Riley's Not Eating

[juliemac]

Hey folks -- I usually wait until after the 'fire' is over before posting, but my stomach is rolling right now.

 

My 12yo Riley has always had a sensitive tummy, but over the past 10 days, he's really turned his nose up at anything except peanut butter, ice cream and Ensure. I just realized last night that he's turning down all of the solid items: deli ham, rotiss chicken, sirloin steak, etc. Neither Pepcid nor GasX seems to be making any difference (those are 'go-to' items for Riley's tummy).

 

In early December, he had a dental (his third in 15 months), and my vet continued him on an antibiotic for another 2 weeks after the dental (no extractions) to fight his sewer mouth. Then in early January, he lost a scuffle with another hound over his peanut butter, and Riley had to deal with yet another antibiotic to combat the facial swelling (I didn't see the puncture wounds for more than 24 hours after the incident, by which time the infection had set in). Riley really hasn't eaten well since he came off the antibiotics, although he wasn't REALLy picky until the last 10 days or so (he would take his crunchy treat, but I didn't realize he was really just shredding them on his bed).

 

I'm working to get his bloodwork checked at my normal vet tomorrow morning (he's a hour away, so it requires some logistics, especially since I'm going to need to push myself into his appointment book).

 

So I'd love the thoughts & prayers of Riley's Greytalk friends ...

 

 

 

[JohnF]

How worrying, I just hate it when dogs stop eating. The anaesthetic for the dental may have challenged his kidneys, or something may have made the back of his mouth sore so that he doesn't like swallowing anything substantial.

Take in a fresh morning catch of Urine so that they can do a test to go alongside kidney blood work which is usually higher than in other breeds and needs that extra check.

If they won't eat nice food then it means they don't feel like eating, and you already tried reducing stomach acid and any gas. You could try reducing nausea and perhaps giving a steroid to encourage appetite. I hope you have him back to normal asap.

[XTRAWLD]

I'm sorry to read about Riley. It's totally worrisome when they won't eat. When you go to the vet ask for FortiFlora. It's a probiotic and helps to put the stomach back into a rhythm (it's a powder you sprinkle on food) - I know Riley won't eat BUT there is something about this powder that smells yummy and encourages eating so you might be surprised. When Kasey was refusing food, I tried many things to encourage him to eat, however, if Riley is eating stuff Riley isn't used to eating, it might just cause him to get a bout of D and no one really wants that. I also grabbed some cans of High Protein Gastro stuff by Royal Canin. Any little bit he ate made me happy because it was just loaded with calories.

 

I also use Slippery Elm to get stomach's back into working order, as well as CS orally to get rid of any bugs, but if he doesn't have D, I'm not sure how much that would help - however these things settle a stomach down that has been put through the ringer with meds, etc. so I'd recommend some FortiFlora and trying to get some different but good foods into him if you can. You know what it's like to eat when you don't feel up to it or are nauseated, etc. but 10 days is a long time....

 

Thinking of you.

[RedHead]

I'm sorry about your pup. Hopefully the bloodwork will shed some light on something.

 

Sometimes when animals don't feel like eating solid foods, they will drink liquids. I always have a frozen batch of bone broth in the freezer. I just throw some bones in the crockpot with some water and a tbsp or two of apple cidar vinegar. I cook on low for a couple of days and the bones and marrow break down almost completely to make a very nutritious and (usually enticing) broth. Much better than just regular chicken or beef broth.

 

Good luck with your pup, I hope you can get him eating again.

[RaineysMom]

sending prayers from Bloomingdale!!! :hope

[Rickiesmom]

Canned tripe (I buy Tripett) has been my standard go-to for these situations. It smells . . . unappetizing to us, but fabulous to dogs, and being canned it's soft.

 

Hope you find something that works!

[Houndtime]

I hope he feels better.

[juliemac]

Thank you for your support, everyone!

 

We're back from the vet ... Riley's bloodwork is fabulous with a small blip on his pancreas results (slightly elevated, but this past week's diet of mostly ice cream and peanut butter would explain that). My concerns over his Deramaxx usage were relieved, with lovely kidney & liver result (he started in the fall getting 37.5 mg/day, although I do try to give him a day off at least once per week at the advice of his napropath). I did get a good laugh, though -- Riley gained 3.5# in the last 30 days ... the piggy! He's still in a good weight range, but he's going to be sad to know that his peanut butter habit is being tapered back.

