Help getting poorly dog to eat and drink

[WhatHaveIDone21]

Hi,

I woke up in the night to my DDog (2) being sick. He was sick a few more times throughout the night as well has having some diarrhoea. This morning he hasn't eaten or drank anything.

I rang the vet and they said to keep an eye on him and just give him plain chicken and rice and makes sure he drinks. But that's the problem! I can't get him to eat or drink anything.

He has recently been to the vet and had a full range of blood tests (more than just the standard ones) as he has had episodes of blood in his poo. Everything came back clear and they said it could just be he has a sensitive stomach and we will look at changing his food possibly.

He has been for a short walk this morning and was happy to put his lead on and walked as normal but wouldn't even have a drink when he came back from that. Does anyone have any ways to tempt him to eat or ways to get any water into him? I want to avoid taking him back to the vet if I can as he is really frightened of them now and shakes. Obviously if he doesn't drink anything then I will take him back. He is just laying on the couch but wags his tail whenever I go over to him and my dad just popped round and he got up to see him.

Aww poor boy. You could syringe some water towards the back of his tongue, or see if he'll lick at some ice cubes?

If his gums are very pale or very red (rather than a nice pink) he should go back, likewise if his gums feel dry and sticky.

My dog vomits a lot and sometimes has blood in his poo, he has "assumed" IBD. He's on a few medications at the moment and has to eat hydrolysed food, no meat proteins at all.

Does he like milk? When my boy was ill with kennel cough I used to put a bit of milk in water to get him to drink more than he usually would.

A lot of people rate Chappie for sensitive stomachs. It’s not something I would usually feed but it’s bland (mostly white fish and rice) and wet foods smell more enticing to dogs. Wet food will also help hydration.

Try a scrambled egg. Add a bit of milk or water in with it if you need to

I think some dogs have issues with chicken so best avoid. I think the rice is a good idea and the scrambled egg. Does he like ice cream? Might be a way to get some fluids into him. As he is wagging his tail, I would say just play things by ear. He may be ok after a rest. Obviously if he gets worse then get further advise.

What about ice cubes or frozen doggy gravy?

Thanks for all the replies.

He has been pretty lethargic all afternoon but then when he saw his lead he jumped up to put it on and we've just been out for another small walk. He has had a big drink of water so I'm waiting to see if it stays down. He's back on the couch now asleep now we're home though. Still no food either.

I haven't got any eggs in but can get some in the morning and see if he will have any. I think I may have some doggy ice cream.

It's so hard because he can't tell me!! Being a dog mum is hard!

Sorry I thought someone had suggested doggy ice cream! May be too rich for his tummy.

Hills and Royal Canin do a recovery food that might be useful, we also keep a bottle of Oralade In, it's like a chicken broth but hydrates them too. Hope he's soon better.

I see he's had a drink, so that's good, but if my dog is unwell - lots of stomach issue in the past - and she won't drink from her bowl, she will often accept water from my hand or lick it off my fingers.

Yes, as pp said, be careful with chicken. Vets often advise it when dog have stomach upset but it plays havoc with a lot of dog's digestion, my dog being one of them.

Never tried it but I've also heard that Chappie is good for dogs with upset stomachs, it was recommended to me by a vet nurse years ago.

Wet food is more likely to be interesting to an unwell dog than kibble, and if you warm the food slightly that often helps to stimulate a dog's appetite.

Hope he feels better soon.

They can be such a worry, can't they.

Mine will eat food from a spoon when he won’t eat from his bowl, or from my hands. But a day or two without food won’t hurt him so long as he isn’t underweight already, and so long as he drinks. Agree with previous poster on dipping my fingers in his water as he will lick that.

Liver pate and ice cubes/ice cream

Hope he is eating now? We went through this with our WCS - she was on some strong pain meds which really affected her little stomach - she was violently sick for two days and then didn't eat for a further 5 days. The vet couldn't have been more relaxed whilst we were petrified she was dying before our eyes - he said it will pass and when she's hungry she'll eat. She was taking on small amounts of water so we did put some milk in her water as the vet suggested and we did also syringe a milk/egg mixture into her because she was so lethargic -after a sleepless week she woke up and ate a full bowl of food and hasn't stopped since..... still some weight to put back on though.

It's very worrying at the time - but we can't believe how quickly she has recovered now - hope yours is/does the same.