Not Eating

[Applebear]

Tried asking this on the fb group but got no reply. I really could use some advice, so I hope I am forgiven for posting here instead of the health or food thread.

My 15ish yorkie/pom Knarly isn't doing so well. I took him to vet yesterday and he has a infection in his mouth, his gums were bleeding, and fluid on his lungs [was diagnosed with heart murmur awhile back]. He is on meds and antibiotics, and I have seen some mild improvements [the bleeding and mouth watering has stopped, and the smell has died down]. He has perked up slightly, he notices when I get up and follows slowly. He could really use a teeth cleaning, but the vet decided awhile back it was too much to risk with his murmur. She said if what we are doing now works, it's only a short term solution...but it didn't sound like there was much we could do long term either, because what he really needs is teeth cleaned and pulled.

My main problem at this moment is he won't touch his food...even though he's been on can, I suspect it is still too hard for him. I don't know, I just know at 7 pounds, I do not like to mess around. He is VERY interested in meat and will take any bite size bits I have to offer, so I plan to boil some chicken today. I don't know what else to give him that he'll eat. He's really got it narrowed down on what he wants...I tried a couple things that he took thinking were meat and then spit out. All the while he is looking up at me with those little hungry eyes, and I don't know what to tell him. I would love for him to get something down with some nutritional value, but I guess I just don't know what my options are here and I'm hoping for some ideas.

I don't know if I am going to get him through it this time...the vet just kept telling me to keep quality of life in mind, and I just don't know if I am being selfish or if it's time to let him go. I've had people tell me you'll know when it's time, but when I think about letting go...I think about what if I'm giving up too quickly? We have had a few good scares, the last one I even thought for sure I was going to have to PTS, but then I got another 3-6 months of him happy and alive...it was only a few days ago he was just hitting me in the back leg with his paws as he danced happily following me.

I feel so lost.

 

[Beanie]

Is it just after going on the abx for his infection that he has stopped eating? Depending on his abx that could be making him not feel very well and not want to eat. Kota was that way when he was being treated for his UTI, he would stop eating everything because he felt sick from the abx.

You can buy one of those calorie pastes or something like that to get him through the round of abx and hopefully once he's got the infection settled his appetite will come back. The boiled chicken is a good idea, I would probably feed the chicken if he'll continue to eat it and also give the calorie paste to make sure he's getting enough food. A few weeks of a little bit of caloric surplus won't hurt him and it's more important IMO to make sure he's getting enough food right now to get him through this.

If it's been going on for longer/continues once he gets better so it isn't tied to the abx and infection, you can try homecooking. When I do chicken and rice with my guys, I put it in the crockpot and let it cook that way, so the chicken gets soft and can be shredded and the rice gets really mushy. Start with that since it's easy and if he's doing well with that, you could do some different homecooking things. A friend of mine always homecooks for her dog but I'm not sure what she typically feeds... I know there are books and websites out there with suggestions though.

 

[Laurelin]

Is the reason he can't have teeth pulled his age? Summer had an abscessed tooth that was rotting out the teeth around it. They ended up having to pull all her upper incisors but she's been doing much much better afterwards. I do know anesthesia is rough on really old dogs though.

Summer wouldn't eat after the tooth pull while she was on antibiotics. I had to entice her with all sorts of things and what ended up being the only thing she'd eat was ziwipeak. It's expensive but is a full/balanced meal. It stinks and they act like it's the best treat.

Since he's eating chicken maybe someone knows a homecooked recipe that is a balanced diet that you could put him on long term.

 

[stardogs]

It sounds like maybe he's not eating because his mouth hurts? If they wanted to pull teeth, surely that's gotta be sore. Have you tried purees? Canned food mixed with water or goatsmilk?

If you vet is mentioning quality of life, delve deeper: what do they think is decreasing the QOL? Pain? Not being able to eat?

If his mouth is sore and the only way to relieve it is removing a tooth or several, perhaps it is worth the risk of anesthesia?

