Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello - anyone have any tricks to entice dogs appetite after chemo? My dog has no interest in food three days post chemo treatment (2nd dose of Carboplatin). His vet prescribed Zofran for nausea and Mirtazapine as appetite stimulant.
Hi swade, welcome! Sorry for the delay in getting your post approved. Now that you're registered and approved you can post away!
Sorry to hear about your dog. What's his name? Breed type? Age? Just curious, tell us more!
Is he showing any other issues like lethargy, or is it just that he doesn't want to eat.
We do have tons of appetite tips here in the Tripawds Nutrition blog . Some that stand out to me include:
- Warmed food is always better than cold
- Stinky deli meats get a lot of dogs to eat, like braunschwager or liverwurst
- Scrambled eggs, boiled chicken, gentle human foods are always more tempting than their regular meal at a time like this
- You can even try baby food to see if that helps.
When were the appetite and nausea meds started?
Summit is my 10 yr old rotten lab and he is 3 1/2 weeks post front leg amputation. He had his first round of carboplatin the day after the amputation and his appetite started diminishing about a week later. A week prior to his 2nd round of carboplatin he would only eat boiled chicken or ground beef, since chemo which was 4 days ago he hasn't had anything to eat except for some rotisserie chicken and half a scrambled egg yesterday. We took him to the emergency vet and they ran several tests because his leg where they administered the chemo is swollen, but they concluded it is a soft tissue injury, but said it could be a reaction from the chemo - it does not have characteristics of extravasation. He has been on Zofran for 4 days and Mirtazapine for 2 days (today is his second day). He is also on gabapentin 800mg per day. Unfortunately, I cannot give him Rimadyl right now because he will not eat, so the swelling in his leg isn't getting better.
I have tried all of the tricks you mentioned except braunschwager and liverwurst - I am definitely up for trying those!
He seems hungry and will sniff whatever I offer but then just turns away. Today he has taken beef and chicken in his mouth and then just spits it out. I put his food bowl down and he came over, gave it a sniff and walked away. The chemo seems to have effected his sense of smell and taste. The only things he will actually eat without issue is the peanut butter I give him with his medicine. I even bribed him by putting a tiny amount of peanut butter with his food - it got him to take a couple bites.
I will take a look at the nutrition blog to see what other ideas/suggestions are out there.
Thank you!
Ok so you are doing everything right to help Summit feel better (thanks for the background info!). Sounds like he has a really great vet team too. Did they mention anything about the appetite stimulant Entyce (https://nutriti.....stimulant/)
Good move taking him to the ER about the leg swelling, I'm glad it wasn't related to chemo. Have you tried ice therapy for the swelling?
The vet said the leg swelling could actually be a reaction to the chemo since there wasn't an injury to his leg. They did x-rays and the bone looks good with no evidence of an additional osteosarcoma. They suggested warm compress for the leg because there is a decent amount of fluid around the hock joint. Summit is showing evidence that his leg is uncomfortable when walking. I will follow up with his oncologist, but she is not back in until Tuesday.
Summit was given an Entyce injection on Thursday, but that did not increase his appetite either.
Oh interesting on the joint swelling. Did the compress make any difference? It's my understanding that a warm compress is to draw out fluid and a cold one is to provide pain relief. Here's a post about hot and cold therapy for more info.
https://tripawd.....-and-dogs/
I'm so bummed the Entyce and Zofran didn't work. Ugh. They usually do. Did they check his white blood cell count as part of the tests they ran? How is his hydration?
Jist catching up on Summit. Goodness knows you're trying everything possible to help your boy. Jerry gave some great options to try. Do try the stinky liverwurst....anything stinky.
Also, and Jerry may have mentioned this, feed him on a dinner plate and not in his regular food bowl.
Bummer you can't speak to the Onco til Tuesday. Is there anyone else st theClinic you can speak with ? It does sound like the chemo could be the culprit for poor appetite as well as the leg swelling (and that's near the IV site, right?). Will he let you take his temperature.
It may be the dose amount of Carbo needs to be adjusted. While someOncos start thecheno eight away, anyway til the two weeks-ish mark. It could be that Summit lost his appetite right after the surgery surgery (which is kind of "normal"), and then the chemo added to his lack of appetite (which is kind of par for the course too). So Summit got a double whammy of things all at once that may interfere with his appetite.
One other suggestion. Have a friend come over that he likes who just happens to have a warm cheeseburger in his pocket.
Just throwing stuff out there in the FWIW column.
Hang in there! You're doing a good job at trying to identify the issue and figure out the solution.
(((((((((Hugs))))))))))
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Thank you so much for your replies and suggestions! Ever since about a week post surgery and chemo, Summit has not wanted to eat anything out of his normal food bowl, so I have been feeding him on plates, a towel on the floor or my hand. benny55 when you suggested the dinner plate, it made me laugh a little, and happy that Summit isn't the only one with the aversion to his food bowl.
I could not find liverwurst without onion in it, but right next to the liverwurst was bacon and I thought, bacon has a strong smell, I will try that. And......bacon was a hit. Summit had a traditional breakfast of bacon and scrambled eggs this morning. I know this cannot be an everyday meal, but I count it as a win today.
We managed to get an appointment with the oncologist tomorrow, so hopefully we can see if there are other options to increase Summits appetite and decrease the swelling in his leg. I also plan to discuss lowering the dose of chemo for the next round, and possibly pushing it back a week - I know getting the maximum amount of chemo in the shortest amount of time is ideal, but the side effects Summit is experiencing are worse than I was expecting.
YAAAY FOR BACON AND EGGS!!× That's definately a win...a big win!!! Whatever it takes right now to get Summit to eat is a form of "nutrition"in the language of doggy speak 😉🤪
So let us know what the Onco says. And no worries about delaying a week. That happens sometimes for a variety of reasons (low WBC, lack of appetite, harsh side effects, even cancellation due to hooman scheduling availability, etc) .
I k ow jow Happy it made you to dee Summit eat such a good breakfast! Made us happy too!!
We'll look for your update👍
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
yay bacon! Oh man that is awesome! Yep it's HUGE!
Let us know how the visit goes. Oncologists always have quality of life as the goal and we often see dosages get adjusted depending on how a dog reacts. I'm sure they'll figure this out and help him feel better. Stay strong!
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