Help! Sick raw fed lab not eating…

[mummybearSW19]

My lab has had an ear infection. Lost balance after treatment (washing out under sedation / a month of ear drops / another wash out under sedation / more ear drops etc)

He has spent 2 nights in hospital and came home yesterday.

he has anti biotics. Steroids. Paracetamol. Anti nausea meds.

he has refused to eat. Refused food last night.
i gave him an anti nausea dose this morning but he still refused his breakfast. So I offered something else. Which he also refused.

I left it.
I just offered him some of the liver paste I use for delivering tablets to him. Which he licked very happily. Offered him some of the ham out of my sandwich. Snapped that up.

so. What can I get him for dinner?!!

As he has refused turkey & tripe and then duck……!!

he normallY eats 1kg of raw a day.

I cannot squeeze that much liver paste out!!!!

do I go out. Find liver. And mince it up to serve him on a spoon?!

how much liver? And how much is too much?!

any other tasty suggestions your sick dog could not resist?!

He is a slim dog without much weight to lose. He has lost 3kgs in the last week. I can see his ribs. Am very worried about him.

he seems happy in himself. Tail wagging. Not crying or barking. Is steadier on his feet than he was.

is going back to the vet on Monday for a checkup.

so am hoping to find something tasty to tempt him to eat so he doesn’t continue to lose weight.

Maybe cook some food, warm food is smellier and more enticing for sick animals. Many vets use rotisserie chicken to get sick animals eating - no sick just lean breast, but it’s warm and smelly.

Scrabbled eggs was always my go to for poorly dogs. Beware of feeding too much liver as it can cause diarrhoea. Or could you simmer a little of his normal raw food in stock, and offer that?

Cooked mince or chicken?

Cooked chicken and rice. Salmon. You can also get palatable food from the vets.

My dog is also raw fed. Not much chance of her refusing a meal atm (see my other post 😂) but when she was being fussy I would serve her a piece of cooked white fish and some scrambled egg. Little bit of peanut butter round the edge of the bowl to sweeten the deal.

or just give in and give her the pure raw tripe.

My girl has just recovered from a nasty sickness bug.

She accepted small amounts of salmon sandwich paste (cheap jar stuff!), a bit of pate, cheese (to wrap pills in) cat food sachets, tinned tuna in spring water and finally mugged me for pizza crusts when she was on the mend. Actually, she ate a dry bowl of a friends dogs kibble we left on the floor for her

Turned her nose up at all other dog food including puppy food, freshly cooked turkey mince, rice, the vets "special diet" tins, ham.... She's normally on a decent grain free dry food mixed with wet food diet but not this last fortnight!

She lost 3kg in a few days with dehydration as well as lack of food so we're slowly adding calories to her normal food to build her up. Water and her pills were my only focus while she didn't want to eat in quantity. She seems to lose weight very fast and get sick quickly which the vet attributes to her greyhound (mix) genetics.

I would give bone broth, scrambled egg, cooked white fish, cooked chicken or beef mince.
Don’t cook the raw food as there may be bone in it which you res don’t want to feed cooked. Bone broth is always my go to when I have poorly dogs.

Thanks for these ideas. Will try them out shortly!

If it's the Arden Grange liver paste you can mix a bit with warm water to make a 'gravy' to put over their food.

Roast chicken
Scrambled eggs
Boiled white fish

We always cook chicken and rice for our raw fed dogs when they are poorly

I was told decades ago to use chappie (cans) when dogs are sick. I've always used it for my raw fed dogs (and also as an emergency food if I ever run out of raw) and they love it. I'm not sure of the nutritional value but I believe it's very bland. Perhaps something to consider ?

Yes. That’s the one! Thank you

He just ate a smoked salmon fillet and a tin of tuna in oil…. Fed by hand!
gawd im so soft!!

now off to Aldi to grab more!!!

@carehomeownerthis was a great suggestion. I bought a can of the Aldi equivalent. He gulped that down with no problem!!!!

Quick update: it is now Tuesday. Dog came home on Friday. He is now eating fine. Phew!