Not eating need advise PLEASE

What is he refusing to eat?  Is it just plain kibble or have you tried canned, cooked lean meats, cheese, etc??  Also, if the blood pressure medication isn't agreeing with him can't they try something else?

I have tried small kibble, canned food, cooked meat, rice, eggs, cheese. You name it, I've tried it. He is limited to what meds he can take for the BP because of the kidney failure and since we have just started treatment 3 days ago, both vets want to give this a chance before changing meds.

There is a liquid supplement for dogs - sort of like "Ensure" for humans.   I tried doing a search but since I'm supposed to be working couldn't find it immediately.   You can try and do a search to find it;  I'm pretty sure I saw some conversation about this in the past couple of months.
 
To get him to drink make a broth of some very lean meat boiled in water - you don't need alot of meat and there's no need to add anything else for flavor, the meat usually does the trick.   If fat is a concern put it in the fridge to let the fat rise so you can skim it.  
 
Willowchow is right about the food - you might have to play around until you can find something he'll eat.   Can he have the meds apart from meals so that his tummy doesn't get upset ?  You can try burying the meds into a small bit of cheese (tho you should probably call your vet about that since I'm not sure what the guidelines are for dogs in renal failure).
 
(ps - welcome to the forum - I wish happy news had brought you here, but I'm glad you've found us - there are alot of folks who know alot about dogs here, and I'm sure they'll be along to help)

The most important meds, The Enacard and the Amoxy need to be taken with food. This morning I gave him the Pepcid to try to calm his stomach before trying to feed him again. I have even tried canned cat food (usually a covert theft on his part!) and he won't eat that either. I'm afraid the poor thing has had such a difficult couple of months being diagnosed that he has turned into a bit of a baby because he knows he will get lots of TLC.

A few things I found :
 
Liquid High Calorie Dietary supplement :
Dyne [linkhttp://www.dog.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=222001+002]http://www.dog.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=222001+002[/link]
 
Paste like High Calorie supplement :
Nutrical [linkhttp://www.dog.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=222001+002]http://www.dog.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=222001+002[/link]
NutriStat [linkhttp://www.dog.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=211122]http://www.dog.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=211122[/link]
Vitacal [linkc=1&N=0&Nty=1]http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=616&Ntt=vitacal&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&c=1&N=0&Nty=1[/link]>http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=616&Ntt=vitacal&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&c=1&N=0&Nty=1]http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=616&Ntt=vitacal&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&c=1&N=0&Nty=1[/link]
 
Talk to your vet before using one of these.
 
 

Thanks for the info! These will be helpful, I'll run them past my vet and see which one I can use. One of our vets, the Internal Specialist approved of using Ensure just to get the calories into him and keep him from being dehydrated.

Renal failure makes them SO nauseated. I had a little puppy, years ago, that had almost no kidney function. It was a great struggle to get anything into her.

First and foremost, keep his food VERY simple. If you choose a dog food, use a simple formula, like Natural Balance allergy formulas, Canidae's simple formulas, California Natural, or IVD's simple formulas. If you're going to cook for him, start with meat and rice or potato. VERY small portions (like.... 2 tablespoons at a time), very frequently.

Ginger root might help with the nausea. You can get it in capsules, at health food stores, or you could buy a whole root at the grocery store and grate a bit on his food.

Acupuncture is the thing I think would probably help him the most. You can find a holistic vet to use in conjunction with your regular vet at tcvm.com. Some of the alternative therapies can *really* help with managing the symptoms.

There are also appetite inducing drugs that your vet might be able to prescribe for your boy.

Why didn't I think of ginger root for him? I've used it on my kids and it works great. Right now he is turning his nose up at everything so I think I'm forced to use a liquid supplement and try to reintroduce foods in a couple of days. I feel bad for him, I know all this medication in addition to the side effects from the illness itself is making him feel like crap and they don't know any better. If I can just get him to eat, I can give him his meds and he will eventually feel better. It's a vicious cycle. I've been searching for a good local holistic vet for him as well but since May when he started going downhill, I've been in crisis mode with doctors and tests and hospitals haven't been able to focus on that aspect of his treatment. This forum has been a great source of information so far. I'm glad I found it.  

You can check this site for a vet that practices Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture
[linkhttp://www.tcvm.com/]http://www.tcvm.com/[/link]
 
Hope he eats soon !

Maybe you could pill him with a ginger capsule a few times a day (I know, more pills, more pills) until his tummy settles some? Poor little guy. I hope he wakes up starving, in the morning!

One thing that will help you mentally, sit down and prioritize his symptoms. You know you've got to support his kidneys, so the meds are very important. I would consider joining a K9 CRF group like you'd find on yahoo - I know there's a good one there. Then you have to keep him hydrated and his blood sugar (energy) stable. I'm going to guess he's not going to want anything on his stomach until you've gotten his kidney function stable and the effects of the doxy and amoxi are both past. If I'm not mistaken, the amoxi actually is helping keep gi ammonia levels down as well, preventing strain on the kidneys. So that one is really important. But it's fairly nasty on the tummy - not anywhere near as bad as doxy, though - that stuff is caustic!

Because of the amoxi, DO NOT mess around with enzyme supplement or probiotics right now - that means no yogurt, either.

The nicest meal for him right now is lightly scrambled (still runny yolk) eggs with either Wonder white bread or plain white rice. I like the Wonder bread better for really ill dogs because it smells wildly good to them when warmed.

If he turns his nose up at that, it's ok. Keep him hydrated. With the vet's permission you can keep body and soul together for a while using the high-energy pastes. Giving his tummy a rest is fine - sometimes dogs know what's best for them. I know the meds should be given with food but that's not always possible. Just check with your vet, make sure they know what's going on. If it's going to eat holes in the dog's tummy, maybe there's another option.

You shouldn't feel like you've been painted into a corner - I know how that is and I've learned that if a plan of action isn't working, it's time to check back in with the vet for a new game plan.

Good luck. I've been down this road several times. Tick disease is really bad around here - it's gotten to the point where I wish I could keep doxycycline on hand and just start treatment every time I get a new rescue with an unknown history.[8|]

I just talked to my general vet and he carries Tomlyn Nutri-Stat so I'll be picking some up right after work. He's also going to show me how I can gently force feed (I know that sounds awful doesn't it?) him. The vet said he is reluctant to give him any medication that might spark his appetite for fear of negative reaction with the Enacard.

I had a cat who was in renal failure towards the end of her life. The vet showed us how to give IV fluids to our cat at home. Giving the extra fluid helped flush out the gunk in the bloodstream that the kidneys are no longer filtering out properly. This buildup makes them nauseous and not likely to eat (or drink.) A lot of cat owners have done this, it is not terribly difficult. Especially if you have someone else at home who can help you. One person to hold the animal and one to work the IV. Ask your vet if this is an option.
 
Good luck

Thanks, that post was very helpful. I could fill pages with what we have been through since he was first diagnosed. We don't really know how long he was Lyme positive because he was a rescue and never had a snap test before May 07. What I can tell you is that this all happened because he had a Lyme vaccination BEFORE being tested, the reaction was immediate and we almost lost him within 72  hours and he has been going downhill since. I've learned volumes about Lyme, and the vaccine in a very short time. I only hope this mistake doesn't cost my baby his life.