Skip to content

Not eating or drinking water

Basenji Health Issues & Questions
  • Have you tried some ground chicken or turkey, boiled in water? Pour off the water/fat mix with rice (white is easier to digest). The main thing is to limit the fat and let the "gut" settle down… feed small amounts... 3 or 4 times a day...

  • I know when I was a child my mother just to give our Westie, white rice and plain boiled white fish(any type, but she used cod), it is very easy to digest. So I am with Tanza on the plain chicken and rice as well as any type of babyfood. I know hot dog is very greasy and not good at all for dogs, BUT if he hadn't eaten and just needs an "appiteaser" it might work. I feel for you and Cody.

  • Ok, I boiled a boneless chicken breast in chicken broth. shredded the chicken fine and poured the broth over it. He drank some broth but didn't eat the chicken. Got him to go out and urinate and he came back in a drank some water. Kept the chicken/broth mixture and will try again tomorrow. I will also go out and get baby food tomorrow and try that. He seems to try everything once and then not try it again.

  • I am glad to hear that at least he drank some broth. let us know how he is doing this moring. I am keeping my fingers crossed that eats some this morning

  • How is Cody doing today any better? You might try pedlight not sure spelled correctly look in baby dept. Let us know hope all is better.

    Rita Jean

  • Sorry to hear Cody is still not well, its good that he drank some of the broth and kept it down. I was going to suggest you dab some of the food onto his paw so he would clean it off and maybe get his appetite going.
    When Benji was ill and wouldnt eat we had to do all sorts, it is so difficult and you feel helpless.

  • Well I got desperate this morning and I took the shredded chicken I cooked last night and started force feeding it to Cody. I would take little pieces and pry open his mouth and force it down. Only very small pieces and a little at a time. I have been feeding him every hour to hour 1/2. The food is staying down which is a good sign. I am getting ready to leave the house to run errands. I will pick up the baby food etc. My husband is on board with force feeding if we have to get the food in him to settle his stomach.

  • I 'm sorry to hear that you have had to force feed him, but if he is keeping it down great. I will keep my fingers crossed that he is taking well to the force feeding and that he is on the mend..

  • How is Cody doing this afternoon? I would really go to the vet Monday. Let us know how you all are doing…

    Rita Jean

  • Remember too with people and food poisoning.. it take quite a while to get over it… as long as he is drinking that is the main and most important thing. And that he is keeping the water down. Don't rush the food and I know how fustrating it is wanting your dog to eat....

  • Good sign Cody met me at the door when I came home from my errands. He seem much more energetic. I brough home a treat for my hubbie (he's been remodeling the bathroom) a strawberry ventician ice. Cody seemed very interested so hubbie put some in a cup and he ate it! Just a few ounces. I tried the banana baby food he seemed interested but wouldn't eat it. I forced fed him about 3/4 of a jar. He told me he was done b/c he walked away. The vomitting has all but stopped and his body language is much more relaxed b/c his tummy is not in pain. Hopefully this is a turning point and he will start eating on his own soon.

  • Pat, thanks for the caution. My vet said the same thing. I am trying to go slow. Small amounts over time. it had been so long since he had any food on his tummy I know I need to go slow.

  • Happy news, yeah Cody. I am very relieved to hear the he is doing better..keeping my fingers and toes crossed he will stay on the better front.

  • How is Cody doing today? How all is well lets all know. Thanks

    Rita Jean

  • Great news, hope Cody continues to improve

  • You may want to get some NutriCal. It is a high calorie gel. That way he starts to get some calories in him and hopefully starts to feel better. You can get it at places like Petsmart and Petco.

    And when it comes to baby foods, I would stick with the meat flavors if you really want to entice them to eat. They have the ones that are only meat and also the ones that are like chicken and sweet potato.

  • Ivoss-thanks for the idea about NurtiCal. I hadn't though of that. My main concern is getting calories in him along with water etc. Since cody loves bananas and apples I bought that first to see if he would eat it, but if I have to continue I will get the meat flavors esp. for the protein. I was also looking for a type of can dog food that maybe I can force feed him or get him to eat on his own. Any suggestions. I don't want him to become to comfortable with human food.

