Finding a food after sickness....

• 10-20-2007 11:41 AM

  Frangelica Joined on 10-20-2007 Oklahoma Posts 6 Points 15

  Finding a food after sickness.... Reply Contact My Lab/Ridgeback mix got sick from the tainted food and was on an IV for 5 days. He thankfully lived through it, but now we are having a hard time finding a food he wants to stick with. He had been eating Iams for 7 months prior to the incident......and was doing great. Since then, he has been through Prescrip. Diet, Euk., Bil-jak, Science Diet, etc.......you can see where this is going. He will eat these foods with gusto for the first couple of weeks, then.......not interested. I even tried Purina dog chow.....which he liked....and did not loose interest in (for the 3 months he ate it), but his coat got dull and it was difficult trying to keep the weight on him. Now we have switched him over to California Natural. He has been eating it for 3 weeks now, and doing great.....but I am concerned....and cannot help but anticipate the eventual same lack of interest as before.  Has anyone else encountered anything like this??

  Filed under: food, dry food choice Post Points: 0

• 10-20-2007 12:54 PM

  In reply to Frangelica

  DanielleNY Joined on 05-27-2007 Posts 92 Points 5

  Re: Finding a food after sickness.... Reply Contact I haven't had any experience with this, but I know Cal Nat is very bland, so you're probably right to anticipate a lack of interest.  I can tell you that I have a very fussy eater with a somewhat sensitive stomach, and she didn't do well on Iams, Pedigree or Eukanuba. She started eating Wellness, but often she would eat grass and vomit yellow bile. She likes Canidae and Timberwolf Wild & Natural (grain-free), so I would say those are tastier foods that are easier on the stomach. I would also suggest that maybe you try a grain-free food. These are higher in animal protein, with less fillers, and I would think they would be tastier for him because of the meat.

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• 10-20-2007 2:29 PM

  In reply to DanielleNY

  sandra_slayton Joined on 09-10-2007 Ingleside, Texas Posts 3,422 Points 0

  Re: Finding a food after sickness.... Reply Contact If he stops eating what he is on, you could try somehting like purina pro Plan or purina One---and see If he likes it and eats well.  Purina is not thought very highly here, but I have had purina fed dogs for 51 years and had great sucess with it.  Luckily I have never ad a picky eae amoung my English Settters, Irish Settes and Golden Retrievers--i have two goldens now. My 8 yea old golden girl was on Scienc Diet r/d to drop weight a few years back--she had knee surgeries 14 months aprt and packed on weight.  She didn't really like it, but did eat, just not with gusto and she lost the weight. Then my  olde golden (lost him to heart attack at age 12 1/2 in May) was on the SD k/d for kidney infection about a year before he died.  he didn't like it at all and wouldn't  always finish his mals, but it did take care of the kidney problem. But neither totally refuused to eat.

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• 10-20-2007 2:59 PM

  In reply to sandra_slayton

  ladiebug Joined on 08-19-2006 S Florida Posts 758 Points 100

  Re: Finding a food after sickness.... Reply Contact Have you tried Canidae, or Innova?  Last year with allergies, skin & tummy issues, I tried a few.  The ones the dogs liked and thrived on was Canidae All Life Stages, and Royal Canin Maxi GSD formula (they have a lab formula, too).  If that doesn't work , how about adding a bit ofa canned, or even human food - like some stock, or bacon drippings, to the kibble.  That might entice him to eat.  I'm sitting for a friend & her dog refuses to eat when she's gone, so I asked if it's OK to give a bit of home cooked, she agreed.  I add 2-3 tablespoons, and he eats all his food, then.  Good luck, the poor baby!

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• 10-20-2007 3:21 PM

  In reply to ladiebug

  grab01 Joined on 09-10-2007 middle of the desert Posts 1,608 Points 0

  Re: Finding a food after sickness.... Reply Contact I'm a bit mean. Legend would try this some time ago (eating isn't his favorite thing anyway)..eating a food well and then barely picking at it after a bit. I stopped adding any goodies, or attempting to entice him to eat. If he didn't eat after 45 minutes to an hour the food came up until the next day. He held out for about a week, existing on a few nibbles a day, and finally stopped the picking.  He's on a balanced food, there's no reason I'm going to go around switching the diet constantly.

