jujsky Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 We brought him to the vet yesterday (again) because among other things, he hadn't eaten in 2 days. She suggested I go back to cooking for him (he was on the bland hamburger and rice diet for 2 weeks previously). I cooked him up a huge batch of food last night -- hamburger, rice, carrots, peppers. He had a bit last night, but not much -- maybe 1/2 cup and left the rest. This morning he won't even touch it. I cut up some apples and sprinkled them on top. He ate the apples and left the rest of it. I tried opening a can of beef broth to entice him and he turned his nose up at it. I thought for sure that we'd be able to get him eating again with some good food. If he doesn't start eating soon, I think we'll have to put him down this week :crying:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lahmeh Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 The only thing I could ever get my dogs to eat (when they wouldn't eat anything) was cereal like corn flakes or rice Krispies. I hope you find something. :sad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehog Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 :grouphug::grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalmia Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Try baby food (the meats, of course). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I'm really surprised that he's not eating the rice and hamburger! Did you try the hamburger alone? I'm sorry!:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristavws Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I have a Golden that is a VERY finicky eater. She is not sick, just finicky. I usually have to add yogurt, cottage cheese, or scrambled eggs to her food to get her to eat it. This is a top premium dog food too, which all our other dogs eat with great zeal, so I know it is not the quality of the food. Krista Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 I'm really surprised that he's not eating the rice and hamburger! Did you try the hamburger alone? I'm sorry!:grouphug: I haven't tried it alone. I heated it up a little while ago, added beef broth, and tried feeding it to him with a spoon on his bed. I think that officially makes me a crazy dog person :tongue_smilie: I got him to eat maybe 1/8 cup. I'm going to go to the store a bit later and get some instant mashed potatoes, chicken, and baby-food. All of those have been suggested to me. And he's had hamburger and rice -- multiple times -- and has never, ever refused it before. In general he's not a picky eater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kebo Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 With that much lack of appetite, I would be concerned more about the underlying medical problem than the food intake. I don't know how much finances are a limiting factor, but if you don't know WHY he isn't eating then I would focus on figuring that out. Maybe a referral if your vet is stumped? However, my ace in the hole to tempt a picky appetite is liverwurst. If that works, you could try mixing it with other things to make a more balanced diet. I hope you get the medical problems resolved :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 My pup likes raw eggs. (You just need fresh ones... or... well... it's probably not a problem to use any... especially because he's sick) Whatever I had... I'd try some raw and some cooked (as long as cooked is ok... ) Is he drinking water? How old is he? The liverwurst might be good... Did he get into anything? Is he throwing up? How long has it been without him eating? :( Sorry!! :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsutsie Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I feed my dogs raw food. They are beautiful, healthy and in perfect condition. What about some raw, regular hamburger? Just meat (not lean), and then slowly add some veggies/fruit with no strong odours, like carrots and apples. What about a big raw bone to start it of with? If this works, read up on the BARF (Bones and Raw Food) diet for dogs if you need to know about quantities, complete nutrients, etc. It's really very simple. I feed my dogs in ceramic bowls, which then immediately goes in the dishwasher before it can start growing bacteria. We have been feeding them BARF for the last 15 years and we have never had in issue with someone of something getting sick from it. I keep all my kitchen scraps, like carrot tops, apple cores, celery cutoffs, broccoli etc, and blend it up in the blender with some water. I then mix the slops with the meat and my dogs can't eat it fast enough. This is how dogs, as animals, used to eat thousands of years ago when they had to fend for themselves. They'd catch an animal and eat it's stomach contents, right along with the meat (like wolves still do). Give it a try, I surely hope it works for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 My pup likes raw eggs. (You just need fresh ones... or... well... it's probably not a problem to use any... especially because he's sick) Whatever I had... I'd try some raw and some cooked (as long as cooked is ok... ) Is he drinking water? How old is he? The liverwurst might be good...Did he get into anything? Is he throwing up? How long has it been without him eating? :( Sorry!! :( He's 10 1/2 and his health has been failing. He has problems with his back legs that have gotten noticeably worse over the last 2 weeks (I had to help him into the van yesterday when we went to the vet because he couldn't pull his back legs up). He definitely has arthritis in his spine that has gotten worse over the last 3 months (x-rays confirm this) and the vet believes he has nerve degeneration as well. The arthritis medication and the medication for nerve damage cannot be used together, and the one for nerve damage may or may not work, so there's not much of a point of putting him on that. The one for nerve damage is one that has to build up slowly in his system, so we'd need to take him off his arthritis medication, let this other medicine build, and then if it doesn't work we have to wean him off it. It's not worth putting him in pain for possibly 2 months while we wean him off and on medication. Now he's developing digestive issues, probably related to the medication he's on for his arthritis. His spleen (I think it was his spleen, anyway) was enlarged when they did x-rays and then an ultrasound on him 2 weeks ago, but there were no obvious signs of cancer. He hasn't been throwing up, except for the apple I managed to get him to eat this morning. Yesterday he was hardly drinking at all, but today he's been drinking a little more. He's hardly eaten in 3 days -- just a couple nibbles here and there, but that's it. There isn't much we can do vet-wise that we haven't already done. He's been 3 times in the last 2 weeks, and I think we've spent over $500 in those 3 weeks alone. He's also been to the vet several times off and on in the last 6 months. The only other thing we can do is admit him overnight for fluids (the vet said that he might revert right back to not eating/drinking once he was home) and call in an expert for another ultrasound. That will run us another $600 or so, and the vet said that's it unlikely we'll find anything new. Best-case it will either confirm some of the possibilities the vet thinks (possible spinal cancer/some sort of digestive cancer that hasn't shown up in all the blood-work, x-rays, and the first ultrasound) or they'll find something that might warrant exploratory surgery. Either way, it won't impact the treatment he's currently receiving, so unless we're willing to put him through exploratory surgery that won't help him (we're not) there's no point in doing the ultrasound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 I FINALLY got him to eat! A friend said that the enzymes in yogurt can help their digestive systems, so I spoon-fed him a yogurt. It must have jump-started his appetite because he ate about a cup of his hamburger stuff after. I imagine I'm going to have to repeat this performance at dinner tonight, but I'm happy he has something in his belly. Hopefully he can keep it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Country Girl Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 We had to put our dog down a couple of months ago because he completely stopped eating and drinking (as a result of leukemia that couldn't be treated) but the last meal he would eat was scrambled eggs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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