The Demon Dog won''t eat ANYTHING -- please give me some advice

[mrssalvo]

Date: 2/4/2006 8:11:53 AM
Author: Lorelei
Plain diet - get a plain roasted chicken from the store minus herbs and spices and some rice which you can cook in the microwave. Small meals of that - little and often and plenty of water. Hand feed if necessary and if the slightest doubt get back to the vet. This diet is easy to digest and will help settle his stomach. Try a small portion hourly if you can, every bite counts and do call the vet ASAP if you need to. Also plain chicken breasts you can nuke, cool and feed him with the rice. The vet will tell you to use this diet anyway for an unwell dog, especially if it is gastric trouble. Hope this helps.

that''s interesting. My vet says to never give a dog chicken. A few years ago we gave zoe some left overs from dinner. She got so incredibly sick and I took her to the vet the next day. He said that Chicken is one of the worst things you can feed a dog. Vets must be as inconsistant as people md''s

dee jay, any news?

 

[Dee Jay]

He turned his nose up at the chicken soup this morning, but last night he didn''t eat it for a while so I''m hoping that he''ll come around. I even heated it a little in the microwave to make it smell enticing.

That''s interesting about not giving a dog chicken. Every time one of my friend''s dogs is sick the vet says to give him/her chicken and rice. A friend of mine right now has a rescued greyhoud that LIVES on boiled chicken, rice and Metamucil. (Dosen''t sound very appetizing to me, but she eats it... )

Those crab sticks are a good idea. I''ll stop by the grocery store and pick some up. If Dino won''t eat them I can at least have "crab" salads for lunch this week!

Absolutely had not thought about the possibility of a toothache. Hmmmm.....

And A 13-1/2 boxes--wow!!! Must have been one happy well-loved dog!

I have to go out with clients today, and Bill is actually going to be be home before I am (assuming no big blizzard in the midwest to delay his flight), so we''ll see how it goes. I''m REALLY REALLY REALLY hopeful that when Bill walks in the door the Demon starts eating again...

 

[Jelly]

Hopefully all will be back to normal when Bill gets back. Good luck!

 

[strmrdr]

When tiger (my dog who lives at my sisters) wasnt feeling well the vet had us do hamburger and rice.

fry the burger rince the greese off mix with rice.
Said the burger was just to get him to eat the rice.
Since he would eat the rice without it the vet said to just feed him rice.
The trick with tiger is he will eat anything he sees you eating.
We had a rule nothing at the table but at the end of the meal if he didnt beg he got scraps in his bowl.
So almost anything that came off the table he would eat even when he wasnt feeling well.
Except for green beans if you gave him something with them in there he would pick them out and leave them by the bowl.
It was pretty funny watching him seperate them.

a trick for pills is to make him respond to a command and give them as treats and he would chow them right down.
Since he went deaf at 13 years old its a little harder.

prayers outgoing for your pup

 

[Lorelei]

Well obviously you must take your vet's advice but it is the first thing they recommend here for dogs and cats with gastric trouble or who need a light diet. Are you sure your vet wasn't concerned just about the chicken bones which you should never give anyway? These are very dangerous to dogs as you know, chicken meat is normally pulled off the bone to feed them and checked carefully for bone. I have never heard of chicken meat being harmful to any dogs other than the bones, very strange. I would be interested to know why if it wasn't a concern with the bones, any good knowledge is worth having, especially if it protects our pets.

 

[Dee Jay]

A little bit of chicken soup and a couple of cookies, but that's all I could get him to eat after the walk.

Off to pick up my clients in a few minutes, but I'm sure Bill will call me the minute he's home.

Geez Louis, this is KILLING me...

ETA - Storm - LOVE the "pills as treats" trick!!!

