I usually don’t come here on my vacation, but I need some sagely advice, and where else to go?
This week I’ve been taking care of a dog answering to the name of Woody (short for Woodstock, named after the little yellow bird in Peanuts, not the concert). He’s been ill for quite some time, refusing to eat and rapidly dropping in weight. While I’ve been caring for him he’s been suffering from diarrhea and has had to go out every two hours to take a minimal dump.
He’s been given medicines and improved. His appetite has returned, which is kind of where the problem lies. We were given a special feed for dogs with stomach troubles and he’s supposed to eat absolutely nothing else. Doctor’s orders.
And he just won’t eat it. He’ll eat anything else. He’ll lick ketchup from the street. He’ll make a mad lunge for any foodstuffs lying around. Old bread, discarded packages of French fries. He’ll eat grass. Anything except his feed.
He’s obviously starving, having eaten next to nothing all week. He’s desperate to eat, and I’m not allowed to give him anything he wants. He’s already down to below half his healthy weight. And I just can’t take it anymore. I can’t keep denying him everything he wants. When I eat, he’ll plant his head on my knee and look into my eyes with those big brown eyes, begging for any scraps I have. Call me a softy, I just can’t handle it. I want him to get well, but I’m not having him starving to death on my shift either.
So, Dopers, please help me. It’s Saturday night, so I won’t be able to find a veterinarian in a while. What do I do? Is there anything I can safely give him that won’t upset his stomach? Is there anything I can do to the feed to make it more attractive? I’ve been thinking about lacing it with bouillon, since I can’t see how that could hurt. Bouillon is fed to people who find porridge too much of an adventure.
If it helps, he’s a ten and a half years old Welsh springer spaniel.
Boullion sounds like a worthwhile idea, but it may interfere with the ‘nothing but the one special food’ idea.
I’m assuming you’ve tried hand-feeding.
Make the food interesting. Does he have a toy with holes in it to put the food in? What happens if you put some of the food on the floor, not in a bowl?
If there’s nothing wrong with the dog anymore, other than his not eating his food, I’d say wait it out, no matter how hard it is for you. On the other hand, if he was given special food a week ago for stomach problems, is it not safe to assume that the troubles are over? How long did the vet say to give him the special diet?
There are no emergency vets in your area open after-hours?
IANAVet. Good luck, and give the little guy a pat on the head and a scritch behind the ears for me.
Oh yes. I’ve played airplane with him. He usually chases flies and tries to eat them, so I tried to simulate a fly. Nothing worked.
No such toy. Food on the floor doesn’t help. I’ve tried spoon-feeding him, pretending to eat the food myself, “accidentally” dropping it on the floor…
Trouble is, I don’t know exactly. I didn’t meet the veterinarian myself, but the dog’s owners merely gave me the instructions so I assume they were meant to be followed for the week at least. They’ll be back Monday evening.
Should be, given the size of my city, but if there are, I’ve been unable to locate them.
I think I can manage a scratch, if that’ll do. Thanks.
Does the dog suffer from chronic renal failure? If so, extremely picky eating is par for the course. While watching the diet is important, getting calories in the dog is more important. Call the ER vet and find out what else you can try feeding him. Some boiled chicken with rice shouldn’t upset his stomach, but again, ask the vet. If nothing else, get some Nutrical. It’s a high calorie dietary supplimant that you can give by the spoonful, if need be.
I work for a vet- we would tell you to give him boiled chicken and rice- either alone or mix it in his food. It won’t hurt him to mix some non-fat chicken broth in the special food. Did they give you dry or canned food? If its dry, see if you can get a canned version of the same thing- or ask for an alternative- if its a Science Diet food, they have serious taste issues- the Purina and Eukanuba diets seem to go over better. But absolutely, under no circumstances, let him have ANYTHING else, if he’s got pancreatitis or something serious- it can really cause some damage. Ditto also on notifying the vet ASAP.
Smokinjbc’s advice sounds good to me. I’d warm the broth just a little, to increase the smell.
They say an animal will eat a non-favorite food rather than starve, but I’m not too sure that’s true.
BTW; I understand the little yellow bird is, in fact, named after the concert.
Peace,
mangeorge
Have you tried mixing some warm water with the food, if it’s dry? It’ll make sort of a “gravy”. I suppose it won’t fool the pooch and make him think it’s something tastier, but maybe it will help.
I’d say take all the advice you’ve gotten and combine it all together. Boil up the chicken, then mix it with rice (and bouillon maybe) and some of his special food and serve it a bit warm. Then you could wean him off the human food by slowly increasing the ratio of the special sick doggie food.
