Thanks for the advice. It's definitely helped!
Should I be concerned?
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I switched Dallas over to Wellness last week & he still isn't eating. I called the vet & they said it's because he is getting used to the food but him not really eating has now been going on for over 2 weeks. He will kind of pick at the kibble but then doesn't want it & will leave his crate. If I shut the crate door he will just calm down & wait to be let out. Yesterday he was in his crate for 45 minutes just laying quietly but didn't eat a thing! So I removed the food & tried again later with little sucess. Again he ate less than half of the food…which means about 1/4 a cup if that.
Then this morning he threw up but it wasn't bile it was actually pieces of the kibble...
I just don't know what else to do as far as getting him to eat. I bought the best puppy food there is but he looks at it like it's repulsive or something. I called the vet & he said, try switching to eukanuba puppy...I don't want to have him on that crap food though!!! Help!!!
Hey there - I have just joined this forum, and I am having the same problem with my 14 year old basenji, and after a week of not eating (after eating Wellness for a few months), I took him to the vet, who did blood work and had some concerns, and put him on I/D and steroids… but after a couple of days he didn't like the I/D any more, and I went straight to canned, as that is all he would eat... and then he didn't like that anymore, and I tried the homecooked chicken and rice thing, and didn't want any of it, and just got him the 95% canned chicken, and seemes to eat that... but is still throwing up randomly, and it is just bile and rice (from the I/D)... so I'm going to call and ask about more information on IPSID...?
Anyone else know about this? -
What concerns did the vet have? What did the bloodwork show?
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Something about liver levels were high, most of the rest were normal, but it caused him to want to do an xray, and that showed that his liver was a bit enlarged, but not a huge concern… there was no blockage or anything else like that.
So he gave pred and some 4 pack of Cerenia to keep from vomiting...
and it was working until he finished the 4-pack...
but I have had him since January (a BRAT rescue) and there weren't any problems until about a month ago, now... -
IPSID is something that would not "just" show up at age 14
How high were the liver values? Most of the rest normal? What rest, what where his kidney values?
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well, I didn't get the numbers, but I know they have the printout, and the vet has a message to call me in the morning.
It's just all so strange, since he ate so well without hesitation for 5-6 months after I rescued him. His girl has always been the picky eater.
I'm a big dog person, myself, having a lab and a golden in the past, who would eat anything on the floor… and they would only refuse food when they were sick.
But I keep reading that pickyness is a trait for Basenjis, but I only feed twice a day, and if they don't eat it, I pick it up, and I did that for a week with him, and he didn't eat for a week.
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Actually, it is not really strange, when an organ like the liver is off like that often times the only real sign we get from our animals is loss of appetite. When our cat Spot had fatty liver he refused to eat even though that is what he needed to do to get his liver functioning again. It was quite a struggle to find something he would eat and get enough daily calories from. Even after that incident we had to rotate foods, he refused to eat the same brand of food for more than two days in a row. The checkers at the food stores probably thought I was a nut because I would buy 2 cans of every food they had so he would never eat the same type food twice in a row.
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Thanks! I'll let you know tomorrow…
should there be something specific I should ask him? -
There is a liver cleansing diet that for dogs with liver damage.
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/liver_diet.htm
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I don't believe that "pickyness" is a Basenji trait, unless they were sick, mine ate with no problem… as they aged and thing started happen with different organs due to age... they eating totally changed. With Kidney problem as in renal failure, they will not eat because they are usually feeling sick to their stomach... one reason that something like Pepcid AC helps a lot. Same as lvoss said about the liver.. when that is off then they don't want to eat...
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You might want to ask your Vet about using something like S-Adenosyl-100 (SAMe) which is given many times to dogs with Liver problems
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Thank you so much!
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Actually, it is not really strange, when an organ like the liver is off like that often times the only real sign we get from our animals is loss of appetite. When our cat Spot had fatty liver he refused to eat even though that is what he needed to do to get his liver functioning again. It was quite a struggle to find something he would eat and get enough daily calories from. Even after that incident we had to rotate foods, he refused to eat the same brand of food for more than two days in a row. The checkers at the food stores probably thought I was a nut because I would buy 2 cans of every food they had so he would never eat the same type food twice in a row.
This is what I'm going through with Zuki! Although now we've moved onto people food and baby food. Sometimes I just want to pull my hair out trying to find something she'll eat and still have it be a somewhat balanced diet.:D
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In the recent economy, I have been doing a lot of research into how to feed my dogs that best foods that I can without breaking the bank. What I have found is that instead of the canned food that I was using for their dinners, it is significantly cheaper for me to make homemade meals for them. Another benefit to the homecooked meals is that they are made from whole foods and the dogs go wild for their dinner. They especially love it warm, either fresh prepared that day or microwaved to right around body temperature which helps to bring out the aroma of the food.