 

[blodthecat]

Date: 2/4/2006 8:21:25 AM
Author: mrssalvo

Date: 2/4/2006 8:11:53 AM

Author: Lorelei

Plain diet - get a plain roasted chicken from the store minus herbs and spices and some rice which you can cook in the microwave. Small meals of that - little and often and plenty of water. Hand feed if necessary and if the slightest doubt get back to the vet. This diet is easy to digest and will help settle his stomach. Try a small portion hourly if you can, every bite counts and do call the vet ASAP if you need to. Also plain chicken breasts you can nuke, cool and feed him with the rice. The vet will tell you to use this diet anyway for an unwell dog, especially if it is gastric trouble. Hope this helps.

that''s interesting. My vet says to never give a dog chicken. A few years ago we gave zoe some left overs from dinner. She got so incredibly sick and I took her to the vet the next day. He said that Chicken is one of the worst things you can feed a dog. Vets must be as inconsistant as people md''s

dee jay, any news?

Lorelei is right...plain chicken with a bit of rice is easily digested. I think the vet might be referring to people who give their pets chicken that is still attached to the bone. Small bones in chicken can easily become lodge in the throat.

Blod

 

[pricescope]

Date: 2/4/2006 9:38:07 AM
Are you sure your vet wasn''t concerned just about the chicken bones which you should never give anyway?

I have never heard of chicken meat being harmful to any dogs other than the bones, very strange. I would be interested to know why if it wasn''t a concern with the bones, any good knowledge is worth having, especially if it protects our pets.

Some dogs are allergic to poultry, nothing to do with the bones Lorelei.

The older the dog the more it happens.

 

[Lorelei]

Thanks Irina -you learn something new ever day.

 

[fire&ice]

We have consulted w/ 6 or 7 vets over the years. Each and everyone has told us to feed chicken & rice or pasta when the dog's tummy is punny.

Tooth problems can be a reason for not eating. We soak our pups food now. It helps them chomp & is a way of getting water in them. But, the timing is the most suspect. The two variables are - doggie daycare/hubby gone.

One other offshoot - is the dog intact? If so, a raise in the testoserone level is a natural appetite suppressant.

Keep us posted. Like little kids, dogs can't tell you what's wrong. It's upsetting.

Edited to add - mine love a little gravy w/ their food. Gets them every time.

 

[Lorelei]

Fire and Ice, that''s a point.... I wonder if he has broken a tooth, but it probably is separation anxiety.

 

[aphisiglovessae]

Never heard of actual chicken meat being dangerous to dogs, there''s real chicken meat in the canned dog food I buy (supposedly). I do know that chicken bones are dangerous because they splinter and can rip up a dog''s digestive system.

 

[Lorelei]

Also I believe that Iams/ Eukanuba dog food's main ingredient is chicken. Maybe they treat the chicken somehow in these foods. Just thought of something else you could try is tinned spaghetti in tomato sauce, this won't hurt him and is an old trick to get a dog to eat as it is highly scented.

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 2/4/2006 1:31:35 PM
Author: Lorelei
Also I believe that Iams/ Eukanuba dog food''s main ingredient is chicken.

ok, so i''ve used Iams since Zoe was a puppy. I just got up to look at the ingredients and your are 100% correct, it''s chicken. I guess I''ll be looking for a new vet

since he apparently doesn''t know what he''s talking about

. I''ll also have to make my baby some yummy chicken and rice next time she''s under the weather

 

[aphisiglovessae]

Ha ha, sorry but I HAD to laugh. It''s amazing how some people end up as doctors and other health professionals. I''ve met so many that were so wrong about things and had no clue what they were talking about. And we put our lives and the lives of our loved ones (two and four legged) in their hands? Scary...

 

[pricescope]

Some dogs are allergic to chicken, does not mean every one of them is, my own dog has develop it at the age of 15.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/4/2006 2:49:23 PM
Author: mrssalvo

Date: 2/4/2006 1:31:35 PM
Author: Lorelei
Also I believe that Iams/ Eukanuba dog food''s main ingredient is chicken.

ok, so i''ve used Iams since Zoe was a puppy. I just got up to look at the ingredients and your are 100% correct, it''s chicken. I guess I''ll be looking for a new vet

since he apparently doesn''t know what he''s talking about

. I''ll also have to make my baby some yummy chicken and rice next time she''s under the weather

I know, it makes you unsure of what on earth to do for the best for them

It is a real worry when you get one vet tell you one thing and another something else. However I have had good results on chicken and rice with sick dogs and cats, also they enjoy it so much and think it is a wonderful treat! A little of the chicken broth poured over the rice is also most acceptable to them too! Reminds me of Christmas day when I cook the turkey giblets for the gravy ( human) I break them up with my fingers and feed them to the cats. They SAVOUR this dish

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/4/2006 3:13:22 PM
Author: Pricescope
Some dogs are allergic to chicken, does not mean every one of them are, my own dog has develop it at the age of 15.

