Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Well, we are 12 days post amp, he is up and moving, when he wants to be.
Last Wednesday was the last day he got any pain medication, he does not seem to be in pain. We got a prescription for an apetite stimulant, but I dislike giving that to him unless completely necessary, as that makes him sleepy.
He is still not eating. Nothing, not human food, not dog food, not cooked food, not raw food. Not handfed, or out of his bowl. He is making us crazy. I understand that he is expending less energy, therefore needing less calories, but he is just frustrating the heck out of us!
He is supposed to start chemo this Wednesday, but I am concerned with his not eating that he will not be strong enough. Has anyone had a dog that has refused to eat for basically 7 days now???
He has eaten small amounts here and there, but it is VERY sporadic....
Shannon
Alexander The Great Dane
Suspected Osteosarcoma July 12
Diagnosed Officially 7/16/2010
Amputated 7/27/2010
Became Spirit Xander 2/20/2011
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.Â
I hope things turn around quickly for Alexander.
Â
Leslie
When Ruthie wasn't eating anything, and I mean anything, I resorted to the Hills Science Diet n/d, hand fed. Not the nicest way to feed your dog, but I was getting high calories into her to get her strength up which was the most important thing at the moment. It's heartbreaking to see your pup refusing food...
Keep us posted.
Angel Ruthie's Mom
Pat
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!!!!
Â
Tracy, Maggie's Mom
Maggie was amputated for soft tissue sarcoma 10-20-09
Maggie lost her battle with kidney disease on 8-24-13
Oh, I can just imagine how frustrated you are! 
 Have you tried stuff like McDonalds? What about some Iams Max Cal canned from your vet? We used to give that to all our big surgical and sick cases... They all seemed to like that... I don't know what else to tell you... but it is important that Alexander eats 'something'... anything... So, you may just have to give the appetite stimulants, even if they cause him to be sleepy... He needs some nutrition... especially before he starts a chemo cycle, which can surely knock him off his 'remaining' feet!!
Good luck with this and please keep us posted!!
Angel Jake and Wolfie's Mom
Jake, 10yr old golden retriever (fractured his front right leg on 9/1, bone biopsy revealed osteosarcoma on 9/10, amputation on 9/17) and his family Marguerite, Jacques and Wolfie, 5yr old german shepherd and the newest addition to the family, Nala, a 7mth old Bengal mix kittie. Jake lost his battle on 11/9/2009, almost 8 weeks after his surgery. We will never forget our sweet golden angel… http://jakesjou.....ipawds.com ….. CANCER SUCKS!
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!
Catie -
Birthday – November 4 2003
Amputation – January 13 2010
Crossed the Bridge – June 2 2011
OMG...the eating thing. Did the  a canned food that I thought was a/d but could be what Pat said (since we were doing the same stuff)...for a while a sure bet was chicken livers that I fed raw til he copped to the fact I was also giving pills in some of that liver....I also mixed it with scrambled eggs...we did raw medallions that worked for a very brief time...just long enough for me to go out and buy bags of different flavors...what I fed him the last couple of weeks was big hunks of cooked chicken that I bought at the store, brought home warm (they sell cooked chickens...I lived on them during the worst times) and would tear off nice greasy parts and he liked that AND tri tip...I am sure the store thought I was barbecuing for the world...I would race up, fill the basket, race home and start giving him bloody chunks of it. Some days he wouldn't eat it either.
One thing that was an almost sure thing all the way to the end was Miss Cherry's Miracle Biscuits...actually they are Hills I believe, but only the ones for allergies!! The hypoallergenic biscuits...the regular treats he wouldn't touch.
Between the eating and the pooping.....Good luck...I know how frustrating and heartbreaking it is
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)
My sweet golden Mackenzie. She became my angel on Dec 29, 2010 at the age of 8 1/2  although she was always my angel from the time we brought her home. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in Sept 2009 and officially became a tripawd (front leg) on Nov 5, 2009. She will be forever in my heart and now she's running free with all of our other tripawd heroes. I love you Mackenzie!