Here are some online recipes
http://www.halopets.com/resources/homemade-pet-food-recipes/homemade-dog-food-recipes.html -
Thanks for the link. With the recent turn in Zuki's health I have been doing a lot of research on home cooked diets to a point that I can hardly take it anymore. Unfortunately with her if there is an offensive item in the dish she won't eat the mix and I end up throwing it all out. She would not eat the Spots Stew recipe because she won?t like the sweet potato, and most of the other veggies. She would pick out the chicken and leave the rest. I call this ?chicken pickin?. And the kelp might tick her off as well. I bought some Missing Link powder along with another supplement because I was afraid she?s not getting the proper nutrients. But when I put the powder in her food she won?t eat it. I now refer to the Missing Link as ?poison powder.?
Luckily the supplement is a tablet so it can be wrapped in chicken. -
I use Nupro which they love because of the dessicated liver.
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I use the Missing Link and my dogs will eat it, although I have one that won't lick his bowl clean. lol You can still "force" feed it in a sense. Just get some velveeta cheese or a slice of cheese and pour the powder onto a piece of it. Then fold it/wrap it/smoosh it together so the outside is all yummy cheese and give it to them like a treat. Now I've never tried it that way, but sounds like it might work? Or does she like hamburger? You can put it on some meat and make a little meatball with the powder inside.
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I have been through 4 seniors now, three that have crossed the bridge, one that is still doing pretty well…. and I can say with experience... that the more things you hide in food, they will find it... and they will quit eating that particular things.... I believe that is why it gets so difficult with a Fanconi dog and all those pills. These are smart kids... they can figure out the smell and they know it is in there... so if you are going to hide stuff in food, be prepared for them to figure it out... and decide not to touch it again. Now, again, I want to point out I am speaking about elders... but that is the experience that I had with mine... and I know someone with a Fanconi dog that was good with taking pills for the first month or so, but then didn't trust anything that anyone gave him... looking for pills in it.....
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Have you tried Satin Balls? THat's the best thing that I've made for my dogs to increase caloric input. You can google Satin Balls and many recipies will show up.
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I have tried hiding the "poison" in cheese and meat and like Tanza said, she finds it and then gets mad and leaves the room.
I will look up the satin balls and see what's involved in that. I did order some of the Nupro supplement and will see how that goes over. Today's favorite is hot dogs and mashed potatoes (I tried to slip in some green bean baby food and that pissed her off). I appreciate the support on living with a senior dog and I am thankful for the wealth of information on this forum.I'm sure time is limited with her. As I may have mentioned in other posts, her liver and kidney numbers are up signifcantly (she had been on the Science Diet L/D diet for years as well as a supplement) and she also has some blood in her urine and the lymp nodes in her neck are quite swollen. She had thyroid cancer 2 years ago and it may be that the cancer has finally returned (I only had the mass removed and opted for no further treatment at that time). She has also been treated with Lysodren for Cushing's for the past year. As far as the blood in the urine (discovered when she had a physical a couple months ago and that she had a UTI) and the swollen glands, the vet said it could be caused by a number of things and that we could do diagnostic testing, but is it really worth putting the old girl through? I think at this point in her life (15 1/2 years) it's best to do what I can with food and supplements to keep her comfortable, happy and stress free- which she currently is (she still demands her daily walk, and weekend coffee runs with her furry pal Zak). :o
Okay - enough! It's nice to get that all down since sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough and other times I stand back and think I am. I guess you never know.
Thanks for listening!
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I have tried hiding the "poison" in cheese and meat and like Tanza said, she finds it and then gets mad and leaves the room.
I will look up the satin balls and see what's involved in that. I did order some of the Nupro supplement and will see how that goes over. Today's favorite is hot dogs and mashed potatoes (I tried to slip in some green bean baby food and that pissed her off). I appreciate the support on living with a senior dog and I am thankful for the wealth of information on this forum.I'm sure time is limited with her. As I may have mentioned in other posts, her liver and kidney numbers are up signifcantly (she had been on the Science Diet L/D diet for years as well as a supplement) and she also has some blood in her urine and the lymp nodes in her neck are quite swollen. She had thyroid cancer 2 years ago and it may be that the cancer has finally returned (I only had the mass removed and opted for no further treatment at that time). She has also been treated with Lysodren for Cushing's for the past year. As far as the blood in the urine (discovered when she had a physical a couple months ago and that she had a UTI) and the swollen glands, the vet said it could be caused by a number of things and that we could do diagnostic testing, but is it really worth putting the old girl through? I think at this point in her life (15 1/2 years) it's best to do what I can with food and supplements to keep her comfortable, happy and stress free- which she currently is (she still demands her daily walk, and weekend coffee runs with her furry pal Zak). :o
Okay - enough! It's nice to get that all down since sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough and other times I stand back and think I am. I guess you never know.
Thanks for listening!
I think you are doing just great… the main think, IMO, is to make their senior years as easy as possible... And while there most likely is a battery of tests you could do... I agree you have to weigh in... "is it worth" putting them through it... when Maggii started with renal failure we did keep her going for almost 2yrs with SubQ fluids which was easy to do and pretty easy on her.. but that was the only thing that we really did... we knew her time was coming and like you, keeping her comfortable and as pain free as we could was the main things to consider.
