Experience of anorexic dog? Anyone?

[lenarenee]

It's so difficult to have a sick pet. It weighs on the heart. I hope your guy comes around.

Have your tried adding something super smelly, since smell is so linked to taste? I was wondering if you got tuna packed in water and then just used the water part over or with his other food. I see he ate some fish so maybe that would appeal, or if you used the oil from a can of sardines, that may go over well too. Wet cat food is often very appealing to dogs and maybe a spoonful or two mixed in would help.

I've heard of Satin balls being used to put weight on a dog. One assumes they are appealing to dogs. The name drives me mad, but the recipe was named after the dog for whom the owner made the recipe.

1 lb cheap hamburger (for high fat %)
1 and 1/3 cups Total cereal
1 and 1/2 cups uncooked oatmeal
1 raw egg
6 Tablespoons wheat germ
1 package Knox unflavored gelatin
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons unsulfured molasses
Pinch of salt

She may need to check the amount of phosphorus in the cereals.

 

[Sonya-m]

It's so difficult to have a sick pet. It weighs on the heart. I hope your guy comes around.



Have your tried adding something super smelly, since smell is so linked to taste? I was wondering if you got tuna packed in water and then just used the water part over or with his other food. I see he ate some fish so maybe that would appeal, or if you used the oil from a can of sardines, that may go over well too. Wet cat food is often very appealing to dogs and maybe a spoonful or two mixed in would help.



I've heard of Satin balls being used to put weight on a dog. One assumes they are appealing to dogs. The name drives me mad, but the recipe was named after the dog for whom the owner made the recipe.



1 lb cheap hamburger (for high fat %)

1 and 1/3 cups Total cereal

1 and 1/2 cups uncooked oatmeal

1 raw egg

6 Tablespoons wheat germ

1 package Knox unflavored gelatin

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

2 Tablespoons unsulfured molasses

Pinch of salt

I've tried the tuna juice thing but he just tried to lick up just the juice.

I could probably modify that recipe to reduce the phosphorus by substituting some of the cereal/oatmeal with some butternut squash or sweet potato. Would have to look into the gelatin and molasses though.

 

[Sonya-m]

It just dawned on me- Would tripe be out of the question, Sonya? I know it's a stinky food but many dogs love it.

Tripe would be fine in fact I went to the pet shop yesterday and got some minced green tripe. It's a low phosphorus protein and apparently dogs with kidney disease do well on a raw food diet that includes it. I haven't tried him on it yet but it's in the list. I will need to add rice and veggies to it to make sure he's getting enough calories without getting too much protein.

 

[Arimara]

Tripe would be fine in fact I went to the pet shop yesterday and got some minced green tripe. It's a low phosphorus protein and apparently dogs with kidney disease do well on a raw food diet that includes it. I haven't tried him on it yet but it's in the list. I will need to add rice and veggies to it to make sure he's getting enough calories without getting too much protein.

Do try some pumpkin sometime, if allowed and he'll go for it. It'll give you an option to vary a little bit.

 

[Sonya-m]

Do try some pumpkin sometime, if allowed and he'll go for it. It'll give you an option to vary a little bit.

Yeah he's allowed pumpkin so will try that too.

Update from today: The vet gave him another injection and has referred him to the animal hospital for a full diagnostic check to find out for sure what's going on. They're calling me tomorrow with an appointment. He's eaten 2 fish fingers today, Si has been giving him the syringes of food and then he ate some of the non pureed mince, rice and veg food by himself - not a lot but it's a start. His stools are still loose but not completely just liquid like they were and he hasn't been sick. He seems a bit brighter today.

 

[navigator9]

Oh Sonya, I'm so sorry to hear this news. I don't have a dog, but a cat who was put on a kidney diet a while back. We tried both the dry and the canned. I mixed them together to make it more appetizing. At first, she was OK with it. Then, she would eat the canned food, but leave the dry behind. Eventually, she stopped eating it altogether. She's about 15 years old, we're not sure because I found her as an adult in a parking lot. I did not want the end of her life to be miserable, so I made the decision to put her back on the regular canned food that she loves. I also put some water in the empty can and swish it around to get all of the "juice" in the bottom, and get some extra water into her. Since then, she's her old self again. I'm not sure what her numbers will show when she gets her upcoming bloodwork done, but I couldn't stand to see her miserable. She does get Remeron every three or four days to stimulate her appetite, and so far, so good, and she's her old, sweet self again. It's sooooo hard dealing with a sick pet, because you can't explain to them what's happening. All you can do is love them. It sounds like things may be turning a corner for Buster, and I sure hope so. Sending lots of good energy your way.

 

[Steve85569]

Keeping you both on my prayer list.

 

[Cindy2428]

Thanks for the encouraging update Sonya - keeping you both in my prayers

 

[Sonya-m]

He's being admitted to the animal hospital today for further checks.

 

[Rusti]

For what it's worth, you all with kidney animals can ask your vets about phosphorus blockers and other supplements. I use Epakitin on my 18 year old cat's food because at 18 years old, she can eat what the heck ever she darn well wants to eat. I'm less worried about controlling her food at this point than just making sure she eats enough to not lose any more weight. She was an 11-12 pound cat (bit fat, honestly, but...) that now weighs 8.