 

[Applebear]

He stopped eating before the abx, which is pretty much what he does when his teeth are bothering him. This time however is the worse it's been, his gums have never bled like that before.

The vet [I had it confirmed by a 2nd vet as well] doesn't feel it would be wise to put him under because of the murmur. I'm sure age factors in as well.

He wants to eat, it's just what he wants to eat...he usually loves his can stuff, but I think it's just too much work for him at this point [he seems to want really tasty things that are easy to swallow without using his jaw much]. He gets those bright little eyes when I'm eating, so I can tell he wants to.

Now it hasn't been going on for more than 3-4 days [I did get him to eat a tad of his can food on xmas day], but he had stopped completely before the abx. When this happens, it hits him very fast and hard. I get him to vet, they all most always say it's his heart and/or teeth/gums and then put him on antibiotics. This time they added the fluid and pain pills.

Anyhow, sorry bit frazzled...thank you for the help and I will let him have the boiled chicken for now and see if I can find that cal tube stuff. I'm pretty sure he'll take the chicken well, but I suspect anything that takes a lot of jaw or mouth motion, he may resist.

 

[stardogs]

Sounds like he may need better pain control as well.

I'd blender the boiled chicken to make it easier to slurp.

 

[Beanie]

The tube paste that I bought for Kota you just smeared on their tongue or the roof of their mouth. He didn't want to eat it/lick it off my fingers, but he needed calories, so I just opened his mouth and smeared it on the roof of his mouth for him. Mine I think was the GNC calorie supplement from PetSmart. Petco probably has one too if you have a Petco instead of a PetSmart (we don't have a Petco here.)

 

[Saeleofu]

If his mouth is sore and the only way to relieve it is removing a tooth or several, perhaps it is worth the risk of anesthesia?

Sounds like the dog has a heart murmur and fluid in the lungs, which says congestive heart failure to me. I don't think anesthesia is safe at all for this dog, unfortunately.

If he likes meat, what about doing some small chunks of meat and some steamed potatoes or carrots or something? Canned food can be harder to eat than small chunks of food because it sticks to everything. Honestly at this point, if boiled chicken is all he'll eat, then give him boiled chicken. I don't think you're going to harm him with it now.

You may also give liverwurst a try. I have yet to see a dog that doesn't like that. Just cut it into little chunks or roll it into little balls so it's easy to grab and swallow.

 

[stardogs]

Sounds like the dog has a heart murmur and fluid in the lungs, which says congestive heart failure to me. I don't think anesthesia is safe at all for this dog, unfortunately.

Yes, I realize that, but if the dog is in so much pain that he can't eat and the vet is talking about QOL, maybe it's something that is worth considering as a last ditch effort, with the knowledge that it's the absolute last option once everything else has been tried. I still say that there needs to be better pain management if he can't eat even soft foods. I can't imagine how much it sucks to be starving and want to eat but not be able to because of pain.

 

[elegy]

Yes, I realize that, but if the dog is in so much pain that he can't eat and the vet is talking about QOL, maybe it's something that is worth considering as a last ditch effort, with the knowledge that it's the absolute last option once everything else has been tried. I still say that there needs to be better pain management if he can't eat even soft foods. I can't imagine how much it sucks to be starving and want to eat but not be able to because of pain.

Agreed. Quality over quantity.

Scrambled eggs is something else you could try offering him. Canned food mixed with warm water until it's soupy.

 

[Applebear]

Thanks to all of you for your replies. I was pleasantly surprised a little earlier this evening when he licked his bowl, and then ate a few partial spoons of can food. I boiled him up some chicken as well and he had zero problems with that. He would def eat more if I let him, but I'm not sure what the proper amount is here [trying to pace him and not overdo it]? I'm hoping he keeps improving...for now, I am just happy he ate a little.

I know we may not be out of the woods, and eventually I'll have to let go...each time this happens, he pops back a little slower. I just don't want to act in haste if that makes sense. The last few times this happened, I was so sure this was it and then he'd come back to me and be so happy. I'm just hoping for more time I guess.