Hi Shannon,
I can really relate to how frustrating it is when the pups won't eat. Maggie had several medical issues which made feeding her a chore for her last 3 months. As I recall she ate OK after her amp and through chemo. But those last months were tough. Here are a couple of things I learned, maybe they will help.
Make sure your hands are clean when feeding, no scented soap, no lotion. Mag would turn away from my hands if I had put lotion on them.
Don't show your frustration in front of Alexander- he will react to it. And don't force too much. Mag could read when I got too uptight and actually went outside to avoid me trying to feed her. So I would offer food and if she didn't eat it I would just try the next thing.
Is there someone who doesn't usually feed him available to try? Sometimes Mag would eat for my dad but not for me. She would eat cookies from the vet techs- but when I brought the same cookies home she wouldn't take them from me.
Try a change of scenery-feed him where he doesn't usually eat.
Never hide meds in food. If Mag found a pill in cheese as an example, she wouldn't eat cheese for weeks.
Sometimes if I put a piece of food in her mouth she would start eating. Don't force too much though...
For the foods she would eat- it was really hit or miss. One memorable day she refused chicken but ate turkey!!
I did find that she would always take pub cheese- I got it at Trader Joe's. Basically its whipped cheddar cheese. I could put a bit on my finger and she would lick it off. Sometimes a little cheese was enough to get her to eat on her own.
I ended up syringe feeding her for most of the last two months. I tried several foods but she would almost always eat canned food from Merick (I think). I ran it through a blender to make gruel and fed her that way. She actually really liked it most of the time. Of course she was really small- you would need a pretty big syringe for a Dane.
Hopefully he will get his appatite back soon. If it goes on too long, even with the appatite stimulant you probably should have your vet check to make sure nothing else is going on.
Â
Karen
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!
"I don't know where I am."
Too bad we can't combine Alexander and Denali - we'd have the perfect tripawd then! Denali is eating great (and always has been) but she's still not hopping right.
I know I've been mixing 'add-ins' Denali's food though. Tonight I cooked each of the dogs their very own hamburger, cut them up and sprinkled them on top of their kibble. They really are loving their grain-free dog food!
~~~~ Denali ~~~~
June 9, 2010 OSA suspected
June 17, 2010, July 14, 2010 Clear X-rays – no mets
July 1, 2010 Amputation
July 9, 2010 OSA Confirmed
November 23, 2010 Cancer took you from me - Never forgotten, Always Loved - Forever
Supporting the Fighters, Admiring the Survivors, Honoring the Taken, And never, ever giving up Hope
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!Â
Hi Samsamsmom, thanks for joining us. We're glad you found Spirit Xander's post informative 🙂
Eight days post amp isn't that long of a time so I would be patient. Some dogs take a couple of weeks before their appetite is back to normal. Be sure to talk to your vet about this.
We suggest searching our Forums for Appetite conversations, there's los of helpful advice there. Our Nutrition blog has some good suggestions too.
Be sure to start a new topic about your pup so we can learn more about him. Thanks again!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Samsam
I am curious to know if you are on antibiotics or specifically Clavamox. I just know that my cat and dog (at different times, for different reasons) had appetite problems when they were on that antibiotic. I had a feeling it was the drug and the second vet we visited (not the one who prescribed it) mentioned it independently. Antibiotics haven't really come up in tripawds discussions as a problem for appetite (or constipation, which apparently they can contribute to), but I have recently been wondering about this - since Toby the pyrenees posted the same problem a couple of weeks ago.
Most of us went off our food with chemo, not so much from the amputation. At that point, I pretty much had to find meat straight up - a friend who hunts provided most of the smelly stuff. My Tazzie would not touch anything else and certainly not dog food. But that was only after we started chemo.
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