Vet Can't Diagnose

Hi. I have a 11 year old Chihuahua who used to be a food hound and suddenly stopped eating 3 days ago. The only thing I can get her to eat without fail is a Greenie treat (she refuses all other treats even people food) and will eat a tiny bit of wet food. She drinks. There's no vomiting or diarrhea. Her behavior has been mostly normal (some lethargy now). Took her to the Vet and they did a senior blood panel and everything was fine except one liver enzyme was high (500's) and her glucose and electrolytes were slightly low (probably from not eating like normal). All her other values were fine - kidney, thyroid, blood count, etc. The Vet said he had no idea what it could be as during the physical exam they also found nothing. Does anyone have any ideas? Thank you.

Hello.  So the main signs are:  off food, lethargy.  I find it hard to beleive that all her bloods are known to be normal, because most blood panels test about 15 things - but I hear that those things tested are within normal limits, with the few exceptions.  I wonder whether there was a comprehensive test for pancreatitis in all that?  - as not all dogs with pancreatitis vomit.  I also wonder whether your female is entire (and whether a pyo has been excluded) and whether your dog has been checked for dehydration.  Could pain be responsible?  Has Addisons been ruled out? Good questions for your vet include, what could be causing this?  What have you ruled out so far?  What needs to happen next?  Usually, what needs to happen next is twofold - first, the dog needs to be protected to stop them getting worse, which after some point of not eating may include a drip, pain killers / other drugs if appropriate.  The second thing is, that the vets may need to keep looking for the underlying cause.   Its disappointimg when the basic blood tests don't flag it up, but your vet can do much more from here and if they really don't know, they will be able to speak to a pathogist or referral vet who can guide them.  Please would you keep us updated?