Urgently need ill dog to eat

IrishCarol

I hope someone can help me out..

I took my Springer Spaniel to the vet a week ago, as he wasn't eating, throwing up bile, very lethargic. He started having fits while in the waiting room, and to make a long story short has had a very hard week. The vet thinks it's either parvo or poisoning..and has been brilliant. The fits have now stopped, and he's had a week in the vets with antibiotics & a drip to try and replenish his fluids

He wasn't getting any better there, so the vet sent him home with us yesterday to see if that helps. As soon as he got out of the car he was running around, and back to a slower version of himself... the big problem is that he still won't eat..so we're on a countdown now. If he's not eating..then of course the kindest thing to do is to put him asleep. It'd break my heart, but I can't let him starve himself to death either!

So I need some urgent help. Any suggestions on getting him eating again? He shows an interest in food until he tries to eat it. We've had blood tests & x-rays done..he has pockets of gas in his stomach, so I understand his reluctance to eat...but time is running out.

Please...someone must have a suggestion that works...our hearts are breaking!!!

muddypaws

What food have you tried? What about some scrambled egg? Nice and soft. Or, whilst I wouldn't normally recommend it, wet cat food?

tk123

I'd try wet food/mince watered down to make it soupy? That's what I've been giving my dog after having surgery last week to remove an oral tumour - some dogs can be reluctant to eat after it but I've had no problems.

maggiepip

Theres so many foods to try really, all nice human tasty stuff like chicken, boiled mince beef and mashed potato, steamed fish - will he not even eat these types of foods? What could really help his tummy is to try and get some dog probiotics into him, because the good bacteria will be destroyed between the illness and being on antibiotics. These could really help the gas problem which is no doubt causing pain. Your vet might sell one or I use Pet Dophilus by Jarrow sold online by iherb (delivery via courier will only take 2 days and its not expensive).

con___manx1

IrishCarol wrote: »

I hope someone can help me out..

I took my Springer Spaniel to the vet a week ago, as he wasn't eating, throwing up bile, very lethargic. He started having fits while in the waiting room, and to make a long story short has had a very hard week. The vet thinks it's either parvo or poisoning..and has been brilliant. The fits have now stopped, and he's had a week in the vets with antibiotics & a drip to try and replenish his fluids

He wasn't getting any better there, so the vet sent him home with us yesterday to see if that helps. As soon as he got out of the car he was running around, and back to a slower version of himself... the big problem is that he still won't eat..so we're on a countdown now. If he's not eating..then of course the kindest thing to do is to put him asleep. It'd break my heart, but I can't let him starve himself to death either!

So I need some urgent help. Any suggestions on getting him eating again? He shows an interest in food until he tries to eat it. We've had blood tests & x-rays done..he has pockets of gas in his stomach, so I understand his reluctance to eat...but time is running out.

Please...someone must have a suggestion that works...our hearts are breaking!!!

I had a springer and it got very sick. I ended up getting her put down but she was 14 so pretty old for a dog. I gave her bits of chicken . 1 little piece at a time don't put a big feast in front of the dog or she won't eat it. Best of luck

IrishCarol

Right, well I've just mad scrambled egg...so just waiting for that to cool down and hopefully he'll try it.

I got some dog food from the vet that they use as it's soft and easily digestable..he won't touch it. I've tried his usual food watered down and he walks away from it too. I've tried chicken...I've even tried cheese...but nothing.

He turns his head away from it! So hard to see this, as he was a ferocious eater before being ill, his nickname here was Dyson!!!

Will let ye know how the scrambled egg goes.

andreac

Try something like Roast chicken from the food counter, something that's really tasty and smelly. Maybe some liver, sausages etc.

Lots of high value treats that he doesn't usually get. But maybe don't force him. You could just try dropping them around him so he thinks you are not forcing him as he might resist then if you do.

cocker5

IrishCarol wrote: »

Right, well I've just mad scrambled egg...so just waiting for that to cool down and hopefully he'll try it.

