HELP! My 12 y/o German Shepherd stopped eating!!

Question
Hi, I have a 12 year old German Shepher (Ralphie).  He stopped eating his food almost 4 days ago... and is only sipping some water here and there.  I replaced his food and dog bowl... thinking maybe he was turned off because his food was in his bowl for two days... That didn't work.  Today, I gave him a broken up piece of wheat.  I tore it up and put it in his bowl... he picked out all the bread.  As a rule, I usually don't give him any table food, because he's got a weak stomach.  He always had a weak stomach and I only feed him dried dog food, no wet dog food at all.  He always like his food and always ate it, until 4 days ago.   Anyone have any suggestions???  Thank you.  Debbie

Answer
I would take him into the vet for a thorough examination ASAP. This could be anything, but at his age the obvious might be a bad tooth.

The first thing I try with a dog who is turning his nose up at food is to put a bit of warm water in his kibble. If that doesn't work, I put in a bit of good canned dog food (Eagle Canned Chicken). Still refusing food (over a period of days), I then begin to pull out all stops. If he is eating bread, I would give him bread. What has also worked for me in the past with a dog that is refusing to eat all food and is starting to go downhill is to give it little meatballs of *raw* hamburger. Gerber's Strained Chicken (baby food) has also worked. You *must* keep the dog eating! The longer he fasts, the more he will NOT want to eat.

I gradually start incorporating kibble back into the diet once the dog starts eating again. But first, get him checked over.

Karen