My parents have an Irish setter that is the runt of the litter and after about a thousand trips to the vet to see why she wouldn’t eat turned out she had hookworms (I’m not kidding - they spent thousands of dollars at the vet before they found out.) Pumpkin purée probably saved her life. It was recommended by a trusted pet food specialist who is a friend of mine.
I give my pup a ginger and pumpkin digestive chew every day. I hope in some way it helps him as he gets older.
Part of his problem is, he’s a rather nervous dog. But when he was 7 I gave him some treat that almost killed him. The vet opened him up to see what the trouble was, thinking there was some obstruction. His stomach and digestive tract was inflamed, and his kidneys were shutting down. He lost half his body weight in a week. To top it off his anxiety about staying in the cage at the vets was overwhelming for him. I think he thought it was the pound, that I dumped him.
I had to take him home when really, he should have been under their care. I had to bring him in daily for IV meds and fluids. I had to force feed him a medicated food with a syringe. I think it was two weeks before he could or would eat anything solid. It was touch and go for a while.
He’s 15 now, and he does okay mostly, and he is pretty good about refusing to eat stuff that might make him sick.
After my husband died and I lost my other two dogs, he was so anxious I couldn’t leave the house. He totally panicked when left alone. He’d be sick for 2-3 days if I was gone long enough to buy groceries. I got Georgia so he’d have a companion, and he’s much better off now.