I got some dog food from the vet that they use as it's soft and easily digestable..he won't touch it. I've tried his usual food watered down and he walks away from it too. I've tried chicken...I've even tried cheese...but nothing.

He turns his head away from it! So hard to see this, as he was a ferocious eater before being ill, his nickname here was Dyson!!!

Will let ye know how the scrambled egg goes.

Best of luck and as another poster said... very small amounts at first, if therse alot served to him he probably wont eat it... plus maybe try and hand feed him?

Best of luck X

Export

I was advised to give boiled chicken and boiled rice to a sick puppy. Do not reheat the rice though, you'll need to cook it fresh each time. The rice is to stop them getting diarrhoea.

tk123

Export wrote: »

I was advised to give boiled chicken and boiled rice to a sick puppy. Do not reheat the rice though, you'll need to cook it fresh each time. The rice is to stop them getting diarrhoea.

You can make up a big batch and serve it cold - the dog won't mind?:pac:

Fish would be another option - nice and smelly like sardines?

NewCorkLad

Try natural yogurt when my dog got parvo and was recovering its all she would eat. Good Luck

B0jangles

My dog has a very bad heart and frequently finds it very difficult to eat at all. I usually manage to get her started on a meal by just putting the tip on my finger onto the surface of her usual canned dogfood and letting her lick it off. This usually works even when she's feeling really bad. Once she's happy about accepting the tiny taste of the food, I progress to hand-feeding her bigger and bigger pieces until she's had a decent meal.

Bucklesman

Try hand-feeding the poor lad, just a dessert-spoon's worth on your fingers. It can help them get started.

seamus

When my dog has a dicky tummy, I always try to imagine myself with a bad hangover. Stick a huge plate in front of me and I'll probably throw up, but eat a few small mouthfuls and pretty quickly my appetite will come back.

Especially if you can get the dog to eat a whole meal from you hand, one little bit at a time, you should start to see his appetite improve.

jimf

ask your vets opinion on vitamin b12 I have in the past used this to great effect to stimulate a dogs appetite

and I also have had great success with wet catfood when all else seems to fail

spur

Second the natural yoghurt.

Another one I've seen work when everything else fail is brown bread.

Good luck with it.

maggiepip

jimf wrote: »

ask your vets opinion on vitamin b12 I have in the past used this to great effect to stimulate a dogs appetite

and I also have had great success with wet catfood when all else seems to fail

Yeah Ive read about vets outside Ireland using vitamin b12 shots to help a dog get back its appetite and actually many dogs especially collies can become a bit low on b12. I wonder do Irish vets suggest it much. It can apparently work wonders.

jimf

my first experience with it was a few years ago when one of my springers was a very fussy eater asked a vet about it one day and he gave me a bottle of a red syrup I think I was a teaspoon per day after a couple of weeks he was flying and has never looked back it obviously stimulated the appetite

now in my guys case he was eating but badly but with the ops not eating at all it might be best to discuss with their vet first

meant to say the fecker loved it would lick it off the spoon and want more

boomerang

Yes my vet gives B12 to inappetant patients. Only thing is the injection stings.

maggiepip

boomerang wrote: »

Yes my vet gives B12 to inappetant patients. Only thing is the injection stings.

Have you seen good results from it?

jimf

boomerang wrote: »

Yes my vet gives B12 to inappetant patients. Only thing is the injection stings.

is a course or just a one off boomerang

boomerang

It depends jimf,

When we are neutering feral cats, if they are a bit underweight or fluey they get a B12 shot as a once off before we release them.

When my dog was very ill (terminally ill as it turned out) and had lost her appetite, she got a B12 injection every third day.

BelleMolly

Most important thing OP is fluids. Do not let the dog go more than a day without water. This is so important!
If you have a dropper maybe you could try using the dropper to give the dog some chicken soup?
Ice cream is also worth a try. Most dogs find it hard to turn it down
.
I've been here before OP. I'm sending you best wishes.