Irina, what are the symptoms of chicken allergy in dogs please ?

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 2/4/2006 3:16:39 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 2/4/2006 3:13:22 PM

Author: Pricescope

Some dogs are allergic to chicken, does not mean every one of them are, my own dog has develop it at the age of 15.

Irina, what are the symptoms of chicken allergy in dogs please ?

yes, i''m curious too. At first I thought that maybe that''s why zoe got so sick but since she eats chicken in her dog food everyday,i''m guessing she doesn''t have an allergy. maybe she just had too much chicken that night

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/4/2006 3:53:42 PM
Author: mrssalvo

Date: 2/4/2006 3:16:39 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 2/4/2006 3:13:22 PM

Author: Pricescope

Some dogs are allergic to chicken, does not mean every one of them are, my own dog has develop it at the age of 15.

Irina, what are the symptoms of chicken allergy in dogs please ?

yes, i''m curious too. At first I thought that maybe that''s why zoe got so sick but since she eats chicken in her dog food everyday,i''m guessing she doesn''t have an allergy. maybe she just had too much chicken that night

Could have been as chicken is most delicious to most dogs and she gulped it down too quick

 

[Lorelei]

Found this

http://www.barrieranimalcareclinic.co.uk/Downloadables/Canine/Food%20Allergy.htm

which says the food allergy can be due to the proteins in the meat. Interesting reading.

 

[WTNLVR]

Hope your dog gets well soon. I totally sympathise. My dogs have the weakest stomaches.

Try cottage cheese mixed with white rice. That's what my vet tells me to do for upset stomaches. The dogs think it's caviar and lick the bowl for 5 minutes after their done. This way they get the protein they need. You can also used boiled hamburger. This has worked for every dog I have had.

I feed california natural lamb and rice kibble. Supposed to be good for breeds prone to food allergies.

I would definately get a new vet if I were you.

 

[rainbowtrout]

UM---yeah. Stupid vet, unless he was thinking of the dangerous bones in the chicken. We have a male akita who can ONLY eat chicken and rice bc of severe allergies (bred to be white, severe genetic issues dad didn't research until later on)

I am curious---has anyone here tried the "human grade" dog foods such as Wellness or Nature's Variety? I accessed our school's online vet journals, read a bunch of articles, and decided that switching to the human grade ingredient, lower carb wet food for our new kitten was a better choice than Iams or the like--firstly bc I have a little problem with testing pet food on pets, and secondly because of some issues I read about on cat metabolism, taurine, cats getting diabetes bc we feed them too many carbs and downed cattle, etc.

Also I have seen no veterinary studies saying normal dry food actually helps dental health--and eating crackers certainly doesn't clean MY teeth! I discussed it with our vet who laughed until he cried and said "Wow, I never thought of it like that, and I never thought about doing research on pet's foods either--we just give them what the major companies promote."

Well I dug a little deeper with our vet and it turns out the major pet food companies seem to be to vets what the drug companies are to human MD's---they court them, come into med schools and tell them how their food is the best, sponsor studies, etc. Interesting..... And, just as many human docs used to do, vets don't put a ton of thought into diet unless a pet is sick.

I considered the raw diet some companies make as well; however the risk of intestinal parasites was not worth it to me--I had an adopted Tonkinese and a Maine Coon with tapeworms once and the little buggers are disgusting and HARD to get rid of.