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• 10-20-2007 5:24 PM

  In reply to ladiebug

  Frangelica Joined on 10-20-2007 Oklahoma Posts 6 Points 15	Re: Finding a food after sickness.... Reply Contact Someone else suggested Canidae also. He was not picky before he got sick. During his week-long stay at the vet.....they had to open him up to "run his bowels".....which had stopped functioning (because of the poison).  He has not stopped eating the Cal Nat.....it is just in anticipation I think. Thanks for the info!
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• 10-20-2007 6:38 PM

  In reply to Frangelica

  calliecritturs Joined on 09-10-2007 Central Florida Posts 11,941 Points 3,750

  Re: Finding a food after sickness.... Reply Contact Are you keeping a HUGE eye on his bloodwork?  Like at least once a month and watching ratios between the cal/phos ratio and cholesterol (another 'hint' of renal problems). dogs with renal problems will often eat a food until they feel 'sick' and then never eat it again.  I lost a dog to renal failure 3 years ago - I kept feeling there was something 'wrong' but didn't get anywhere with my vet at the time.  I WISH I'd known this -  he exhibited occasional lack of interest in food (highly unusual for him -- this was a dog who LIVED for food) and it was the only symptom I'd ever get and I didn't know it WAS a symptom. Keep an eye on his bloodpressure -- SERIOUSLY.  Most vets don't even have a blood pressure monitor for a dog but it's another thing that can go 'high' and suddenly be a problem and you won't even know it.  Hypertension adds to RF and can bring it on early -- one more thing I didn't know that would have saved Muffin a LOT of time had I been able to address it. "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." Helen Keller

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• 10-20-2007 7:06 PM

  In reply to calliecritturs

  papillon806 Joined on 03-28-2006 North Carolina Posts 1,932 Points 20

  Re: Finding a food after sickness.... Reply Contact If you keep switching foods every time he loses interest, it will just keep happening.  As long as he is healthy, just let him lose interest....when he figures out that he isn't going to get anything different and he is hungry, he will eat.    *Ban stupid people...not dogs. Proudly owned by: Wolfie- Papillon Falon- APBT Tigger- Grey Tabby Oscar- Brown Tabby Rink, Dink & Bart- Ferrets Duke- Horse (Hanoverian) Lenni- Horse (Trakehner) Jack- Blue and Gold Macaw

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• 10-20-2007 7:46 PM

  In reply to calliecritturs

  brookcove Joined on 09-10-2007 Semora, North Carolina, USA Posts 5,635 Points 695

  Re: Finding a food after sickness.... Reply Contact Renal failure makes a dog really, really nauseated.  Normally I'm not into "tempting" a dog to eat, but you'll need to build some good eating habits back into him.  It's like he got hit by a car and now he's afraid of car rides - you'll have to overcome his memory of food making him feel so horrible. Try changing where you feed him.  Offer him food that is nothing like the old stuff - use canned or a mix of canned and kibble for a while.  Switch up mixers - different flavors of canned, very lightly scrambled egg, canned wild caught fish, ground meats, steamed veggies. Keep the quality of food that you offer very high, so that if he eases up on his consumption, you can dig in your heels and use tough love, without worrying that just because he didn't feel like eating six cups of Dog Chow, his nutrition is going to suffer.  Use very concentrated rations such as some of the grain frees that are coming out every day it seems, now. Realize that it is ok to switch feeds fairly regularly, and in fact it's healthiest to do so, most people think now.  So you can jump the gun on him and change before he gets bored, and it will sort of take the power away from him. Good luck!   Becca Shouse: Irena Farm, Semora, NC Cord, Ted, Gus, Zhi, Maggie, Lynn, Lu, Min and Tully - and Sam! Waiting: Bubo & Ben http://irenafarm.blogspot.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/irenafarm?ref=profile

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• 10-20-2007 11:27 PM

  In reply to brookcove

  Edie Joined on 04-20-2006 Posts 1,570 Points 5

  Re: Finding a food after sickness.... Reply Contact brookcove: Realize that it is ok to switch feeds fairly regularly, and in fact it's healthiest to do so, most people think now.  So you can jump the gun on him and change before he gets bored, and it will sort of take the power away from him.     Excellent point!   As for the switching thing.My dogs rarely get the same food twice in a row.I usually have a few bags of kibble on the go at once and rotate between them on an almost daily basis.I am a "serial rotator".There's nothing wrong with switching around from different kibbles to prevent boredom and also nutritional deficiencies or excesses.There is no rule that says you HAVE to feed the same kibble day in day out for the rest of the dogs life,i cant blame these dogs for getting bored.  ~A tired dog is a well behaved dog~

