JonnyBravo

Not car related and thus hopefully won't be ruined by others !

Basically I've got a red setter that hasn't eaten for a 4 days now.

Anyone that has owned a Setter before may know how much they like to play the dumbass, mine certainly does play it well but I guarantee if I wave some sausages in front of her nose she will most probably take my hand off

One thing I've learnt over the years is try not to treat her to much as she simply will expect it all the time and thus won't eat her own food, although its been Christmas we have made sure we don't give her bones and leftovers but she has become really awkward.

Has anyone got any suggestions on how to get her to eat ?

I don't want to take her to the Vet as I'm 99% sure she is just playing me.

HELP

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Obvious answer first, whats her favourite food and have you tried giving her that?

Any other "symptoms" at all?

hitchwest

iTrader: (2)

if she is running and pissing and shitting
she may have something sore in her mouth
what we tend to do with our cat is just ring the vets up and ask for some advice they dont always say come down let me have a look but three or four days is quite a long time to go with no food

JonnyBravo

At first I will admit we had her on some different mixer, as she wouldn't eat that we have been out to get the exact stuff she normally has and there was no change.

She is quite a lazy dog tbh Chip, she gets a walk most days and I play with her loads, she is maybe a little less interested recently but then so I would be if I hadn't eaten for 4 days

I can't say I've been out looking at her poo but I suppose thats the next job ! she is definately going though.

I think tonight I'm going to have to cook her some human food just so I know she has eaten ! if she doesn't eat that then I'll have to take her to the vet as something must be wrong

Fil

straight to the vet i'd say

hitchwest

iTrader: (2)

good luck mate i know how stressfull it can be wish they could just tell you sometimes

Redkop

Get her to the vet straight away.... there might be something going on internally in her gut.

When I had my Red Setter, eating was her favourite pastime and if she went 2 days without eating, I knew something would be wrong. The main thing is when dogs go off food, they don't drink enough water either so they get dehydrated very quickly, which can be serious. A Red Setter wouldn't 'play' you for 4 days without a good reason.

Get the vet to check her out and he might even prescribe some tablets to bring her appetite back.

You're right about Red Setters being dumbasses, mine was as thick as shit sometimes but extremely clever at other times. Great dogs though and sadly I lost mine at 8 yrs old to kidney failure

Maria.

First of all... check her poo! A dogs poo is always a good way to tell how their digestive tract is working.

If her poo is solid and fine, then cook her some rice, with gravy. The gravy is purely to tepmt her to eat it, but the rice will help her intestine push anything through that may have become lodged.

If her poo is loose, still try the rice and gravy, and rice will bind the ingredients in her tummy.

If she is refusing to eat and drink full stop, then you need to get her to a vet, it can take a dog as little as 48 hours to dehydrate to the point where they will need IV fluids.

Good luck fella, and let us know how you get on! I know how much of a worry dogs can be... theyre part of the family!

Redkop

If she's not eating, I doubt she's doing any poos... she won't have any bulk to pass.

wirralphil

sounds silly but is the dog depressed? tail wagging? barking? my sister's Ridgeback never ate for 2 days due to her going on holiday.

try scrambled egg and see if this tempts her. worked on our Jack russel when she was ill.

JonnyBravo

Thanks for the replies

I've just had the gas engineer in and my my dog was going mad, barking and generally chasing her tail as usual, still no interest in her food but I mananged to get her to eat some sausages !

Funny how she will happily eat my breakfast but won't eat her own !

I'll give the vet a call later though if I can't convince her to eat her own food.

Redkop, sorry to hear that about your setter, we lost out last one to a Tumor (sp) , after having the first one removed she lived another 18 months before the others got too bad, it was a very sad day, I love my Setters though and had to have another.

Maria.

She's a beauty!

Bullett

iTrader: (2)

dogs do fast themselves from time to time,obviously check the stools as said but have you tried to add warm water to thier food?that makes it smell maore appetising to them.worth try.

JonnyBravo

She knows it as well

Bullett, Thanks mate, I did try warm gravy on her food the other night but she wasn't interested.

I'll be cooking my lunch in a mo so I'll sort something out for her too

FasterFords

4 days is a long time, get her to the vets

Maria.

Ok, is she eating and drinking AT ALL?? even little bits?

If she is drinking then its not as dire as it would be if she wasnt drinking... at the end of the day, you know your own dog.... you'll be able to tell if you need to get her to the vets straight away or not!

sabres74

4 days is definately abnormal even for the most stubborn dog, cats however will almost starve to death than eat something they do not like.

I would really contact your vet to be on the safe side, remember dogs cannot tell you when there is something wrong with them.

JonnyBravo

Yes she is drinking, and she IS eating, just not her own food.

