Buddy’s not eating

[MerseyGrey]

23 minutes ago, greysmom said:

When we were trying to figure out things for Lilly - our chicken intolerant girl - to eat, one of the only things she would eat consistently was tuna.  By that point we were getting desperate to find something to give her, so we just went with it.  She was about three years old at the time.  She got a can of Premium Albacore tuna in water (wild line caught) 7oz, the really expensive kind   every single day.  We were worried enough to have her mercury levels tested every year, but the results were always the same - not even close to being at a dangerous level, only indicative of a diet including seafood.  She did gradually start eating other canned food - thank goodness for my grocery bill!! - but tuna was always her favorite and she ate several cans a week all her life.

 I think they know what pushovers we are! I was ready to crack open a can this evening, but he’s had a bit to eat this evening, much to my relief! He has had a little bit of: peanut butter toast, scrambled egg, chicken, pork, doggie chocolate drops, freeze dried beef pellets, chorizo and…chicken and pancetta tortellini. I’m glad it’s Dan who does the morning walk - he knows to go prepped with paper plates.

I took him out for a few steps tonight to keep him moving and get some nose work and we ended up doing a full walk as he didn’t want to turn home. He was pooped when we got back but I think he enjoyed it!

[FiveRoooooers]

I thought of you and Buddy this morning. AnnIE was lapping up her late breakfast (knot quite brunch) and I'd set Punkin's bowl down as well.  She looked at me, I looked at her and walked to the other side of the room. She stood there for a few moments, sighed, and cleaned her plate  

That is quite the buffet you have them serving you, Buddy   Sweet boy 

[MerseyGrey]

23 minutes ago, FiveRoooooers said:

I thought of you and Buddy this morning. AnnIE was lapping up her late breakfast (knot quite brunch) and I'd set Punkin's bowl down as well.  She looked at me, I looked at her and walked to the other side of the room. She stood there for a few moments, sighed, and cleaned her plate  

That is quite the buffet you have them serving you, Buddy   Sweet boy 

It’s hard work keeping the humans happy! We do ask rather a lot of our hounds  ‘please eat please eat please eat’

[AUSgrey]

Just a thought… saw this recently and it might be of some help if things continue:

https://youtu.be/Ed_8I3mJVsg?si=SJSXZaHFjHhBeYYs

[EllenEveBaz]

Quote

I took him out for a few steps tonight to keep him moving and get some nose work and we ended up doing a full walk as he didn’t want to turn home. He was pooped when we got back but I think he enjoyed it!

Glad he was feeling better.   

[MerseyGrey]

3 hours ago, EllenEveBaz said:

Glad he was feeling better.   

Thank you. I forgot to add chicken soup on that list of foods he had yesterday (homemade and wholesome!) and this morning he needed a 4.15 turnout for a wee as he’d had a bit more fluid that normal. He’s a good boy for waking us up.

 

7 hours ago, AUSgrey said:

Just a thought… saw this recently and it might be of some help if things continue:

https://youtu.be/Ed_8I3mJVsg?si=SJSXZaHFjHhBeYYs

Thank you. I’m not sure we’re quite at this point yet, although I’m bracing myself for tummy issues if he does need to have antibiotics. Our new vet is the one who administers the acupuncture and seems to take a holistic approach to treatment so I think he will be open-minded about treatment options rather than just sticking to filling Buddy with drugs. So far his treatment course has been measured and appropriate, fingers crossed it stays that way!

[EllenEveBaz]

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He’s a good boy for waking us up.

Buddy is always a good boy.   

Chicken -- when I've had dogs who were being picky, they seemed to prefer chicken and fish over beef.  Cleptogrey has posted about buying a whole chicken and cooking it in one pot until it disintegrates into mush, bones and all.  And somebody else posted recently (can't remember who) about buying an already cooked chicken; that way having something instantly ready.  Both timesavers, in different ways.  And that's one thing we don't talk about much -- besides the stress, how much more time it takes to fix something only to have the dog refuse it, and you have to try again with something different.  Hard to do if you have a job that's outside the house.  

Edited October 3, 2023 by EllenEveBaz

[MerseyGrey]

2 hours ago, EllenEveBaz said:

Buddy is always a good boy.   

