# Appetite loss: how can I get my dog to eat :(?



## vavicky (Dec 29, 2008)

Hi all, 

Our dog Brandie is approximately 9 years old right now (when we rescued her from the shelter, they only knew that she was around 4 or 5. She's a part lab part retriever and possibly part collie mix) Very recently, we began finding blood in her urine and blood residue from areas she'd sit down in throughout the house, but she was spayed prior to us adopting her. At the same time, she began showing a lack of interest in food, and the other week we found definite signs of a lump in her breast. We took her to the vet and the vet performed some x-rays (the tumor right now is thankfully benign), took a blood sample, and prescribed Brandie antibiotics for her UTI. She's on her second antibiotic (she reacted very poorly to the first antibiotic the vet prescribed), but she's had extreme trouble eating. It's been the fourth day and right now she's showing a little bit of interest in her food, but she eats very very little. We've tried everything we can; we've put her on wet food, we've tried to mix the food with a low-sodium broth and water, we've heated the food up to try and enhance the aroma, we've sat next to her and tried to eat our own meals with her, we've moved her food dish to another part of the house to see if a change in environment would help... we've basically done everything we can and are seeing little results. Her surgery to remove the tumor is on Tuesday, but we're trying to get her protein levels up by then. Last week, they were at .4 and we need to get them to at least .8. We can always reschedule the surgery, but we're trying to remove the tumor as quickly as we can. Please, does anybody have any suggestions for how to coax her into eating food or suggestions for any high-protein diets? Or has anybody been through the same thing with their pet and know if the pickiness wears off? Also, does anybody know if the tumor might be making the UTI worse?


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

Add strained chicken baby food to a mixture of poached (w/garlic) chicken breast (shred with a fork while still hot) and white rice. Some dogs can be coaxed with a mashed soft boiled egg, or poached egg on lightly buttered toast. Plain yogurt, and/or lowfat cottage cheese mixed with a dose of omega 3s (fish oil). 

Sending pawsitive thoughts and best wishes for a speedy recovery.


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## myminpins (Dec 20, 2008)

If you've ever taken antibiotics, they can make you feel nauseous. I hate them. They do this to me big time. So maybe that's why she's not eating.

Keep trying your best - hopefully you can get enough into her so she can get through the surgery okay and then things hopefully will go back to normal.


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## mylittlebecky (May 27, 2008)

since she needs the antibiotics and they seem to make her nauseous, can you ask your veterinarian about maybe adding an anti-nausea medication? that might help. and always feed her a small amount of food _before_ you give her the antibiotic, this might help lessen the GI upset.

what sort of tumor is it? did they tell you? depending on what type of tumor, it might be much better to wait until she is completely well to do the surgery because that will be another huge blow to her system. and unless the tumor is near the urethra or around the vulva, it is not likely to affect a UTI. 

good luck!

ps baby food works really well to coax dogs to eat, but please be sure to check the ingredients for onions (they cause heinz bodies to form on red blood cells). i second the rest of poodleholic's food suggestions as well, eggs always work with my sick ones.


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## craven.44 (Sep 10, 2008)

Make sure she has something in her stomach before you give her the antibiotic. Even if you have to syringe feed her 10cc or so before medicating, that should help if she is nauseous. There is a prescription food, Hill's A/D, that is high in calories and is ideal for getting animals to eat and/or syringe feeding. Talk to your vet about trying that. Royal Canin has a similar food, Recovery, that is also very good. talk to your vet. Good luck!


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## sw_df27 (Feb 22, 2008)

try boiling some chicken and rice and using the broth it always worked with our dogs and we just mixed the antibiotics in the rice and chicken and they ate it right up...............


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## vavicky (Dec 29, 2008)

Thank you all so much for your help! But I think we're going to need some more of it... 

We took Brandie in for surgery this morning to get the tumors removed. The vet called us earlier today to tell us that they had experienced some complications during the surgery; first, she told us that what she had taken to be bleeding from the UTI might actually be some other form of discharge resulting from an infection or some malfunction in the uterus, but this would mean that Brandie hasn't been spayed. When we adopted her five years ago, the shelter told us she had been spayed and in all of her past vet visits, our other vets have never found evidence otherwise. The vet then told us that she could have an ultrasound performed on Brandie to determine if she's been spayed, but also told us that the staff could shave the underbelly and check for the scars to see if she's been spayed. Then finally the vet explained that the tumor had spread and that she could better "clean up" the growth with the uterus removed. We're very confused and frustrated right now with the diagnosis and desperately seeking advice or help from any other petowners or professionals. Is Brandie undergoing any unneccesary measures in surgery? We're extremely frustrated because we just want Brandie back home again, and what the vet originally told us would be a simple surgery is turning into something far more complicated than we thought. We don't want Brandie to have to be in any more pain than she has to, and would greatly appreciate if anyone could give us advice about what we should do and whether the vet's diagnosis sounds normal. Does anyone know of any good vets or animal hospitals in the Northern Virginia area that we could get a second opinion from? If anybody has any advice, please feel free to share it. We could really use any support right now !


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