u/Jiggy_A13

Please please please help me I am beyond desperate. Any and all advice is appreciated. Thank you.

Hi all, my 9 yr Labrador has been experiencing some changes in his health and activity recently but his bloodwork and X-rays have come back showing nothing abnormal. I am really desperate for answers as he is extreme active for a 9 yo (typically walks a minimum of 10k steps a day or a few miles) and he is a lab so extremely food motivated. Like insanely food motivated. Anyways he has stopped eating his food and treats and is lethargic and just not acting right at all. His vet prescribed antibiotics for a likely GI issue but he has since finished them and shown no improvement. He is off an on when he does eat, sometimes he will eat the pumpkin we put on his food but leave the kibble, other times he will turn his nose from it. I even tried peanut butter and he won’t touch it. Anyways, I have posted on Reddit threads before but had no replies and am really worried about it, he has lost 5 lb in a week from not eating.

Hi all, thanks in advance for any helpful advice,

Sorry it is long I just really need answers & am worried sick :(

I am a very worried dog mom to my 9yo black lab George. In true lab fashion he is extremely food motivated and has never turned his nose to food or a treat, but within the past week and a half or so he has not been interested in eating. He normally jumps up for his kibble but nothing, we have added pumpkin and “kibble sauce” which is dog friendly beef broth, but he is still reluctant- and when he finally does he only eats those parts leaving his kibble. He has a history of a sensitive tummy and always has bouts of diarrhea (tmi sorry!) but he has had that off and on and extremely lethal farts (very unusual, these are actually horrific smelling nor that his normal are roses but) and he is also rocking an ear infection that won’t quit too which is not unusual either (for some background info). Additionally he takes apoqual for allergies & gets probiotic powder on his food. Anyway I took him to the vet last Friday and she said it was probably just a GI thing so she prescribed a round of antibiotics which he just finished up, but only is experiencing less gas and slightly firmer stools - the not eating and lethargy is worse. George is also very lumpy but all tested have been fat (lol funny cause he is a good 93 lb which is good for a lab) but I pointed out a newer one that was hard and we are waiting for the biopsy results. She did not do a blood draw though, saying it wasn’t necessary at that point (last Friday almost a week ago) but I am wondering if I should get one and what I should ask them to test for? He has once before gotten Rocky Mountain Tick Disease which was strange because we are in New England, and the symptoms were similar. Additionally he has also just been sick of his kibble once before so we switched him to fresh pet but that was short lived cause he was allergic. Any suggestions for food changes? He is currently on Hill Biome prescription diet GI kibble and it has been great but not as of lately with his new eating weirdness.

Thank you so much in advance & hopefully I figure out what is wrong with my guy soon :( I feel like everyone I have talked to says it’s just aging but it’s a sudden change and he is the most energetic and hungry dog ever so I’m not convinced.