OTOH, I am NOT crazy enough to assume I know enough about canine or feline metabolism to make my pet food on my own. I just make sure the company uses human grade ingrediants and puts the right supplements in the food. Now if only I could just feed the little guy mice like I used to give my snake...worries about food compostition solved! Unfort. that would be both cruel and unhealthy for the cat.

 

[pricescope]

I can not give the whole range of the symptoms as i am not a vet though I''ve heard of some, my oun dog before being diagnosed was already in bleeding diarrhoea stage. And he was not on pure chicken diet, just random treats here and there and some commercial food.

He was fine one week after getting on 1.Lamb&Rice Wellness and 2.ground beef and rice diet - two separate feeds.

Then in my days in a day care i have seen such cases more than enough to at least not to buy commercial food ever again.

My present dog is younger and he is a mutt so he gets chicken ligaments from time to time, but not processed "by-products" from kibbles.

Dee Jay, sorry for OT, how''s Demon?

 

[Mara]

Rainbow I will only ever give Portia human grade dog foods...the processed brands like Iams and all the other ones in the 'grocery store' have a huge amount of CORN and meals in them which don't really do anything for the dog but make them fatter faster...just like humans. If you ever go into a grocery store and pull random boxed items off a shelf you'd be amazed at how much sugar and corn filler are in the processed foods for humans.

I posted previously in a thread, I think it was strm's thread...about what the Whole Dog Journal recommended for dogs and foods. The top ones were Wellness, Candidae, California Natural, Pinnacle, Merricks, as well as some others I can't remember because I don't see them in the store as much. The one we give Portia is Candidae, it has 3-4 protein sources, oils for the skin and fur and relatively little extra filler. Also she gets Wellness baked treat biscuits, we also don't give her 'processed' food or treats like the stuff you buy in the grocery store, sometimes she gets a small milkbone treat but that's pretty much it. Bottom line is if I wouldn't want to eat it, aka if I don't eat store bought mac and cheese daily, with tons of processed foods and fillers, then why would I feed it to my dog?

F&I, I always give Portia her kibble mixed with water, it helps to make sure she gets her water intake and it just seems to make her happier, activating the 'juices' on the kibble and making it more tasty seemingly.

Oh and I wanted to chime in re: chicken and rice, it's what our vets recommend to us as well, yes your dog can have a chicken allergy but I guess most don't! If they do have a chicken allergy, lamb is a very easily digested food for them as well.

It's very hard for me when Portia is sick because I almost can FEEL her anxiety about not feeling well and she tends to trail around after me and just stares at me like she wants me to fix it. Typically I can't sleep well when she is under the weather, and I almost wonder if she feeds even more off of my own anxiety about her health so I wonder if we are passing negative energy back and forth between us. Greg is oblivious..at night he snores happily as Portia and I lay there in bed and stare at each other. Men!

When she was really sick last week I came down and slept with her on the couch so we'd be closer to the outside/door when she needed to go out (she was having water diaharrea every HOUR...fun times) which just sucked for us both...and then the vet tested her and put her on an antibiotic and anti-d pill so then she wasn't going poo AT ALL for 3 days. So then we were worried she was constipated and then she got some really odd mysterious allergic reaction where she broke out in huge hives on her back and a rash on her belly and couldn't stop itching. So the vet gave us another antibiotic to give her and a cortisone shot. She's on the mend now, normal poo, has had normal eating habits (thank god) even when she was sick and is more perky and not itching so we hope she's past IT...whatever IT was.

 

[rainbowtrout]

RE: human grade food. Yes! Glad to know I am not the only nut who does this! I''ve tried to convince my father to put his/our dogs on it but no go. Mom decided she''d listen to me with her new kitten though, and his cold and other issues seem to be better after a few months on the new food (plus medical care of course--it''s a long story, she bought a purebred kitten and the breeder neglected to tell her the poor baby had a cold. kitten almost died!).


it is tough when they are ill---

we had our two dogs both get very very sick two days before christmas--one of them tore her knee ligament and had to have surgery, and the male got some kind of neurological problem where he cannot locate his limbs in space. So, we almost put him down on christmas eve since he is old, was in pain, and is a 140 lb dog who we cannot carry around to poop. But we waited a few days, took him off his allergy meds, and now he can walk, thank goodness. The female is healing well from her surgery as well.

