best food to give a dog when sick

Crimsonforce

my 18 year old jack Russell suddenly began to run everything out of her on friday last. it has continued right up till now

we had given her some meat on the Thursday, pork, meat burgers as a treat which we suspect caused the knock on effect to her bowels. Normally she is on dried food for older dogs with a small bit of pedigree chum squashed in to entice her to eat the dry food.

she took a tablespoon size of chicken yesterday but is drinking water. even last night i was up 4 times in the middle of the night for her to go out to the garden.

The poo now is very runny and in small amounts. she turned her nose up at anything i try to give her but she now looks very weak...

any ideas on what to try to feed her?

Polo_Mint

Boiled Rice and Chicken is the order of the day for your dog ( Let it cool first )

adelcrowsmel

Had a dog recently with the same problem - the vet advised initial fasting followed by small amounts of what Polo_Mint has said - chicken and rice

DBB

At this point in time op, if she's had diarrhoea despite not having eaten much since Friday, I would seriously urge you to bring her to the vet without further delay.
Seriously. Asap.

andreac

Def bring her to the vet asap, not fair to leave her like that, esp if her tummy isn't well.

mymo

As others said, vet time.

I find scrambled egg, slightly warm is the thing my dogs and cats love. It's also what my vet said to give first after an anesthetic as it's easy on the belly.

twomonkeys

She's 18, you cant take a risk when she's that age....bring her to the vet today!
Even if it IS only a tummy upset, the vet can still give her something to ease the symptoms.

Crimsonforce

booked to go to the vet this evening. thanks for everyone's replies.

aonb

let us know how you get on, poor old girl

Crimsonforce

They have kept her in overnight and put her on an iv drip to get fluids into her. Was like blubbering mess leaving her . Its so hard leaving an old dog with someone that doesn't really know her..

Alun

Is there any chance there was any onion in those burgers? Onion is apparently toxic to both dogs and cats even in small quantities.

Crimsonforce

Alun wrote: »

Is there any chance there was any onion in those burgers? Onion is apparently toxic to both dogs and cats even in small quantities.

No onion,just beef in them. Her stomach is sensitive in her old age and we never really gave her that type of meat constantly over her life. She looked so sad when I was leaving her shaking like a leaf

aonb

poor little girl - its tough when they are unwell and scared - but tougher on ur! Hopefully they will sort her out today, and she will be home with you soon

Moocifer

I have a dog with multiple allergies and possible Cushings disease so as a result bouts of vomiting and the runs are common.

When this happens we cook some white rice in chicken stock and mix in raw carrot and potatoes with it. It's the only thing he can keep down when he's sick.

Raised Eyebrow

It might be worth looking at changing his food when he gets home. We had an elderly terrier who lived until he was 16 and we used to boil chicken pieces,potatoes and vegetables twice a week for him and keep it in a tuberware container and it did him for a week. It is very feasible for a small dog (tried to do it for a bigger dog but it was a full time job cooking for her). 18 is a great age. Hope he has many more.

Crimsonforce

She seems to have pancreatitis. Apparently it mostly happens at bbq when a dog is been fed lots of food they normally would not get. She is being kept in for another night as she has had no improvement in the iv drip so they need to keep it in for another night. She still hasn't been eating so at this stage ,the vet says she needs to fight it to stay with us...

tk123

Ah hope she's feeling better soon!

DBB

Ah no... poor thing.
It's not so much food that they're not used to that brings on pancreatitis, it's fat. Too much fat. I've a dog with chronic but mild autoimmune pancreatitis. It sounds as if your little lady has acute pancreatitis, which is particularly dangerous, so I'm not at all surprised that your vet has kept her in.
I'll keep everything crossed for her that she rallies and is home again with you soon. She's still with us OP, as long as she's still with us, there's hope

Crimsonforce

Well after a few turbulent days and nights, she was welcomed home with new strict rules on food. First overnight stay I was fearing the worst when vet said she has not improved. But after 2nd night she was much better.

She's still vomiting a little and her stools are not hard yet but she has a appetite like a wolf,which I cannot fulfill for her because of the food she is being put on for a few weeks. But she is responsive and has some more energy and is so happy to back home. I'm happier too...

So take note when there is a bbq on with high fatty content being cooked, restrict your dogs in take.

VickieVexed

Wonderful news OP. I've been following this thread and hoping for good news.

In February, our ten year old girl was suffering from acute pancreatitis,she was so very ill. After a complete change of diet, she overcame that and is now eating like a horse, without any tummy problems. We honestly hadn't realised the damage we were doing by giving her 'treats' of sausage and other human foods. She has other health problems, but has not had one bout of pancreatitis since then.

I'll bet your girl is getting lots of well deserved cuddles, now that she's home. Bless her heart.

Crimsonforce

She's having a great nap and even got to stay in the bedroom last night. Honestly though my heart was broken all week. After having her with us for 18 years (and soon to be 19) without any problems, we would be devastated like a lot of others with pets. She really is a part of the family and people that don't have pets can never understand the bond between an owner and a dog.

tk123

Glad to hear she's feeling better. My guy had a panc. scare a while back and I was advised he's at risk of it so I feed him a low fat diet now and touch wood we've had no issues since. Luckily his was just a few one-off accidents and he didn't need to be admitted like your poor girl ...one was on on the new carpet.... and another was on my bed(!) I was never up so fast - there's no mistaking what that "whoosh" sound it when you hear it(!):o