14 month GSD not eating

Hi, We have a recently spayed German Shepherd who prior to being spayed was loosing weight (and coat) through loss of interest in food. Pyometra was suspected (hence the spaying), however, her appetite has not returned. We have tried various foods and whilst she shows an initial interest she stops eating soon after. We are now handfeeding her to try and maintain her health. Coat loss has reduced since spaying … she has gone from a long haired Shepherd to a shorthaired Shepherd and weighs at present 25.5kg. Any insight or assistance on how we might help her regain her appetite would be very gratefully received. Kind regards Mark

Hello Mark - it is relatively unusual for healthy dogs to starve themselves to the point of weight-loss, implying that something is likely to be physically wrong, so I think it's important to find the cause of the lack of interest in food.  Possibilities are very wide-ranging and can usually be distinguished from one another by blood tests and / or radiographs.  For example, liver disease, pancreatitis (a specific blood test is often needed to rule out pancreatitis), kidney disease, cancer, diabetes, heart-disease, skeletal pain....  Because these conditions are so wide-ranging, there is no catch-all way to make a dog regain their appetite or gain weight, no magic formula to make the symptom go away.  So it is important to get to the bottom of what is causing the lack of interest in food i.e. the cause.  Good questions for your vet include, 'What have you ruled out?  What is left to rule out?  What is the most likely of these?  Should we do the specific test for pancreatitis?  Would it be worth trying a pain killer?' and so on.

If your vet has taken the case as far as they can, the next step would often be to involve a specialist, so this could be something else to ask them about.

I hope he gets well soon.

Ps I am assuming here that your dog is underweight at 25kg.  For some shepherds or in particular shepherd crosses, this may be a wholly appropriate weight.   Again your vet will advise.

Having thought a little more about this, it is not unusual for dogs to need less energy after being speyed and a reduction in circulating hormones can affect food intake.  Some dogs will eat whatever food they are offered but others will only eat what they need and this can be entirely normal.   As previously, I think that the vets is the first stop here.   You need to establish what is normal for your dog and whether or not they are concerned.  If your dog is still losing and if the weight loss is deemed inappropriate, then the tests discussed in the first instance may prove useful.