Not eating
 

Pixie is doing well for the most part. She is off pain meds unless she needs them and is showing no obvious signs of discomfort.

The problem is with Pixie everytime she has ever had surgery she stops eating, sometimes she has even stopped drinking. After she was spayed she stopped eating and drinking for 8 weeks, we have no idea why. I had to syringe food and fluids into her for 8 weeks. When she had her legs reconstructed she did the same thing. Now she is doing it again. She will drink. We thought it was the ketamine valuim coctail the vet had given her before anesthetic so i do not allow them to give that to her anymore but even without it she has stopped eating.

Yesterday I drove 160 miles round trip(I live in a very obscure area) to find raw food, she sniffed it and tasted it but has not decided if she likes it yet or not. I have tried canned food, I have tried almost everything. I spoke with her vet and we gave her a vitamin B6 shot, we are giving her stuff called vet amino which is supposed to stimulate the appetite so far to no avail. I also bught raw goats milk dog food addivtive yesterday it says it is great for fussy eaters, no go.

tonight i bbq'ed Delmonico steak, baked potatoes and asparagus and wouldn't you know it the little fart deicided that was a pretty good dinner, she ate a good meal for the first time in 8 days, since she was hit by the car. She has eaten but just picked here and there, not enough for a 10 pound dog to survive on, so I have been syringing baby food into her to get enough food into her, she hates this and I hate doing it to her.

Any ideas on how I can tempt her to eat or stimulate her appetite. I really do not want to have to syringe feed her again for the next several weeks. I will if I have to but would prefer she eat on her own. My vet said to feed her anything she will eat and worry about breaking the habit later when she has recovered.....not sure I want to feed her human food the whole time as that will be a very hard habit to break

I can't eat when I am in pain or sick. Do you think she may still be hurting?

This is going to sound really odd, but Gizmo is teething and one suggestion that the puppy nanny gave me at his puppy daycare was to try soaking his food in warm tomato juice and to buy him some organic baby foods that contained no onions. So, my husband and I went out to get supplies and it seemed to tie him over until his teeth came in. Now, the little gourmet will eat his dry kibble, but will scarf it if I sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on it.

She may prefer beef food if she seemed to like the steak. Has food you been giving her been primarily chicken?

She does not appear to be in any pain at all. I am watchng very close for any signs of discomfort and so far she is now showing any.

I have tried parmesean cheese, shredded cheese, baby food. I will try the tomato juice tho I have never heard of that.

As far as the beef goes she eats food with both chicken and food with beef in it normally, I like to alternate her food a bit so she does not get bored. As I said we go thru this every single time she has had surgery and still I cannot figure out why.

I guess i will just give her anything she will eat at this point, since I do not have a clue what else to try. I just did not want her to get hooked on table food, but if I have to start cooking for her then I will. A friend of mine just sent me a recipe to try out so I will make that tommorow and hopefully she will like it.

Still welcoming any other ideas anyone might have tho, can never have to many ideas and things to try

Thanks

Cottage cheese, chicken stock, an actual beef based food (nature's variety makes a brand). Some dog foods like Merrick and Avoderm make soft foods that are more like stews then actual like mush. Canned pumpkin or beans on top of kibble.

Hope this helps, Giz was a picky eater and I've had tried alot.

I am sorry but I have no advice to offer. I can send my prayers and thoughts that she will be back to normal soon and eating without any problems.

I'm sorry you are going through that again. I hope she starts eating for you soon. The only canned dog food that mine will eat and just loves is Blue Buffalo Beef and Vegetables. It doesn't really look like other canned dog food, either. Otherwise, I bake chicken breasts wrapped in tinfoil. I put a rack under the breasts before wrapping them in tinfoil. I give her that with her kibble and she loves that as well. How about scrambled eggs? I really hope your angel starts eating again soon. Have you tried adding some chicken broth to her food? It could be that her tummy is a bit upset from the medication.

Hmm, this is probably a bit different than just regular ol' picky eating since it always follows a procedure. I was gonna suggest a B12 shot, but the vet did that. Maybe she does have a bit of an upset tummy from the medication and the steak you made was delicious smelling enough to get her to ignore that lol. Can the vet maybe give her something that's for an upset tummy, just to try and see if that helps? Then you could at least find out if that's the reason. The other thing I thought of is prescription a/d canned food (it's Science Diet). I know that's crappy food, but maybe just short term to get her eating dog food again. I've seen dogs after a surgery or illness that refused to eat ANYTHING chow down on that stuff. My only other suggestion was raw (that's what got my very picky girl eating great when nothing else worked) but you tried that too.

Two things about surgery that messes dogs up: Pain meds and antibiotics. The pain meds will stop them from eating and the ABs kill all the bacteria in their gut.

I would ask the vet for a probiotic/ digestive enzymes for her. Should make things right as rain in no time. Yogurt does not contain enough live cultures to reestablish the natural flora in the dog's gut, but you can use it to entice her to eat. Just watch out for any artificial sweetners...

Do you think she has pick something up? A friend of mine sent me this link about a sick puppy that isn't eating and he ended up in the Vet's. It's on the Pruett's Biewer Paradise web site. Pruett's Biewer Terrier Blogments

I feel so bad for the puppy. He probably doesn't even know what's happening to him.

I have figured out she will eat if I cook for her. She just refuses to eat dog food. i swear to God she would starve to death if I did not cook for her.....