My 14 year old puppy, need advice - Pet forum for dogs cats and humans

Kikadper · #1 October 12th, 2009, 04:39 PM

On Tuesday I will be taking my 14 year old labrador/shepard to the veterinarian. In the mean time, my poor baby will hardly eat.

She recently suffered what seems to be a stroke, and the vet only told us she would slowly recover. We've been trying to feed her but she seems to refuse all forms of meat, and the only thing she'll eat will be sandwiches with no crust, yet only if she sees us eating it, and we share it with her.

She can walk on her own (sometimes needing a bit of assistance, down stairs and up them, and she occasionally stumbles) and she drinks plenty of water. She's up and down all the time and even plays with the cat. She will eat Milk Bone dog biscuits without a second thought.

Is there anything I can try to help her eat?

Bailey_ · #2 October 12th, 2009, 04:42 PM

When you say 'all forms of meat' what exactly have you tried? Different meat sizes (cut small or larger than normal), heated if normally cool, cool if normally heated, different types of meat? Have you tried putting a bit of 'gravy substance' on the meat?

Frenchy · #3 October 12th, 2009, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kikadper

She will eat Milk Bone dog biscuits without a second thought.

Is there anything I can try to help her eat?

So it means she is hungry , just a bit fussy

I would try anything to make her eat , adding rice or ground beef to her kibble, baby food (the meaty ones , in small jars) used to work with my golden Daisy.

ScottieDog · #4 October 12th, 2009, 05:40 PM

You mention that she recently had a stroke. How recent? Did she have odd, side-to-side eye movements with the episode? You may want to see if her symptoms are similar to those seen with vestibular disease which is seen more commonly in senior dogs. If this is what she had, the dog's sense of balance needs to "reboot" which can take 3 days to 3 weeks typically. During this time many dogs are nauseated (think of motion sickness in people) and won't want to eat. Signs of nausea in dogs include the dog licking her lips, drooling and vomiting.

It is good that she is willing to eat her Milk Bones. Have you tried crumbling some in her dish of food? Also, if you are getting her to eat sandwiches, you may want to try making a dog food sandwich with a high quality canned food. Wellness makes a 95% meat (chicken, beef, etc.) canned. It is quite rich and recommended for supplemental feeding, but your dog may eat this spread on bread. Good luck. It is so very hard when you have an older dog that won't eat. Been there, done that x2.

Kikadper · #5 October 12th, 2009, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottieDog

You mention that she recently had a stroke. How recent? Did she have odd, side-to-side eye movements with the episode? You may want to see if her symptoms are similar to those seen with vestibular disease which is seen more commonly in senior dogs. If this is what she had, the dog's sense of balance needs to "reboot" which can take 3 days to 3 weeks typically. During this time many dogs are nauseated (think of motion sickness in people) and won't want to eat. Signs of nausea in dogs include the dog licking her lips, drooling and vomiting.

It is good that she is willing to eat her Milk Bones. Have you tried crumbling some in her dish of food? Also, if you are getting her to eat sandwiches, you may want to try making a dog food sandwich with a high quality canned food. Wellness makes a 95% meat (chicken, beef, etc.) canned. It is quite rich and recommended for supplemental feeding, but your dog may eat this spread on bread. Good luck. It is so very hard when you have an older dog that won't eat. Been there, done that x2.

This is exactly what she was doing. She was throwing up yellow bile for a few days, but this sounds pretty spot on. We've tried everything in regards to meat, right down to Bison and moose meat. I've tried putting them crumbled in her food but she won't take to it, but she loves them.

I'll try the spread on some bread but she won't take pureed food either. I'll give it a shot and let you guys know.

diandpat · #6 October 12th, 2009, 07:16 PM

If it is Vestibular Disease then your pooch will recover over time. Ginger had an episode two years ago...she is 15+ now

You can try to give her some gravol to calm her tummy. Ginger did better with wet food. Someone here suggested green tripe and it worked really well.

I really hope that that is all it is...it is scary to watch but has not real lasting effects. Does her head seem "tilted" to one side? That is a telltale sign on Vestibular Disease. Google Search it or even search it here...you will feel much better about things.

Kikadper · #7 October 12th, 2009, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diandpat

If it is Vestibular Disease then your pooch will recover over time. Ginger had an episode two years ago...she is 15+ now

You can try to give her some gravol to calm her tummy. Ginger did better with wet food. Someone here suggested green tripe and it worked really well.

I really hope that that is all it is...it is scary to watch but has not real lasting effects. Does her head seem "tilted" to one side? That is a telltale sign on Vestibular Disease. Google Search it or even search it here...you will feel much better about things.

Before this episode, we figured she had a stroke. Her head was tilted. Until this one, where actually it seems to have corrected the tilt, her head is straight.

kandy · #8 October 13th, 2009, 10:14 AM

Evangers also makes a 100% meat canned food. If your dog is also picky about texture, they make one called 'hunk of beef' - that is literally a hunk of beef. When pulled apart it looks like shredded roast beef. Perhaps she'd eat that?

Maybe the vet will give you something for her nausea so that she'll start to eat again.

Marty11 · #9 October 13th, 2009, 10:46 AM

My 14 year old golden had vestibular disease couple of times now. Head tilt, walked like he is drunk, even collapsed while eating. Thought he was a gonner. Couple days later he was fine, head not tilted anymore, eating....etc. He will be 15 in december.

Kikadper · #10 October 13th, 2009, 11:06 AM

My dog is doing better. She'll eat eggs with turkey in them. The gas is bad but I can handle it as long as she's getting somehting in to her.

I'll look into getting her some baby food tonight, anything else we've tried (including mushed, canned, shredded, chunked, everything) that's red meat and some white meats she just will not eat.