My dog won't eat and sleeps more. When should I take him to the vet?

For a dog that usually eats well, 5 days is getting a little long to let it go. I would recommend that you have Panda checked out by a vet to see what could be going on. There are so many things that could be causing his vague symptoms, including pain, infection, intestinal issues (including obstruction), among many others. After physical examination and a thorough medical history discussion, your vet may recommend treatment, bloodwork, or x-rays to see what could be going on.

Unfortunately these symptoms can signal many many conditions. Just like people, there are many conditions that can make pets feel sick. This could range from an infection to cancer. Also like us, diseases are best addressed early and this may result in a better prognosis. I recommend to have her examined by the veterinarian within the next 24 hours. The doctor will need to learn the underlying cause in order to give appropriate treatment. Bring in a stool sample in case the doctor needs to test it. I hope Blu starts feeling better quickly! Please feel free to post any additional questions.

If his only symptom is inappetence, I would keep an eye on him and not offer food for 24 hours. He can have water. That way, if something has upset his stomach, it will have time to rest and recover. If he has any other symptoms, diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy, fever, get him in to be seen by a vet right away as this may be signs or a more serious problem.

An adult dog that has no other medical conditions can usually go for 12-24 hours without eating as long as he is still drinking water and is alert. He may just have a bit of an [upset stomach](https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-treat-your-dogs-upset-stomach) from something he ate (that he wasn't supposed to) or he could have a touch of gastrointestinal infection. Continue to monitor him. If his symptoms worsen - he stops drinking, becomes lethargic, develops a fever, or begins [vomiting](https://www.petcoach.co/article/vomiting-in-dogs) or has [diarrhea](https://www.petcoach.co/article/diarrhea-in-dogs), then you should [contact your veterinarian](https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-handle-a-pet-emergency/).

Given the lack of clinical signs besides lethargy and inappetence, there is not much else to go on here. I would consider obtaining a rectal thermometer tomorow and checking for a fever (above 102.5), which might suggest the presence of an infection or inflammation. If you detect a fever, I would definitely suggest getting Rusty to the vet sometime soon. If there is no fever, but his condition does not get better by Monday he should be taken in for an examination regardless. You can certainly try and feed Rusty something that would normally be considering irresistible just to see if he will accept it, rather than just his normal dog food. Anyway, hope this helps and that Rusty is feeling better soon. It is entirely possible that he might just feeling a little under the weather or maybe could have eaten something he shouldn't have that upset his stomach. If this is the case, the symptoms should pass with short time.

If he is behaving normally otherwise, continue feeding a bland diet for a few days. He may just have some minor stomach upset. Afterwards, transition slowly to the regular diet. Monitor for extreme lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite or abdominal pain. These are symptoms that should be addressed by your veterinarian.

Poor Pocholo! It definitely sounds like he isn't feeling well for some reason. Unfortunately, these symptoms are very vague and could be caused by almost any type of illness or injury, so there's no way to say what might be wrong without being able to examine him. I would recommend taking him to the vet for a check-up as soon as you are able to - he/she can do some blood work or other testing if needed to help determine what's wrong and get him started on appropriate treatment for the problem.