavior. It could be eating feces has made Oliver sick. Since he vomited, I'm going to give you a home remedy to see if that helps him. Withhold food for 12 hours, then feed 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 his normal diet. If the vomiting continues in the absence of food, he vomits the bland diet, develops diarrhea, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, he will need to see a vet right away.