Chicken -- when I've had dogs who were being picky, they seemed to prefer chicken and fish over beef.  Cleptogrey has posted about buying a whole chicken and cooking it in one pot until it disintegrates into mush, bones and all.  And somebody else posted recently (can't remember who) about buying an already cooked chicken; that way having something instantly ready.  Both timesavers, in different ways.  And that's one thing we don't talk about much -- besides the stress, how much more time it takes to fix something only to have the dog refuse it, and you have to try again with something different.  Hard to do if you have a job that's outside the house.  

Tell me about it! I made chicken soup on Sunday from a roast with added potato and broccoli and cauliflower stalk to thicken it up. He wouldn’t eat it, then had a bit yesterday evening (hence to 4am wake up for a wee!) but won’t touch it today. He has had some of that leftover chicken meat today, and a tiny bit of a tuna sandwich but not much. But he has had something, and wanted to go for another walk when I got home. And the thing that filled me with joy - he took a toy outside  after he greeted me from work. This is his usual habit but he hasn’t done it for days, so I was very pleased.

The pre-cooked chicken is a fab idea - just adding one to the shopping list now!

[Remolacha]

A big time saver for me when I was cooking pounds of chicken a week  was my Instapot. I haven’t really used for much once the novelty wore off, but it cuts cooking time for a big bunch of chicken way down.

 Buddy!

[MerseyGrey]

27 minutes ago, Remolacha said:

A big time saver for me when I was cooking pounds of chicken a week  was my Instapot. I haven’t really used for much once the novelty wore off, but it cuts cooking time for a big bunch of chicken way down.

 Buddy!

I haven’t heard of this! I will look it up later as I love a novelty kitchen gadget #georgeforeman #gatheringdust

[FiveRoooooers]

This is the canned chicken Time4aNap uses. My campers love it too.

[Remolacha]

1 hour ago, MerseyGrey said:

I haven’t heard of this! I will look it up later as I love a novelty kitchen gadget #georgeforeman #gatheringdust

It is really just an electric pressure cooker, but I was always afraid of the stove top pressure cookers and this one seems safer 

I loved my old George Foreman grill, the new ones just aren’t the same.

[MerseyGrey]

15 minutes ago, FiveRoooooers said:

This is the canned chicken Time4aNap uses. My campers love it too.

Thanks. I will see if we have an alternative over here.

 

6 minutes ago, Remolacha said:

It is really just an electric pressure cooker, but I was always afraid of the stove top pressure cookers and this one seems safer 

I loved my old George Foreman grill, the new ones just aren’t the same.

I had a quick look and did wonder if it was a pressure cooker. I’ve never used one because I think the top will pop off and kill someone, probably me. It’s about the only common kitchen gadget I’ve never had. I’ve got burgers coming in tomorrow’s shopping so maybe I should dust off that old grill and give it another outing.

We have just got back from our appointment. Buddy’s lymph nodes are up and so is his temperature so Joe the Vet thinks it’s most likely to be lymphocytic cholangitis caused by an infection and we have started Buddy on Pardale tablets, which are paracetamol and codeine. He showed us how to get Buddy to take them (dissolved in a syringe and squirted on to the back of his tongue) and need to monitor him for a few days, but the vet is confident that he will start eating properly in a day or two. Buddy surprised me by eating most of the mixture in his bowl just before we went out so hopefully he’s right. We can make another appointment if we need to.

Meanwhile, Buddy is giving me the cold shoulder 1) for making him have disgusting paracetamol and 2) for making him suffer the indignity of having his temperature taken. His reactions to both events, although different, demonstrated equal levels of disappointment with his humans, and I strongly suspect that one of us might find a turd in a shoe sometime tomorrow.

 

[FiveRoooooers]

The cold shoulder shows that Buddy is aware and still able to make his own decisions.

A shoe turdlet suggests that there has been food consumption. This is what you have been hoping for, yes? 

Srsly, it's great that Buddy has a diagnosis and we hope that the meds work! 

[MerseyGrey]

19 minutes ago, FiveRoooooers said:

The cold shoulder shows that Buddy is aware and still able to make his own decisions.

A shoe turdlet suggests that there has been food consumption. This is what you have been hoping for, yes? 

Srsly, it's great that Buddy has a diagnosis and we hope that the meds work! 

 Yes. Be careful what you wish for!

