OK, needed a separate thread. Thank you to EVERYONE who has been helping me out. I need thoughts and ideas so I am educated when I walk into the vet, and they don't rack up my bill wasting $$$$. What tests would you run on my refusal to eat boy/no appetite to rule out a medical cause? We did thyroid a year ago and a full blood panel about 6 months ago (nothing abnormal), but I am thinking to try the vet again. We thought maybe it was teeth/throat related, but then again he will eat the biscuit treat and chew with no issue. I want to run a thyroid again but its not that he wont gain weight, HE WONT EAT (and when I say he wont eat I mean everything- kibble, table scraps, RAW, McDonald's). I know we have a lot of great thinkers here so I figure I throw it out there on ideas on what is going on with my boy. He's 2 year old. Been like this for at least a year, thought it was getting better but took a turn for the worse a month or two ago. We wondered too if maybe he had a stomach ulcer or something Do they make a pill like they give in the elderly when they don't eat and the doctor wants to stimulate their appetite? And no its not worms.

sucralfate will help to "coat" the stomach also helps with nausea.. it is sometimes used when they suspect a stomach ulcer...don't know if that will help but you can discuss it with your vet

Blood levels can change in a short period of time so re-checking a CBC/Chemical Profile is where I would start if he were my boy. Also ask your Vet to send a fecal specimen to the Lab for a complete fecal analysis. Certain intestinal parasites can cause stomach upset and cramping that would cause a dog to be off it's food. Has your boy been X-Rayed or Ultrasounded? Also let's not forget about testing for the many tickbourne diseases that can cause a dog to be off it's food. If all else fails ask your Vet for a referal to a good Internal Medicine Specialist....
Best of luck with you boy!

Are girls in heat ? Some go off food for a time. Mine don't, but some do. Boy, if I had a Lab that did not eat, I would sure be finding out why. They love food so much. You would think teeth. Tick is also an idea. Thinking on it.

Some other tests that you might consider are bile acids and pancreatic enzymes.
As for the thyroid testing......dogs are more likely to be hypothyroid. Dogs with hypothyroidism tend to be obese, have poor hair coat, they tend to have crusty lessions on their skin, they are often heat seeking and have a depressed look about them.
I agree with the previous poster.....A Labrador that won't eat is something to be very concerned about.....

You need to get moving to the Vet. Very unusual for a Lab not to eat for such a long period of time - you said a year. Especially at such a young age. Something is up. Thyroid problems, maybe, but I would get going.

I agree about going to the vet, but I'd also find a canine nutritionist and talk to them, also. There may be something about the foods you're offering that makes him feel unwell.

Email if you'd like more info.

I'd certaily be taking him immediately to the vet as the other posters mentioned...another issue might be giardia...while it usually causes diahrea...also causes loss of appetite and vomiting. Some dogs acclimate to giardia and do not exhibit diahrea or vomiting but will not eat. The diagnosis is difficult since the stool will not always test positive. Anyway, just a thought. Good luck. Hope he gets better.
A

What about things/conditions that would make it difficult or painful to swallow? Something lodged in the throat (small piece of stick or bone or whatever)? Has he had a thorough examination of mouth (I know you mentioned teeth) and throat?

MK

Other than the dog's refusal to eat the amount you would like what is wrong with the dog medically? Is he losing tons of weight or just not at the weight we would expect a labrador to be at? When you say he WON'T eat you obviously don't mean he refuses food entirely as this has been going on for almost a year and he's not wasted away to nothing. He is eating just not large amounts and not always when you put food in front of him or offer new food correct?

I know from first hand experience that when we want a dog to eat and start buying extra special foods (such as raw meat or frozen bil jac) it can backfire on us and make them even pickier eaters. I know this sounds crazy for a labrador but I have one who did this very same thing as a young dog. I found the more I tried to pamper my girl and buy her special foods to intice appetite she only got worse and would simply walk away from what I put in front of her.

I can tell you what ultimately cured my girl. I stopped buying anyting out of the ordinary - I offered the food I wanted to feed and that was it. Then, I gave her some competition for her food. I fed her side by side with another girl who I knew would devoure both of their bowls of food. I would set both bowls down and walk away, the non-eater would pick a few bites out and the typical girl would inhale her food and then the other bowl of food as well. It took 7 days where I am positive the non-eater ate even less than she had been eating previously. But, after 7 days she decided that if she was going to get any food she had better eat it and eat it fast. It cured her of her "eating disorder" as I called it and it also cured me of all my antics to attempt to get her to eat.

I can't tell you for sure there isn't a medical problem with your boy. But, the fact is that if the dog has not been a good eater for a year and he's not emaciated he could very well just be a picky eater. I know how frustrating it can be to have a Labrador who doesn't eat! Good luck.

If you choose to talk with a canine nutritionist there is one ate www.naturesfarmacy.com who is very knowledgeable and a breeder of Danes.

Her name is Jeanette and she will talk with you on the phone at length.

Hopefully she can help with this situation.

I agree a Lab that won't eat is not normal, however, my sister has a male that just doesn't want to eat on certain days and there is nothing medically wrong with him and his weight is fine. He is now 3 or 4 and been like this all his life.

My first show dog was this way. He would eat, then not eat - never eat on the road unless hand fed people food. He had our number. My breeder told me that when we finished his CH and I didn't care anymore about him being at the "right" weight he would start eating. I thought she was crazy - well, ya know, once I didn't care if he ate or not he started eating and lived to be 14 without any eating problems.

Hopefully this is all that is wrong with your boy and it isn't anything medical.

Good Luck