Dog Attack And Now My Guinea Pig Won't Eat!

[Allyautumn]

I put my 4 year old pig, Bacon, out in the garden in a run in the Sun, and next doors dog got through the fence and despite me fighing the dog, got a hold of my pig and was shaking him. I don't know how, but I managed to get him from the dog. Poor Bacon was so shook up and I took him to the vet. After a broken spine scare she told us he was just in shock and gave us some pain killers and antibiotics for the bite marks. This all happened 3 days ago, and despite eating some food yesterday, he has stopped eating and is still extremely skittish (understandably) . I have tried offering his favourite food and hand feeding him, But he only appears to take a few bites before stopping. I am so worried, any advice?

 

[Wiebke]

I put my 4 year old pig, Bacon, out in the garden in a run in the Sun, and next doors dog got through the fence and despite me fighing the dog, got a hold of my pig and was shaking him. I don't know how, but I managed to get him from the dog. Poor Bacon was so shook up and I took him to the vet. After a broken spine scare she told us he was just in shock and gave us some pain killers and antibiotics for the bite marks. This all happened 3 days ago, and despite eating some food yesterday, he has stopped eating and is still extremely skittish (understandably) . I have tried offering his favourite food and hand feeding him, But he only appears to take a few bites before stopping. I am so worried, any advice?

Hi! I am very sorry for your shock. Please bring your guinea pigs indoors and make sure that any runs and hutches are absolutely dog-proof.

Please step in with syringe feeding asap. You can use mushed up pellets and a needle-free 1 ml syringe from any pharmacy if you haven't got one at home; just cut off the tip as shown in the syringe feeding guide to allow fibre to come through.
Not Eating And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

See a vet again tomorrow; your piggy may have internal injuries from the shaking. If your piggy is deteriorating and becoming very lethargic before your appointment, you need to see a vet as a life and death out-of-hours emergency.
List Of Life And Death Out-of-hours Emergencies
How to contact a vet out of hours

 

[Freela]

I would wonder if there are injuries that were missed in the initial assessment or if he is in some pain. Guinea pigs can be quite sensitive to pain and it can cause them to go off food. Did the vet prescribe anything for discomfort? After being shaken, I can imagine he might have a lot of muscle soreness, even if there were no significant internal injuries. In the meantime, it will be important to keep getting food into him while he's not eating voluntarily to keep his gut working properly. There is a file about syringe-feeding at the top of the page... take a look at that and prepare to supplement him with critical care food or paste made from normal pellets and water in the meantime. I hope it's just temporary shock and discomfort and he makes a full recovery for you!

 

[Merab]

Poor piggy - what an awful experience for both of you.
Well done for fighting the dog.
Can’t add to the advice already given but wanted to voice support.

Hope all works out well