I still wonder if perhaps the huge tendancy of dogs to get cancer has something to do with the crappy food most widely avaliable. Flyfisher the neuroscience man says that cancer rates in species has to due with an inherent tendancy to mutate at a higher rate which is more frequent in smaller animals; however he admitted that it could have to do with a widely distributed carcinogenic factor (like food) as well. OTHO, cats don''t seem to get cancer at the same rate, so perhaps it is a species-specific thing.

Sorry for the OT, hope the dog is feeling better!

 

[Mara]

actually RT I wonder about that too with cancer being related to food in dogs...seriously I just feel like so many manufacturers throw random crap into dog foods because it''s a DOG and no one thinks to really check ingredients, if it''s in the store and it''s popular then it must be good for them right? WRONG.

So when we first got Portia I really did alot of research as to what was best and did some experiments and watched for things like fur/coat health and other things and we have settled on the best options for us. She also has a sensitive stomach....so her basic daily diet is strict. She gets 2-3 dehydrated chicken strips (I forget the brand but they are called things like Happy Hips, Healthy Heart, Breathies, and Vitality and have vitamins in them for each option) for breakfast, then she gets 2 Wellness baked honey and peanut butter treats during the day and then at night gets about 5/8 cup of Candidae kibble mixed with water. My Mother is CONVINCED P is starving but she has a sensitive stomach so if we try to feed her too much she ends up not digesting it and throwing it up. The vet put my fears at ease this week and said she is a small dog but she looks fine and showed me how she should have a ''waist'' and just a tiny pinch of fat between her shoulder blades and her fur...he also said that dogs with a sensitive system typically are rarely ever fat because their bodies just can''t either take the amount of food, or the varieties of food that it would take to make them overweight.

Dogs are such a variable, you can''t guarantee health with them, but at least I will know that I did everything I could within my means to make sure she lived a long healthy life with what we could give her. She''s our baby!

 

[Dee Jay]

Bill was not home 10 minutes and The Demon walked right over to his bowl of left over chicken noodle soup and ate it. I swear...

ALL THIS FOR NOTHING???

Don''t get me wrong, I''m glad he''s "better," but I was truly freaked out.

Bill did say Dino doen''t look good; he is very skinny (well, he hasn''t eaten for about 3 days now) and his eyes aren''t bright like they ususally are, so if he''s not 100% back to normal tomorrow off the vet we go -- and I mean a NEW vet.

You are all SO wonderful. Thank you for the tips and support -- I really needed it. Hopefully this will be the end of it, but if there is anything more I will be back for additonal adivce.

This chicken/protein alergy info is very interesting by the way. Never in a million years would it have occurred to me that a dog could develop an alergy like that. And the cancer comment is a good point too. (Hope the lemon pound cake and the cookies I fed The Demon don''t contribute to any larger health problem down the line!)

 

[Kaleigh]

I''m so glad Bill is home and that The demon seemed to perk up. I learned so much in this thread, so I thank you for starting it. Hopefully he will continue to perk up and that you find a great vet.

 

[diamondlil]

Date: 2/3/2006 9:18:55 PM
Author: Dee Jay

(I know that all sounded tongue-in-cheek, but I really would do whatever it took becuase he means so much to us. I can''t even imagine what you people with HUMAN children go through!!!!!!!!!)

I don''t have a dog, Dee Jay, but I''ve always wanted one (my kids have a bunny instead). Mr. DiamondLil is not fond of dogs and is always saying "just say no." I''ve been following your thread, have not had any real advice to offer, but I''m so glad to hear Dino is doing better now that Bill is home.

As a mom of 2 kids, I can tell you that what we go through is very much the same as what you have gone through with Dino. In 14 years, I cannot tell you how many nights I have slept on the bathroom floor, changed sheets several times in the same night, or driven to the ER in the wee hours of the morning. The emotional attachment people feel to their pets is the same as that of *human children*.

Keep us posted on Dino''s progress.