February
2010
Day Three…Taking it Easy3
First of all thanks so much to everyone who gave us suggestions on how to get Abby to eat, unfortunately still nothing worked. We’re lucky that she’s drinking plenty of water but food is still not something she even wants to smell, I’m guessing she’s just in a lot of pain since the only time we were able to get her to eat was when she still had some morphine in her system.
I should note that this is TOTALLY out of character or Abbs…she eats any and everything and as much of it as possible. In fact the smart little girl figured out how to open my pantry and get into her dog food! She would wait until I left for work and then hit up the bag of food and eat until she looked liked a buddha…little head, little legs, huge belly (We had to do a little creative placement of kitchen furniture to prevent this from continuing)
Last night I started to get a little concerned about her lack of appetite since I knew she had to have food in her belly for her pain meds and antibiotic so I called the emergency vet who said I needed to force feed her just enough to coat her belly (1/4 cup) so we could get her pills down. She definitely wasn’t happy with it and my hands smelled like dog food for hours but it worked.
She’s also gotten very sneaky with her pill taking. She’s learned that if she fake swallows I assume she swallowed the pill which I’m learning is not true. I’ve found them snuck between her gums, spit out 10 minutes after I though she swallowed them and even found one she was laying on. What a nut! It doesn’t do any good at this point to put the pills in food because she’s not eating, but I’m assuming once she gets her lab appetite back the pills shouldn’t be a problem.
We decided that a trip to the vet to check on her would be necessary today so we going this evening around 6:30 to make sure everythings ok and there’s no temp or sign of infection. Other than that we’re laying low. Our old roommate is coming into town this evening so it will be nice to have someone around who knows Abby almost as well as I do to help with feeding and lift Abby’s spirits some.
Sleepy Girl
Here’s hoping all is good and we get a clean bill of health from the vet. She’s still moving around perfectly well and even likes to pick up the pace when we go outside so these are all good signs. Tomorrow’s another day and hopefully she’ll show some signs of improvement in her eating. I do think she’s feeling better and better every day and again want to thank everyone for their supportive posts, its helps so much to hear from people that have been where I am.
Abby and I would also like to thank her Aunt Susie and Jon for allowing us to crash at their place, vomit on their carpet and climb through their kitchen window when there was a perfectly good key under the mat. (I swear we looked EVERYWHERE for that key!) We really appreciate you guys.
Hello,
I am partial to black left rear amp girls- I am Maggie the black pug’s mom (she also wears red).
Hopefully Abby is eating now- but if not here are a couple more ideas- Caria Sue’s mom had luck feeding her tuna fish water. And Maggie is now having other issues and is not wanting to eat. What is working right now is chicken soup I made. I put a package of gizzards and hearts, a package of chicken wings and some carrots in a pot full of water and boiled it until the chicken meat fell off the bone. I am putting the clear broth and small amount of meat on her dog food and she eats it. If I offer plain chicken or roast beef she won’t eat it.
Mag is also terrible with pills. One thing that sort of works is melting a small piece of cheese in the micro for a few seconds- until it is melty and oily. Then use just enough cheese to coat the pill. Even if she won’t take it, it is slippery enough to help force it down.
Good luck as you go through the healing process. I forget, are you doing chemo? I bought a thermometer and kept a log while Mag when through chemo so I could tell if she had a temp.
Karen and the pug girls
In addition to Maggie’s mom’s suggestions, when Mackenzie’s (my golden)leg was amputated in Nov she also lost her appetite for several days. Looking back it was mostly due to all the pain meds she was on. But it was a challenge and I remember feeling really anxious about her loss of appetite and calling the vets several times about it. The vets prescribed an antacid (like pecid/ac) and when that didn’t work, a stronger prescription antacid. Sometimes loss of appetite can be attributed to being in pain too. So you might want to check with your doctor about her meds to make sure she’s not in any pain. I tried anything and everything to get Mackenzie to eat. Her favorites when she did feel like eating were those Natural Balance rolls (they look like a big sausage) that you cut up and they come in different flavors (the only thing you have to watch for is not giving her too much of anything because she mght get diarhhea if she’s not used to some of these foods), turkey was also something she ate and sometimes chicken or hamburger. I usually boiled these. But turkey was the best bet. For pills, I use those pill pockets and altho Mackenzie loved them, this time she didn’t so I would have to force them down but they’re good cause they’re coated and slippery. I think that the first few days after surgery are the hardest so it’s just a matter of hanging in there with her and just experimenting with whatever you can do. I kept in close touch with my vets during this time so they would walk me through it and help me with her care. In a few days I’m sure you’ll see her get better. There were a couple of days there where I really 2nd guessed our decision to do the amputation but no regrets whatsoever now. Good luck during this recovery time – it can be brutal but definitely worth it in the end!
Give Abby time. It is a very stressful situation for both of you! Try not to show her your concern because she feeds off of you. If you are stressed or sad, Abby knows it and it will affect her attitude! Be strong (both of you)! We hope she starts eating soon! As all of us have before it gets a whole lot better and it is truly worth it!