Inexile

not much to add to others comments really but it sound like you need to sort out the gas first so some yogurt will be a big help, then bland food, scrambled eggs is great - even if you can only get one egg down him it would be great and agree re the fluids. there are rehydration fluid sachets available from vets but, and I know this sound daft, some flat 7UP or luzocade would help. There is sugar and liquid in there and you need to keep up the fluid intake even more than the food.

by the way has he been back to the vets since he was discharged?

aonb

OP any success with the scrambled eggs? I really feel for you. When my poor old boy was ill, I used to be frantic trying to get something in to him. You mentioned that your vet gave you some food - I used to get ROYAL CANIN tins from the vet - dont like this brand normally, but it was a digestion problem/post op/renal failure type range - very soft and very nice smelling - I could often get a bit of that in to Pepper - usually off my fingers. I also found things like chopped up VERY VERY small, cooked chicken and cooked sausages would tempt him. Again tiny portions as others here have mentioned. Keeping fingers crossed for you - now that he is home, he will hopefully manage a little bit of food, and will start to improve.Its pure torture not being able to find something that they will eat. Let us know how it goes?

mystika121

I had the same thing happen with my dog after an operation. She didn't eat anything for eight days. I tried every sort of food and nothing worked. After eight days I was at the end of the line and didn't have any more food options to try.

A neighbour called by with her dog and my dog thought that her food was going to be eaten and she jumped out of her basket and started to eat. She was back to normal from then on. A bit of competition for food might just do the trick. It's worth a shot anyway.

A few days without food won't do much harm to the dog. Is he drinking?

Also, it's worth trying Rescue Remedy. My horse was in the vet clinic for three months and was refusing food. I gave him the remedy and he started to eat within the hour. No harm in trying it.

daisyscience

I agree with the bit of competition, my dog is terrible for not eating unless theres another dog around. If I need to feed her medication or anything I coat it in peanut butter or regular butter and she loves it so maybe you could try that aswell. I can't imagine theres a dog in the world who could resist a lump of peanut butter or butter. I know its not going to be the healthiest but sure its worth a try.
Best of luck and keep us updated.

boomerang

maggiepip wrote: »

Have you seen good results from it?

Hard to say maggiepip,

With the ferals we have no way of knowing, and my soul dog was cachexic and her condition worsened so rapidly I don't if the B12 could have done anything to help, you know? My vet also gives it to kittens with cat flu. She's brillo.

Esterhase

I hope all is going well today OP. I can't add much to what other posters have said already - when my dog has an upset tummy I boil up some small pieces of chicken and rice for her, and maybe add a small bit of fish if I have any around.

If you try the competition tactic, I would only offer a very small portion of food to begin with. I'd be afraid of the dog gobbling everything up in a rush and making themselves feel sick again.

boomerang

When my dog was really ill OP and not eating, I made rice and chicken smoothies for her in the blender (just white rice and cooked chicken, whizzed to a mousse) and gave it to her in a large feeding syringe (60ml) which is something your vet should have. You could do the same thing with scrambled egg and don't be afraid to put a good dollop of butter in it when cooking as she needs the calories.

DBB

boomerang wrote: »

When my dog was really ill OP and not eating, I made rice and chicken smoothies for her in the blender (just white rice and cooked chicken, whizzed to a mousse) and gave it to her in a large feeding syringe (60ml) which is something your vet should have. You could do the same thing with scrambled egg and don't be afraid to put a good dollop of butter in it when cooking as she needs the calories.

+1
I had been going to suggest making a sort of liquidy, nutritious paste too, and using a large syringe means that you'll at least get it into his mouth, coating his tongue, and some of it down his throat. Like Boomerang, I've had to resort to this with sickly, inappetant dogs, so hopefully it'll work for you.
You may well find OP, that once you get him started, that he'll find his appetite.
That said, I'm a little bit concerned that we've had no updates... I hope everything is okay