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• 10-20-2007 11:52 PM

  In reply to papillon806

  chelsea_b Joined on 09-10-2007 Costa Mesa, CA Posts 2,943 Points 280

  Re: Finding a food after sickness.... Reply Contact papillon806: As long as he is healthy, just let him lose interest....when he figures out that he isn't going to get anything different and he is hungry, he will eat. I agree that this works for most dogs, but for some it doesn't. Cherokee used to lose interest in every food I fed her (back when I fed Iams, Science Diet, Eukanuba, etc.), and when I finally got sick of catering to her and switching foods, and did the "tough love" thing, she would literally just eat enough to stay alive. Sometimes she'd eat 3 or 4 times in a whole WEEK, and throw up bile in between. I figured that's just how she was..vets said there was nothing wrong with her, she was just picky.. This only stopped when I stopped feeding her junky (IMO) foods. As soon as I switched to "holistic" kind of foods, she started eating twice a day, every day. Keeping weight on, never throwing up...I felt (and still feel) sooo bad for forcing those other foods on her all that time, and calling her "picky." She's not at all picky as long as it isn't Iams or Science Diet or similar in her bowl. If she doesn't eat now, I know she's not feeling good, or if it's a new food, maybe she just honestly doesn't like it. There are some foods I just don't like and would rather go hungry than eat, why's it different for dogs? Chelsea & August 1998 - November 30th 2009 Miss you girly...

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• 10-21-2007 12:04 AM

  In reply to chelsea_b

  Cita Joined on 12-13-2006 CT Posts 5,893 Points 845

  Re: Finding a food after sickness.... Reply Contact I had almost the exact same experience with Rascal. I tried "tough love" for a while but he was getting dangerously under weight. When I started switching to higher quality, smellier foods (most notably Royal Canin and Timberwolf) his appetite picked up considerably. I think it all boils down to the individual dog - only you can know if your dog is being a pain or genuinely has some issue with the food. I'm sorry to hear about your pup's illness but I'm glad he's doing better. My appetite suffers a lot when I'm not feeling well, too. I hope he perks up soon!

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• 10-21-2007 2:51 AM

  In reply to calliecritturs

  Luvntzus Joined on 05-09-2006 Posts 4,216 Points 105

  Re: Finding a food after sickness.... Reply Contact calliecritturs: I lost a dog to renal failure 3 years ago - I kept feeling there was something 'wrong' but didn't get anywhere with my vet at the time.  I WISH I'd known this -  he exhibited occasional lack of interest in food... That's EXACTLY what happened to me with my Shar Pei. And that was also 3 years ago! I adopted him at about a year and a half old and he lived to be about 3. :( He was always slightly underweight and I tried just about everything under the sun to get him to gain weight. He would eat a food pretty well at first and then back to barely picking at it. It was a nightmare trying to get him to eat. He had the Shar Pei fevers, swollen hock syndrome, etc. and I took him to several vets, but they didn't know a lot about Shar Pei. I never suspected it was his kidneys. It turns out that lack of appetite is a major symptom of kidney disease. IF that's the case with your guy, the earlier you find out about it the sooner you could get him on a special diet and meds for his kidneys to prolong his life. Unfortunately it does seem likely since the main thing the tainted dog food did was harm the kidneys. So in this case, with your dog's lack of appetite and his sickness from the tainted food, I definitely recommend getting bloodwork done.

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• 10-21-2007 9:59 AM

  In reply to Luvntzus

  papillon806 Joined on 03-28-2006 North Carolina Posts 1,932 Points 20

  Re: Finding a food after sickness.... Reply Contact Luvntzus: I definitely recommend getting bloodwork done.    I agree!  And also getting it done "regularly" so you know what kind of progress is going on.    *Ban stupid people...not dogs. Proudly owned by: Wolfie- Papillon Falon- APBT Tigger- Grey Tabby Oscar- Brown Tabby Rink, Dink & Bart- Ferrets Duke- Horse (Hanoverian) Lenni- Horse (Trakehner) Jack- Blue and Gold Macaw

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• 10-22-2007 1:10 PM

  In reply to chelsea_b

  Frangelica Joined on 10-20-2007 Oklahoma Posts 6 Points 15

  Re: Finding a food after sickness.... Reply Contact Thanks for the input. I agree......he's not ordinarily a picky eater. He started this right before he got sick. I feel bad now for making him eat it when he wanted to obviously stop. I am sure that he knew that it was causing problems. They do try to tell us things....we just have to be smart enough to "listen"......and know the difference.  Fran

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