Buster update

After recovering from our scare last month, Buster is still plugging along and continues to be able to use his back leg. Yay! We still have him on a low dose of prednisone and Tramadol and Traumeel. When I tried to wean him off of the pred, he started to regress so it looks like he will stay on it. We already know that we're going for quality vs. quantity of life anyway so I'm not overly concerned about the side effects. Our latest problem is cachexia/wasting from the cancer. He is down to 16 pounds which is very skinny for his build (he was 21 pounds when he was healthy) and he doesn't want to eat much of anything. He's got a sensitive tummy so I have to be careful with what I give to him but I need to get some nutrition in this boy! I got him to eat about a half cup of Fromm grain free kibble this morning by hand feeding him. He refuses to eat his homecooked food or the Honest Kitchen. So, I'm open to suggestions! I think that I may pick up some Wellness Core or Merrick Before Grain canned food tonight on my way home to see if that entices him.

I have my foster on a prescription diet from the vets, it's the only thing she will eat. Maybe give your vet a call and see if they have something that is dense in nutrients just to get something in his belly.

YAY for Buster. I am glad the pred is helping.

I am surprised he is so against homecooked or THK. I know you were doing the cancer diet for him for a while. I am sorry to hear the food is becoming an issue for him. Poor little guy.

Maybe try some of the nutrical that was suggested to Donna for her foster?

There are so many options for food out there, I am sure you will find something he likes. Just keep trying things out, like you are.

I hope you can find something that Buster will eat that won't upset his tummy.

I'd try the Nutrical. And I'll say a prayer for Buster and you.

Thanks everyone! I picked up some canned Innova Evo last night & he seems to like it. We'll see if his tummy agrees when I get home!

Bless his little heart! I don't have any food suggestions other than to say I guess it's just a case of trying anything and everything. Hope what you've got now works.

I was going to suggest Nutrical too. You can kind of smear it on the roof of his mouth to somewhat "force" him to eat it. I remember reading a lot about satin balls when Hoover was sick. Don't know if it's something Buster could tolerate or not. http://www.holisticdog.org/Nutrition/Satinballs/satinballs.html

When I had Jewel and she wasn't eating, the emergency vet had me get a variety of canned foods and baby foods to try to get her to eat something, anything, before they had to place a feeding tube in. Maybe try some different meaty baby foods....

While not always a vet food fan, there are a couple that are made for dogs with wasting and refusal to eat issues. I used them with Lola towards the end. One is called 'recovery', I think and the other is A/D or something like that--the A standing for Anorexic.

I've also used plain rice pablum (baby cereal) added to canned for some of my dogs who weren't eating or were wasting.

Wellness also makes a "stew" that is very popular with most dogs.

I'm glad Buster is maintaining use of his leg, if not his appetite. I always had luck with baby food and pureed sweet potato. Angus goes through phases (I think from the prednisone/rimadyl regime) where he has an upset tummy so we've had some experience. I am going to buy some Nutrical just in case.

northernwitch wrote:While not always a vet food fan, there are a couple that are made for dogs with wasting and refusal to eat issues. I used them with Lola towards the end. One is called 'recovery', I think and the other is A/D or something like that--the A standing for Anorexic.

I've also used plain rice pablum (baby cereal) added to canned for some of my dogs who weren't eating or were wasting.

Wellness also makes a "stew" that is very popular with most dogs.

I have used A/D with Peachy. She was skin and bones when she came into rescue and they had her on this. Jewel was on A/D, but wouldn't touch it.

northernwitch wrote:While not always a vet food fan, there are a couple that are made for dogs with wasting and refusal to eat issues. I used them with Lola towards the end. One is called 'recovery', I think and the other is A/D or something like that--the A standing for Anorexic.

Thanks for the tip! I just looked up A/D and it has corn flour in it so that won't work for Buster. He's allergic to corn. So far, so good with the Evo canned though, so we'll keep going with this for now. I'll have to remember to pick up some Nutrical too, just in case we need it. Oops, scratch that! The main ingredient in Nutrical is corn syrup. Bummer!