Need help!!! Both Yorkies sick with possible parasites

[KatysMom]

Thank you for the update!

I'm so happy (for all of you) to hear things have been stable. Yeah.

[PILOTthePuppy]

I may have spoken too soon.

Pilot has been really picky lately with his normal home cooked meals. He doesn't want to eat it anymore, which seems unusual for him.

If he does eat, he'll only eat a little bit and we have to entice him to eat with some topper like greek yogurt. Even then, he'll only eat the places where the yogurt is. I've tried cooking several batches of food with different types of veggies, but he's not interested. He did eat some plain chicken earlier today, but seemed to turn his nose up to it this evening.

He's not having any vomiting or diarrhea. We've dewormed in several times in the last month, and he was on antibiotics for a while.

Pax had the lack of appetite but was having chronic diarrhea at the same time.

Pilot is acting normal otherwise, does it sound like pickiness or something more serious?

[Wylie's Mom]

It'd be tough to assess whether just pickiness (ie, sick of current food, just doesn't like it) or inappetance without trying new/novel foods to see if they then gobble it up.

I would suggest you try something like Sojos - this is what I use and I've also suggested it to several of my dog-sitting clients and they later profusely thank me bc their dogs are so in love with their food, it's crazy.

I add raw meat to my mix -- but you can just add cooked meat of your choice to your mix, to keep it within the diet guidelines you need.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/Sojos-Origi...sojos+dog+food

[KatysMom]

Hi PILOTthePuppy,

How is their exercise routine? Are they taking long walks again?

[KatysMom]

P.S. My late senior did pick up on my added attention quickly. But... I could use time-limited feeding. If she didn't eat her food in good order, I would be picked up. She'd almost always eat the next meal without issue.

[PILOTthePuppy]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

It'd be tough to assess whether just pickiness (ie, sick of current food, just doesn't like it) or inappetance without trying new/novel foods to see if they then gobble it up.

I would suggest you try something like Sojos - this is what I use and I've also suggested it to several of my dog-sitting clients and they later profusely thank me bc their dogs are so in love with their food, it's crazy.

I add raw meat to my mix -- but you can just add cooked meat of your choice to your mix, to keep it within the diet guidelines you need.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/Sojos-Origi...sojos+dog+food

Hi WyliesMom! We have to avoid foods with high oxolate ingredients due to possible stone formation.

The vet wanted Pilot on this wet food:

https://www.royalcanin.com/products/...ns-case-/60401

But we went the home cooking route.


Pilot and Pax will eat only plain chicken, potatoes, and some yogurt in the mornings. In the afternoon and evenings they seem to be more flexible.

Pax will eat his normal cooked food which contains the following:

40% protein (mainly chicken and some salmon)
40% veggies pureed and boiled (kale, peas, carrots, green beans, zucchini)
20% boiled white rice

I add calcium to this mixture and then other vitamins like B complex and E at meal time.

However, Pilot doesn't want to eat this anymore. Pilot would normally eat anything. Ever since he got sick and has been eating the bland diet for an extended period, he no longer wants to eat his food with other veggies. If I put yogurt in his regular food, he'll eat the places where the yogurt is but ignore the rest.

I'm stressing me out so much that I feel sick to my stomach sometimes.

EDIT: I want to mention Pilot seems to be eating less than he use too, perhaps age maybe a factor? He turns 10 in a few months.

[PILOTthePuppy]

Originally Posted by KatysMom

Hi PILOTthePuppy,

How is their exercise routine? Are they taking long walks again?

No, they've been in house. I don't think we'll take them on walks around the neighborhood anymore due to the issues.

Pax gets lots of exercise around the house. He wants to play fetch and keep away constantly.

Pilot sleeps most of the day. I would say he sleeps 18 hours a day. He doesn't like to play much, he would rather curl up in a bed or your lap.

[sandy simpson]

I have read all your posts and am praying for a complete recovery. It is very stressful when our dogs are sick. Both of my yorkies had a but of loose stool and it was very tiring. Jojo has a sensitive stomach. They eat life's abundance dry food and hills wet Id food. So far they are well. I hope pilot will eat and be healthy.

[PILOTthePuppy]

Originally Posted by sandy simpson

I have read all your posts and am praying for a complete recovery. It is very stressful when our dogs are sick. Both of my yorkies had a but of loose stool and it was very tiring. Jojo has a sensitive stomach. They eat life's abundance dry food and hills wet Id food. So far they are well. I hope pilot will eat and be healthy.

Many thanks! I think we are finally over the diarrhea. The boys have not had diarrhea in almost a month now.

The vets "diagnosed" Pax with IBD, but I believe it was some infection or parasites. He is eating the same home cooked food as he was before the diarrhea and vomiting, and has been OK.

Pilot would not eat at first today. He licked the bowl a little bit and then backed off as if it were sour. I noticed he then went over and went potty (#1 and #2).

I tried to coax him and finally got him to eat some pureed veggies from my finger. I added some more of the pureed veggies to his food and he finally ate.

I'm not sure why is he so picky lately. Pilot would love to eat before.

I thought this morning perhaps it's dental related, so I stuck my finger his mouth but he didn't complain or yelp.

The stress and anxiety of him not eating normally is really getting to me now! Perhaps I'm overreacting.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by PILOTthePuppy

However, Pilot doesn't want to eat this anymore. Pilot would normally eat anything. Ever since he got sick and has been eating the bland diet for an extended period, he no longer wants to eat his food with other veggies. If I put yogurt in his regular food, he'll eat the places where the yogurt is but ignore the rest.

Many dogs really don't like a bunch of veggie in their foods as they are carnivores and really want/need mostly meat/protein. I would try feeding ONE veg source at a time during meals and I wouldn't puree it so that it covers all the meat and everything else. I would just do a small rough chop and see what happens. Have you put plain, raw/cooked veg out individually to see if he is attracted to any of them on their own...?

[PILOTthePuppy]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Many dogs really don't like a bunch of veggie in their foods as they are carnivores and really want/need mostly meat/protein. I would try feeding ONE veg source at a time during meals and I wouldn't puree it so that it covers all the meat and everything else. I would just do a small rough chop and see what happens. Have you put plain, raw/cooked veg out individually to see if he is attracted to any of them on their own...?

We puree the vegetables for digestion as dogs have a shorter intestinal track. If we just chop up the veggies he just ends up pooping out pieces of carrots, peas, etc.

Yes, he'll eat plain chicken and potatoes right away! He'll also eat plain non fat greek yogurt immediately. He also ate the vegetable puree today when I fed it to him separately. The puree is just peas, carrots, and zucchini.

I tried to sneak in his normal food by mixing it in, but he immediately sniffed it out and walked away.

We do have to add calcium which should have no taste. However, I heard vitamin b is bitter so we usually try to mix it in well and he's never really had issues with it before. It was suggested I get the NOW Foods Vitamin B Complex 50 brand where I can "pill" it instead.

He was eating it all mixed together for the past few years.

Pilot was very picky with commercial dog food before he had kidney stones 5 years ago. We went through many brands of dog food, both wet and dry. We had to play with kibble for 15 minutes before he would eat it.