 

The vet's first thought for the eating issue is that there's a bit of acid reflux going on. Before we go down other options, we're going to try a week of Pepcid (20mg, 2x/day) and see if Riley responds. Gosh this would be so much easier if I could understand this boy when he talks!

[RedHead]

Glad the bloodwork was okay! That must be a relief. Hopefully it is just something minor and he will have an appetite back soon.

[XTRAWLD]

Pepcid is a wonderful thing. Kasey was on it for years, first as needed and then prior to every meal. Good to hear there isn't anything major!

Edited February 16, 2016 by XTRAWLD

[Guest FordRacingRon]

Leia had an eating problem for the longest time and for the longest time I had her on Mirtazapine to boost her appetite. Fast forward,,I got her off of every med accept one Pepcid AC in the morning and a Rymadel in the afternoon. The Pepcid did the trick after a few months (yes, it took a while to get her back on track). I'd say she is healthier now then a year ago (she is 12 3/4).

 

Good luck and prayers that things keep improving for you.

[SanTanSnuggles]

My Surprise loves to eat pumpkin when he has an upset stomach and does not want to eat other stuff. Seems to work for him. (not the pie mix/just the natural stuff with no additives.)

[juliemac]

Well, Riley's still not interested in food. Last night (Tuesday), 36 hours after we started his Pepcid dosing, he DID have 4 ounces of baked chicken. This evening (wednesday night), though, he wouldn't even drink his Ensure.

 

I must admit that I'm scared for my boy. I would have thought that 3 full days of Pepcid treatments would have seen some improvement if its going to work. He's not showing signs of distress but his poop is not solid anymore (he was never particularly solid, and Tuesday night he went outside nearly every 2 hours to poop ... much more than his normal 1-2 trips in the evening).

 

Calling the vet in the morning. Until then, I guess we just watch & worry.

[3greytjoys]

If any of the antibiotic pills (or other medications) were given without enough food, it can do surprising harm to an elder hound's system. Also, I wonder if Riley might be having additional tummy upset due to lactose intolerance, fat, or certain ingredients in Ensure.

 

If you haven't already tried the following, it might help:
Canned meat dog foods.

Plain meat baby food (Gerber Stage 2 does not have any pet toxic spices added like onion or garlic).

Veterinarians use (and sell) a canned pet food that is highly appetizing and works well for their ill/recovering hospital patients.

 

Our 13.8 year old Greyhound had an awful, long-lasting illness after one antibiotic tablet was administered immediately before a meal (meal was suddenly refused) vs. immediately after a fully eaten meal. During the following days/weeks, severe lack of appetite worsened. Surprisingly, Pepcid worsened this already poor condition. All drugs were stopped. Canned soft meat pet foods eventually resulted in our hound's much improved appetite.

 

Hoping Riley's condition improves very soon.

[Sundrop]

I'm so very sorry about your boy, and I hope he feels better soon.

 

Because I've now had two hounds who stopped eating, and were both diagnosed only after getting ultrasounds done on their bellies - I would encourage you to do the same. I'm not trying to scare you, but our 13.5 year old girl, who had been a good eater, started tapering down and then stopped eating. We took her in numerous times, had blood work done (2, or maybe 3, times), urine test, fecal test, full exams - she was on a plethora of "stomach" and appetite-stimulating medications, new diets, etc. After weeks of heartache, vet finally suggested ultrasound (had to go to a different vet to get it done b/c they didn't have one) and they found masses (cancer). When our 10 year old boy stopped eating, they did the obligatory blood work, exam, etc. - but I insisted on an ultrasound right away and...cancer.

 

Again, I am not trying to scare you, but if blood work and other tests and exams find nothing, I will always insist on an ultrasound immediately. No anesthesia, non-invasive, easy, quick and not overly expensive.

 

Good luck to you both.

Edited February 18, 2016 by Sundrop

[juliemac]

thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

 

We went back for additional tests today (3 weeks of poor appetite) ... the ultrasound today was CLEAR (yippeeee!!). The additional blood test that was specific for pancreatitis came back ... positive! Yep, although his pancreas levels were only slightly elevated in his initial blood tests last week, this more specific test showed a mild case of pancreatitis.

 

Now the fun begins! While i'm so very relieved that this wasn't what I was preparing myself for, I must admit that this boy normally eats a balanced home-cooked diet and is almost as picky as the beloved "Bill". This next week of canned, low-fat food is going to introduce new trials in our house. Stay tuned for the entertainment!

 

thank you all for your caring & support!!!