Loss of appetite is a symptom which should never be disregarded

Loss of appetite is a symptom which should never be disregarded

Loss of appetite is a symptom which should never be disregarded

Loss of appetite is a symptom which should never be disregarded. It may be quite right for the owners of sporting dogs to use the phrase so frequently heard: "Oh, if he won't eat, he's better without it," but want of appetite in a toy dog should never be a matter of indifference to the owner. It may, of course, arise only from previous over-eating, and over-fed dogs are certainly subject to bilious attacks which do not call for much sympathy; but it is always desirable to assure oneself that nothing more serious is the matter before dismissing the subject. In cases where loss of appetite is the precursor and accompaniment of illness, as in distemper, it would be most unwise to leave the dog to itself, and by allowing it to go without food, pull down the vitality and give the disease a firmer hold. As a general rule, a dog may be allowed to miss one meal without much anxiety; but, if a second is refused, inquisition should be made, and the temperature be taken, without loss of time. A clinical thermometer is a most useful adjunct in the dog-room, and any temperature over 100 degs. or 101 degs. the former the dog's normal one is suspicious. The easiest way of taking it is by inserting the instrument between the thigh and the body, and, as it were, holding these together, over it. Puppies will often refuse food simply because their gums are sore from teething, and here, again, it would be extremely foolish to let them go on in a state of semi-starvation. When a puppy is seen to pick up his food with his front teeth, shake each piece, and turn it over indifferently, it is a pretty sure sign that he cannot eat comfortably; if the natural process of cutting the teeth is in fault, all that need be done is to give minced meat and soft though dry food a sponge cake will nearly always be willingly negotiated and keep a watch to see that he gets enough to maintain him in good condition and pull him through the critical time; if, as is sometimes the case with an older dog, a too-lingering first tooth is setting up irritation and needs extracting, the vet's services must be requisitioned, as it is not advisable for any amateur to try his hand at canine dentistry. The main characteristic of the "new" or Stuttgart disease, or of gastritis, by the way, is inability to take food, the mouth being ulcerated, in addition to stomach complications; and here, again, commencing loss of appetite must be regarded with suspicion. Simple biliousness is not common among properly-fed dogs, but is sometimes brought on in individuals by what I may be so technically medical as to call idiosyncrasy to wit, inability to digest certain foods. Many toy dogs cannot eat vegetables, which of course are to all unnatural and very indigestible, and others are invariably sick if they are given milk, and the dog can no more help these peculiarities than human beings similarly afflicted. Biliousness, brought on either by over-eating, a chill on the liver, or some unsuitable food, is easily recognized, and here abstinence for a while is advisable. The patient will be chilly, probably having cold paws, and may be sick several times, producing only a little yellow froth; most dogs eat grass and soon feel better, requiring no medicine; but if appetite does not return quickly, give a bismuth-and-soda pill every four hours, the proportion being three grains of bicarbonate of soda to one grain of carbonate of bismuth.