Hi Shannon, it's a wonder how something so amazing can be so frustrating isn't it?  I'm not sure if our situation was quite as prolonged as yours, but Roxy did give me a lot of heart ache over food.  There were a few days that I was convinced that was it, she was never going to eat again and she was going to be gone.  Finally we got her to eat 2 things, and 2 things only, boiled chicken liver (bought from Wal-Mart) and Hills Science Diet n/d.  It's a can food that's formulated for dogs facing cancer and going through chemo.  It's supposed to be high fat and really tasty I guess.  Of course I had to hand feed it all to her, that was gross.  But hey, she ate. 

I hope things turn around quickly for Alexander.

Leslie

Shannon,

I truly sympathize and REALLY feel your pain.  YES, my dog went off her food for TWO weeks 5 fives days  after amputation.  She eats premixes with Primal raw added.  She wouldn't touch that.  For a time, I could get her to eat various things…fried eggs, dry kibble, chicken, canned food…BUT mostly she would eat the dry food BUT often I would have to force the first piece in her mouth to get her started.  Have you tried kibble and have you tried putting in one piece in his mouth?  Kibble was her mainstay…I fed her several times a day one painstakingly piece at a time.

Also, I took her to the vet several times(two vets – one surgeon, other regular vet)…took of pain meds, then switched antibiotics, then gave stomach nausea meds…all of which did nothing…she had a low grade fever to two weeks…once I got the broke, she regained eating.  Have you taken his temperature by chance?  Even a slight increase in his normal may be affecting him…it did Maggie.  THe final straw was put some fluids and Vit B thru her with me demanding it..and also, I had her on homepathic Belladonna to drop the fever.  FINALLY, it broke.

Hope this information helps….STAY STRONG!!!!

Tracy, Maggie's Mom

Oh, Shannon, you've had quite a time with this problem. We didn't really have a problem with Catie's appetite post-surgery so I don't have any advice for you but there's already been plenty here. Just wanted you to know I totally appreciate your frustration and worry, especially with a chemo treatment coming up. I'd be leaning towards giving him the appetite stimulants for sure, sleepy or not.

Good luck! Hope his appetite comes back very soon!

Shannon,

I have the utmost empathy for you right now. We had the same problem following Mackenzie's surgery. She literally didn't eat for 5 – 6 days – nothing.  I remember trying to force food in her mouth once and she even growled at me which is so not like her.  The only thing she seemed to like during this time was being hand fed and eating those New Balance food rolls – she seemed to eat that right away.  Also scrambled eggs. I tried everything and cooked everything but to no avail.  It was quite stressful, especially when they refuse to eat for days on end.  So hang in there…Angel Jakes' mom is right though – he probably needs to eat something, anything to get his strength back before the chemo.  Otherwise maybe your doctor will recommend waiting another week which is what we ended up doing. It didn't seem to affect Mackenzie's treatments at all by waiting another week.  Good luck with everything! We hope Alexander starts eating…when our tripawds eat that makes for a very happy family once again!

Kami (Mackenzie's Mom)

So sorry to hear about Alexander! For about 1-2 weeks Charlie wasn't eating 'well'. He'd eat, but I had to keep switching it up and he would only eat about half, if that, of his bowl of food (and food is expensive and I had to keep throwing it out! Argh!). I just added last Friday, 400 mg of cimetidine (generic Target brand antacid) and 10 mg of Metoclopramide ( I got this from the vet and is anti-nausea) to each meal and he is eating 95%-100% of the bowl. Don't know which is working or if he remembered he is a lab and they are suppose to eat everything. Whatever the case, might be something to try. He isn't any sleepier than his old self was.

Good luck and keep us updated!

This was a really helpful post, thank you.  Our 4 year old Bernese Mountain Dog is 8 days post amp and really not interested in eating.  He's doing amazingly well otherwise so we really want to keep up his energy.  He's typically an incredibly food motivated dog which is why it's frustrating.  He's on an appettite stimulant, but it doesn't seem to be doing much.  Hoping that removing the staples tomorrow will help.  I just gave my husband a shopping list to go try some of these suggestions!  Any other ideas would be very welcome!