My puppy won't eat after fish, only drinks water. Is he declining?

Gastrointestinal obstruction and or perforation is possible and requires an immediate check up. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is immediately essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Antibiotics and possibly further investigations (like abdominal imaging as ultrasound or radiographs) may be needed. 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.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Az. I'm sorry to hear he is not eating. If he continues to refuse food, he will need to see a veterinarian as he is so young. He may have intestinal parasites, an upset stomach or a more serious viral infection. In the meantime, continue to offer him and water and try hand feeding him. Monitor for signs of vomiting and diarrhea. I hope this information helps!

Kudos to you for being so concerned about Buddy! :-) As long as Buddy is at a healthy body weight, he is likely getting plenty to eat. To make sure he seems to be a healthy body weight, run your hands over his ribs to assure that you can easily feel (but not see) his ribs. You should also be able to see a "waistline" when looking down at him. I can't see Buddy well enough in the pictures to help you determine if his weight is appropriate. Some dogs are naturally picky or have been conditioned to eat less dog food because they know that treats or more appealing food is coming. I always recommend offering food twice daily as you are doing, but some dogs choose to only eat once a day. Avoid midday treats or snacks to try to train Buddy to eat at mealtimes and continue avoiding table scraps. Make sure that Buddy is being offered a high quality kibble (I generally recommend Science Diet, Purina ProPlan or Royal Canin foods) and if you choose to switch foods, be sure to do so by mixing old and new foods together over 5-7 days. If the canned diet seems to tempt him to eat, you can continue mixing a bit in with the kibble, but I would recommend avoiding Beneful and looking for a higher quality canned option. Feel free to request a consultation or post additional questions if you have further concerns! :-)

If the medication being given isn't helping and Sushi has been refusing food and water for nearly a week it is best to bring her back to your vet ASAP. It is possible there is an infection that requires different or IV antibiotics to target it, and IV fluids and other treatment are needed to help with dehydration and loss of appetite.

I would recommend that you have Smokey examined by a vet. It is very unusual for a puppy to go so long without eating. If you aren’t seeing vomiting, then possible causes for the not eating could be a GI obstruction or infection or internal organ disease. The vet may recommend blood work or other testing based on the examination and Smokey’s medical history.

They may be stressed from the trip, the water may be too cold (low temps can affect appetite in fish) or the water chemistry may be off. Consider a partial water change. Use only conditioned water that is temperature matched to prevent further stress or shock. The fish food is fine. They will likely eat it once conditions are corrected and they settle down.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, he should see a veterinarian. He may not be eating due to dietary indiscretion from eating the bird or mouse or it could even be due to a gastrointestinal obstruction. I am afraid that if he is not drinking water he may be becoming dehydrated. They would be able to check for these possibilities and most importantly start him on medications to make him feel better. Good luck and have a great day!