She also gets Aventi Kidney Support. It's sort of like Azodyl, but is way, way cheaper and doesn't require refrigeration.

So far the combination seems to have stopped her daily vomiting and helped improve her appetite and her kidney numbers are steady enough.

I hope you get through this crisis with your pup Sonya, and I wish the best to everybody else with a renal failure critter (be it acute or chronic)!

 

[newbie]

If he's gotten better since the vet put him on prednisone, you should ask the hospital to check to see if your dogs has Addison's disease. It is also called The Great Pretender because it can look like so many different things, but many dogs are diagnosed with renal disease when it's Addison's as Addison's affects the hormone that controls certain salts in the blood. In this disease, the adrenal glands also stop producing cortisol, the stress hormone, and the dogs can crash in a big way, pretty abruptly. It's extremely treatable.

A lot of what you mention- rapid weight loss, kidney issues, loss of appetite, slowing, low energy, gastric ulcers, GI bleeding- can all occur. The hospital would have to do a ACTH stimulation test to definitive diagnosis but since he's had prednisone, they would have to wait until that has cleared as it would make the test falsely negative. Percorten could be given if they suspect it and your dogs sodium and potassium look suspicious in their ratios.


http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/endocrine/c_dg_hypoadrenocorticism

I actually hope this is what he has, as dogs live perfectly normal lives once they are on the proper treatment.

 

[Sonya-m]

They're keeping him in overnight. They've done bloods, urine etc and a scan. It looks like he has pancreatitis brought on by the prescription diet for his kidney disease - too much fat in his diet causes pancreatitis but his kidney disease needs high fat low protein. The bloods have to be sent to America for confirmation that it is that. We have to call tomorrow to find out what's next. Think they're putting him on a drip tonight.

I just don't know how we're going to manage his diet going forward cos he has two conditions needing completely opposite diets

 

[newbie]

Sonya, have they considered Addison's and ruled it out? It would explain why he took a turn after the dog bite- an extra stressor when you can't make stress hormone would tip it. He sounds so much like it.

 

[Sonya-m]

Sonya, have they considered Addison's and ruled it out? It would explain why he took a turn after the dog bite- an extra stressor when you can't make stress hormone would tip it. He sounds so much like it.

I've just read up about this and you're right, he has almost every symptom and obviously it all started with the dog bite. I'm calling the hospital first thing to request the test which sounds pretty simple - involves injecting with something that should trigger the stress hormone and if bloods show he hasn't then he has Addison's. Thank you Amy - I'd never come across this before and it sounds rare but also says it's one of the last things tested for when nothing else is found.

 

[newbie]

The test is simple but in your dog's case will be complicated by the fact that he was given a steroid (a stress hormone), prednisone, recently. There is some time period that he has to be without that before the test is valid. Even so, to have it in sight as a possible diagnosis will be good and they can stop the prednisone for the timeframe needed. Actually, I hope this is what he has because dogs lead normal full lives with it as it's pretty easy to treat. My fingers are crossed for him!

 

[Sonya-m]

Do you mind me asking how you know so much about this? Just when I mention it to the hospital I don't want to come across as some crazy Google lady diagnosing my dog on the Internet.

He hasn't had the steroid since Tuesday morning - do you know how long he would have to have been without it?

 

[newbie]

My dog has Addison's. I lucked out in that my vet thought of it immediately when I brought her in weak, wobbly, skinny and her first set of labs showed the potassium and sodium issues. She's (the vet is) younger and closer to school; many vets don't think if it so quickly. Even diagnosed so quickly, my dog had a rough go of it with a massive GI bleed, dehydration and the lot. However, she's perfectly healthy now.

I will see what I can find about how long a dog has to be without prednisone before the test. You can now say you know someone whose dog has Addison's and they suggested it, so you don't look like you're trying to be Dr. Google.

 

[newbie]

This is from an Endocrine website. I'm waiting for a response from some of the experts who run the Addison's page I'm on, but it looks like at least 24 hours without any steroids, so you would be in luck. It may depend on how much your dog was given, but in reading this (lots of jargon, but still), they recommend a taper down then at least 24 hours without.

http://www.endocrinevet.info/2013/09/confirming-diagnosis-of-addisons.html

 

[lenarenee]

You have the right to look like a crazy Google lady. It's your dog, your money, and you have the right to present any info or questions you want.

If the vet doesn't like it, then you need a better vet. Any dedicated pet owner would do the research you're doing. What do you think a vet does when their dog becomes ill? (One of my vets had a cat with kidney disease.....and I think that's why she worked so hard for my cat.)

You won't regret doing everything you can for your dog, I promise.

 

[Sonya-m]

Thank you for this, the more I read the more I'm convinced it's this especially as I kept going back to the fact he just suddenly developed symptoms after the bite.

I've spoken to the hospital tonight just to see how he's getting on and have asked that the veterinary nurse mention it to the vet that's looking after him.