[Steveandashleighzimmerman]

Tyson my 9 year old boxer is not eating at all, but he’s drinking water! He‘s also lethargic and very clingy! I don’t know if it’s because we went out of town this past weekend! And our Relatives have a pit bull but they havent ever met and we put one up in bedroom and let other out and vice versa, but this past weekend after going out of town they came to our house! Could he not be eating because another dog was in his house or what!? He isnt throwing up or have diarrhea! He ate a couple bites of the other dogs food!! He also has IBD and is on medication to make him digest his food which he’s been on for 6 years and he’s on a special diet of Royal Canin Gastrointestinal! He is doing the same exact things our other boxer did before he passed, so I’m very worried! Thanks!!

 

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I would get him to the Vet right away. He sounds like he has a very upset stomach probably from the stress of those other dogs in your house and you being gone. Sometimes they can worry themselves into a state where thier stomachs just don’t empty so they are not hungry I know because I have one of those dogs. Usually they give my dog metacloprimide and it gets him going again. Extreme thirst is very concerning too so he really needs to be evaluated by the Vet. At 9 he is a senior dog now and like most older people they just can’t deal with stress it’s too upsetting for them so that’s something that needs to be considered when making plans

 

[Lindar51]

My cairn terrier also has IBD, when she is having a bout..(usually because she ate someone else food or found something) the following day she will go off her food and is lethargic, she won't eat at all. The following day she is back to herself. I hope this is all that is happening with yours.

 

[Grootsmom]

Have you gotten your boxer to the vet yet. If not please check his gums to see if they are a nice pink colour. Last October my Boston was acting the same and because I had my daughters dog here for a few days everyone thought he was having behavioural issues. Even my vet thought the same thing over a phone call visit. I didn’t and brought him in. Turned out the lethargy and not eating much was something called IMHA. Immune mediated hemolytic anemia. His body was attacking his red blood cells and killing them off. The vet looked at his gums and whipped him in the back right away for bloodwork and within a few minutes we knew what it was. If I hadn’t brought him in when I did I would have lost him and almost did anyway, He’s still being treated for this. I had never heard of this condition before and it scares me to think how close I came to losing him. I don’t want to scare you, I just wish someone else would have been able to tell me the possibility. I hope your issue is much easier to get over and hopefully it is just behavioural. Just good to get it checked. I hope to see a good update.

 

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I had a female boxer who got this was a scary thing to go thru. She had to have blood transfusions mega doses of prednisone too. This condition is thought to be a result of having thier regular vaccines which can bring on a hyper reaction from the immune system. Ticks are also suspected in this glad you’re dog pulled thru my girl took a long time for blood counts were normal I almost lost her. She started by being weak and fainting

 

[Grootsmom]

I had a female boxer who got this was a scary thing to go thru. She had to have blood transfusions mega doses of prednisone too. This condition is thought to be a result of having thier regular vaccines which can bring on a hyper reaction from the immune system. Ticks are also suspected in this glad you’re dog pulled thru my girl took a long time for blood counts were normal I almost lost her. She started by being weak and fainting

Hi again, you said you had a female boxer who had it does that mean you no longer have her. If so I am so sorry. How long did it take for your girl to recover from this nasty illness. My Boston started battling it since last October and was slowly increasing his red blood cells until February then we got referred to an internal medicine specialist then a dermatologist because he developed calcinosis cutis because of the high dose prednisone then he developed lesions on his tongue and was referred to a dental surgeon. His tongue was so full of liquid and calcified calcinosis circumscripta lesions they didn’t know how he was able to eat. Surgery was done and he recovered from that and eventually was weaned off prednisone when his red blood cells were high enough then pretty quickly relapsed. He just had his third ultrasound and has calcinosis crystals in his spleen but is ok for now. He has a neurology appt. on the 20th as he’s having ear pain but no infection is seen. This seems like a never ending battle. He turned 4 in the middle of all this and looks healthy but isn’t and he’s missing out on so much of his life. It’s rare for him to play even for a minute but loves to eat because of the prednisone and thankfully can enjoy his walks right now. He just had the first positive bloodwork with an increase in his red blood cells since he relapsed about two months ago. I believe his IMHA was brought on by allergy meds. I could be wrong but our vet thinks so as well. There are so many things that can cause it. I lost my 11 year old boxer girl in the middle of all this and shortly after I saw a listing of a 7 month old boxer girl for sale. There was something about the picture that made me think something wasn’t right. There was no happiness or excitement in her eyes in the picture which I found odd for a 7 month old boxer. I went to see her and brought her home with me. She was thin like a pencil with all her ribs showing. Her backside were two hipbones and a tail. She lived all of her little life in a barn with no attachment to anyone. I’m worried what health issues might come from how she lived and her lack of nutrition but I have her at a healthy weight and in the short time I’ve had her she’s learned to love life and toys and everything else a happy puppy her age should be doing except she’s fearful of some things especially around her food bowl. She fine with me but very nervous if my partner is in the kitchen when she has her food down but other times she will eat out of his hand and play and cuddle with him. If he happens to make a loud noise by accident like with a dish she scrambles to get out of the room. Nothing I do scares her though so I’m thinking the man where she first lived abused her. I think I may have to seek out professional help with this. I just want her to be a happy well adjusted boxer girl. She is so loving and gentle with the prettiest little face. Boy I got off topic. If you wouldn’t mind I’d like to hear a bit of you’re experience with IMHA. Hard to believe our dogs could have lethargy and lack of appetite and it quickly turn into such a life threatening crisis.

 

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I lost that female Boxer that had the IMHA to food related DCM when she was 7 it was especially heartbreaking because once we got thru the IMHA she returned to full health was happy and fun loving dog. It took I think 3 months maybe 4 before she regained her health and strength back. I thank goodness she never got those prednisone side effects but I was really worried giving her those large doses. her blood count on the onset was at near death numbers so it took her a long time it seemed for her numbers to come up spent a lot of sleepless nights and a whole lot of tears, she was one of the best dogs I had ever had too. I am so sorry to hear your dog relapsed with this sounds like the steroids are really hard on him. Hopefully he is not going to be needing steroids anymore! I wonder if that ear pain has anything to do with the sores he had in his mouth? Kudos to you for helping a dog in need. My first Boxer was a product of a back yard breeder in horrible condition when I brought her home but some wormings and good food she came around, her temperament was never the best by no means a friendly Boxer but she was the longest lived dog I have had she made it to 13 so I don’t think the bad start affects them too much, and coincidentally she was the healthiest of any other Boxer that I had afterwards never needed the Vet for anything but routine stuff! On the fear issue I’m sure she will improve maybe make sure your partner is the one to treat her and spend time playing with her till she understands good things happen when she sees him. After my bout with IMHA I view getting vaccines differently now. Which allergy med do you think did this? If you want private message me, I had a run in with the more popular advertised med with gastric issues.