  • There are some really good can foods that are all meat… Evo, Wysong, Natural Balance to name a few

  • Great news that he seems a little more himself. Please keep us posted on his progress…((hugs)) for you, Mom...you must be so stressed!

  • I would look for the highest calorie food that you can find. When my cat was going through fatty liver we had to get him to eat 200 calories a day. Not an easy task when they don't want to eat so we searched for the highest calorie foods we could find so he didn't have to eat very much to hit that mark. Canine Caviar had some good high calorie foods at the time.

    I would recommend doing some label reading to find which foods are high calorie. Also, we found with our cat that he wouldn't eat the same food for very long after being ill so we had to start rotating his foods.

Suggested Topics

  • No longer eating

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    43
    0 Votes
    43 Posts
    5k Views
    T
    @JENGOSMonkey, @elbrant, @tanza, @Kembe, @eeeefarm, @helle-devi Thank you all for the kind words, it has not been easy but this does help. We actually got his ashes back today and the place did a fantastic job, came back with ceramic paw print and all. It will last bring final closure, he is home. @helle-devi results confirmed what was suspected, IBD, for which we had already started his medications. I think it was just his time.
  • Eating habits have changed

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    19
    0 Votes
    19 Posts
    3k Views
    tanzaT
    @maureen252 - You can add some wet, I do.... and also add some water with the kibble and wet food... I put in about a small tablespoon of wet. And some Basenjis do drink a fair amount... some of mine did/do some didn't
  • Grass eating and vomiting

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    8
    0 Votes
    8 Posts
    3k Views
    A
    My B's do this sometime as well. Miles will eat grass when he has an upset stomach, however Akeyla will just eat it and it's no big deal. I haven't had a major problem with it. Sorry that's all I got :)
  • How do I get my basenji to eat

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    8
    0 Votes
    8 Posts
    3k Views
    tanzaT
    @kipper: Thank you to everyone for the great advice! Kipper is our second Basenji and the thought of loosing him at such a young age is horrific to us. Kip is currently taking metronidazole twice a day. I know the med does make him tired, but it's supposed to help get rid of his virus that in turn will bring back his appetite. I have tried all his favorites like cheese, sour cream and even homemade waffles. His diet is meat twice a day and free feeding of high quality kibble. The vet is very knowledgeable about Falconi and says all his levels are were they should be and the bicarb is all he needs. We will take Kip in again in 3 months for another blood test. Thanks again! Anna I don't want to doubt your Vet, But honestly, I find that hard to believe that he only needs Bicarb and not any of the Vitamins that are recommended in the protocol. If it were my dog, I would contact Dr. Gonto who developed the Protocol and run it by him and he is happy to talk to owners with Fanconi (it is Fanconi, not Falconi) about treatment along with conversations with your Vet. Also Thyroid testing is important for a dog with Fanconi. This would be the fill panel not just the one T4 level that are shown on regular blood work. Dr Gonto's contact info can be found at the bottom of the Fanconi Protocol information http://www.basenji.org/ClubDocs/fanconiprotocol2003.pdf Also you might want to consider joining the Fanconi Yahoo group for people with Fanconi affected dogs. They would also be able to give you good ideas since they are all dealing with dogs with Fanconi. It is a closed group for only people with affected dogs. If he was eating before the metronidazole then hopefully when he is done with that he will begin eating again.
  • Acorn eating. Poisonous?

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    10
    0 Votes
    10 Posts
    8k Views
    P
    My Basenjis do eat acorns with no effect at all. I do find that mine seem to know what they can and can't eat. I suppose each generation has learned from the last. Puppies of course have to be watched (like human babies) because they'll chew anything. Incidentally when I was a child (a very,very long time ago) i too used to eat acorns, - again with no ill effects!
  • Eating rabbit droppings

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    4
    0 Votes
    4 Posts
    1k Views
    K
    Yes, mine love chinchilla poop too! lol