The tips for what food to try her on have been helpful thanks

She is a setter, they like to make sure you know they are in control.

She has it SO easy its unreal, maybe tbh thats half the problem.

Lunch is ready so we'll see how we get on with that

Redkop

She's lovely, similar to mine. I don't have any pics of her on my PC and my scanner is broken so can't scan one in Mine was a massive bitch, everyone thought she was a male as there was nothing dainty about her at all.

I never wanted another setter after her as she was so special, she literally went everywhere with me, so went over to German Shepherds.

JonnyBravo

I've always had Red Setters, Kiri my last one was a massive bitch, Ciara pictured is tiny ! the amount of times I'm asked if she is a pup is hilarious.

I think I'll always have setters tbh, I love their temprament, so good natured and great around anyone, especially kids.

My stepdad has a German Shepherd and she is lovely, getting on a bit now but a lovely dog to have around.

Redkop

My setter was called Sophie and I managed to train her to an acceptable level, it was damned hard work though as she'd just dive off [pretending to be deaf] and do her own thing.

The German Shepherd bitch I have now is the most intelligent, trainable dog I've ever had. If anything she's too intelligent as she knows too many words we use in ordinary day to day conversation.

I would have another setter now though, but that will never happen not while we have Kira.

JonnyBravo

LOL ( at pretending to be deaf )

They hear what they want to don't they

Bullett

iTrader: (2)

i have two huskies,one of the hardest breeds to train and control due to their wolf like natural nature they are stubborn and you have to be VERY dominant with them they ignore my missus but they know whos boss with me. i never hit a dog but they get put down very often as they like to always push their luck to see ifou will crack this time


do you feed your dog veggies?we add that to ours food an they love it ad other times i mix primula in with the meat and biscuit,that makes them at it all


dogs like variation like us too

Redkop

They sure do, she used to do some really dumb things at times... I used to keep horses at one time and she was always down the stables with me and used tt lie in wait to catch a mouse. She was always patient while doing this. Invariably she caught at least one a day BUT once she'd caught one, she'd take it into the field, find a spot and lie down to have a munch at it, but as you know setters are light mouthed dogs, so once she dropped it, the mouse would shoot off unharmed, so Sophie would then spend the next hour looking for it in about a 10' radius

I could spend all day writing about some of the daft things she got up to, she certainly didn't lack character.

JonnyBravo

@ the mouse

That is so true of them, I'm suprised she even managed to catch one !

If I throw the ball for Ciara she will miss it by a mile, no sense whatsoever, and when she picks the ball up she just runs about not really knowing what to do next

Did yours (jokes aside) ever try to talk ? in a growling way I mean, in the excitement of someone coming into the house she will run round the house, find a sock then growl at all sorts of levels as if she is trying to tell you something Hard to explain but something anyone that meets her finds hilarious

BTW she ate (some) food

Mr RS500

iTrader: (6)

What a stunning looking dog

Hope she is ok

JonnyBravo

Cheers Paul

Redkop

She used to go wild when people came to the house, really giving them a greeting, but when it came to them leaving, she wouldn't let them, she would back them onto a wall or into a corner and growl fiercely at them daring them to move. She also hated people with beards, and would jump up and grab their beard and bring them down to their knees

My GSD has a brilliant way of welcoming people [Marco, Nutter, Shings can tell you] she goes berserk and leaps at them from about 5' away once they're through the door and always manages to nut them straight in the knackers then shoots off to find a toy to bring to them.

cameron2

Pregnant?

JonnyBravo

I bloody well hope not

Its very unlikely really, I'm always with her when she goes for a walk and no other dogs have been anywhere near her.

My stepdad took her for a walk on Christmas day though so she might of been done then, I think she was maybe too buy jumping in muddy puddles considering what she looked like when she got back that day

cameron2

My boxer sulked for days after she was raped on the park!

I have a bulldog aswell and they both go on hunger strike for days at a time.
I put it down to rapid weather changes, it fucks them up!

Pate is always good to get them going.

Bullett

iTrader: (2)

JonnyBravo
how did she start eating in the end mate?

JonnyBravo

Well I tried her with a bit of ham first as I was making a sandwich, I then decided that might not be the best plan of attack as she will probably ignore her own food.

I stuck some Pedigree Chum out with some mixer and after 10 mins of trying to encourage her to eat it she ate half of it, an hour so later she ate the rest.

She has been super playful since and seems ok.

I'll try her on some more food later, fingers crossed

Thanks for the help from everyone !

One last pic from when her mum and sister came to visit, you have no idea how long it took to get this picture

cameron2

This is ellie the fussy eating 2 yr old boxer!

Ellie and molly the bulldog cross!

And max, my mothers stupid 1 yr old boxer that thinks its a kangaroo!