[Remolacha]

Glad to know Buddy has a diagnosis and treatment plan, even if Buddy’s dignity has been offended 

  that he back to his old self soon. Although, now that he has tasted all these fancy add-ins he may expect some enhancements to his kibble to continue. I say, at 12, he gets what he wants 

[EllenEveBaz]

If you're interested in a sighthound specialist consultant, I think all of us here who have used him would enthusiastically recommend Dr Couto.  He works  via e-mail and shared computer files.  He responds quickly.  He's primarily a veterinary oncologist and hematologist, but also consults on other diseases. If it weren't for Dr Cuoto, Milo would have been dead now instead of enjoying walks, meals, and snuggling.  My vet appreciated working with Dr Couto.  https://www.coutovetconsultants.com/

 

[MerseyGrey]

7 hours ago, Remolacha said:

Glad to know Buddy has a diagnosis and treatment plan, even if Buddy’s dignity has been offended 

  that he back to his old self soon. Although, now that he has tasted all these fancy add-ins he may expect some enhancements to his kibble to continue. I say, at 12, he gets what he wants 

I did wonder about this. Buddy has a way of building things that he likes into his routine and his humans are a pair of obliging suckers and very easy to train. Also we found out that as well as a cataract in his left eye at least one of his front teeth is loose so maybe softer food would benefit him a bit. Getting old is not great; watching my baby boy get old is the worst

6 hours ago, EllenEveBaz said:

If you're interested in a sighthound specialist consultant, I think all of us here who have used him would enthusiastically recommend Dr Couto.  He works  via e-mail and shared computer files.  He responds quickly.  He's primarily a veterinary oncologist and hematologist, but also consults on other diseases. If it weren't for Dr Cuoto, Milo would have been dead now instead of enjoying walks, meals, and snuggling.  My vet appreciated working with Dr Couto.  https://www.coutovetconsultants.com/

 

I did also wonder about this!  Thanks for the link. Hopefully I won’t have to use it for this spell, but it’s good to have it in case

[FiveRoooooers]

6 hours ago, MerseyGrey said:

I did wonder about this. Buddy has a way of building things that he likes into his routine and his humans are a pair of obliging suckers and very easy to train. Also we found out that as well as a cataract in his left eye at least one of his front teeth is loose so maybe softer food would benefit him a bit. Getting old is not great; watching my baby boy get old is the worst

We understand only too well. If only they could age without aging  Every day is a gift. 

[ramonaghan]

16 hours ago, FiveRoooooers said:

A shoe turdlet suggests that there has been food consumption. This is what you have been hoping for, yes? 

Now there's a silver lining! Or a way to polish that turd? Oh dear, this has devolved.  

Hope the meds do the trick riteawaykwik and Buds will be eating like a champ for you!  

[MerseyGrey]

Dad had to deliver the nasty tablets by syringe this morning; mum took the coward’s option and wrapped them in slices of pepperoni this afternoon, so I’m back to being his favourite human. Again he’s had scraps of food and shown varying degrees of interest but the chicken came and I have rarely seen him so captivated by anything in all the time we’ve had him. Burger is in the pan - I couldn’t be bothered with the George Foreman after all!

[EllenEveBaz]

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the chicken came and I have rarely seen him so captivated by anything in all the time we’ve had him

FiveRoooooers' Cletus would give Buddy a chicken-chaser's high five four

[greysmom]

Some good news all around.  Here's hoping he feels a bit more like hisownself soon!!   

[MerseyGrey]

13 hours ago, EllenEveBaz said:

FiveRoooooers' Cletus would give Buddy a chicken-chaser's high five four

 

10 hours ago, greysmom said:

Some good news all around.  Here's hoping he feels a bit more like hisownself soon!!   

HE’s still up and down so we’ve rearranged to have the ultrasound on Tuesday and are picking up some antibiotics today.  He’s still eating chicken, beef burgers, cheese and yogurt, and yesterday I tempted him to try some turkey breast which initially he refused but then came back to later. Since he has woken us up at 3.30 this morning for an unusually timed poop and I can’t get back to sleep, I am going to use the time to boil some potato and sweet potato and see if he will take those mashed up with some cheese. He was a little on the chunky side before all this and I’m grateful he had a bit in reserve but he is looking thin now.

Thanks for all your kind thoughts!

[EllenEveBaz]

How's the Budster feeling today?