Best food for poorly dog

[CleverQuacks]

Hi all,
my 6 year old shihtzu ate a large rock which resulted in emergency surgery. Unfortunately part of her intestine was so severely damaged that it had to be removed. The vet was clear that this was major surgery which would take a human 6 months to recover from and it’s only been 3 days. I need recommendations for a stomach friendly food that may tempt her to eat. She has always been picky but now is turning her nose up at most. We have tried: chicken, scrambled egg, her usual wet food. The only thing she has eaten so far is a little bit of hot dog sausage but obviously cant really just feed that.

She is only allowed a table spoon sized portion of food at a time cos of the damage so high calorie content would help.

Any advice?

Rice?

with melted unsalted butter on for the calories?

Fatty steak?

Rice and white fish is my go-to, then adding a bit of chicken and squash puree baby food.

Tinned tripe is easy on sore innards, again with Rice.

Vet suggested potato and salmon too.

Steak would be worth a try. I am honestly desperate at this point. Trying to keep calm and rational but she is my baby and the vets have said that the next 10 days are critical incase the wound breaks down or she gets an infection (she is on antibiotics, pain relief and strict cage rest)

Sweet potato and white fish are very gentle on the guts. If she's not got a sensitive tummy in general I'd add a bit of oil as well.

Thank you! I am making a list and will pop to the shop once the kids are in bed

My dog ate rice and scrambled eggs, when she was poorly. I’m so sorry to hear about your dog. 🐾❤️

boiled bland chicken and rice. That’s a standard I give mine if they are poorly x hope she gets well soon OP

Did the vet not give you some advice? When our dog was poorly, the vet said feed Chappy. We all know it's not quality but it was temporary fat whilst in recovery and stimulated appetite. Check with vet. Hope all goes well x

Another vote for eggs.

Bit of salmon? High fat

The vet said she can eat any soft food as long as she only has a tablespoon sized portion and to feed 5 times a day. I rang the vet again today cos she is only eating a mouthful a time and they said to just keep monitoring her until our appointment on Monday.

I feed white fish and sweet potato when mine are poorly.

Things I tried with an elderly dog who went off their food - sausages, packet ham, cheese, tinned sardines, any roast meat, mince, eggs (scrambled, hard boiled or raw), Chappie.
Some of those might not be the healthiest option, but it's better to eat something than nothing.

I hope your dog feels better soon.

I was going to say chicken and rice but can see chicken hasn’t worked. What about tinned tuna?

Was just coming back to say tuna. My dogs have tuna mixed with yoghurt on their licky mats. That wouldn't take much chewing, so might be more appealing.

If you are boiling white fish or chicken for her, save the stock and use it to cook some rice. Licky mats are a good call too. Chappie is surprisingly good quality, I wouldn't feed it exlusively normally but if she will eat it it's fine for now. I haven't yet met a dog who didn't go for tinned tripe, that might be worth trying too if you can stand the smell.

Get well soon little one and NO MORE ROCKS please!

Solidarity OP. We have been through two emergency operations due to a foreign body needing removing but was fortunate that although ours had scaring in his intestine it didn’t need any removing so was just recovery from opening him up and removing object from where the stomach meets the intestine.

Both times the vet sent us home as he would not eat anything with them with the hope that being home would help.

Sometimes just offering a bit of food in your hand helps if you have not tried that. Have you tried to microwave the food so it’s a bit warm and stinky? Personally if the hotdog worked I would feed a bit of that until the pain has subsided and she is feeling a bit better in herself.

Thank you everyone for your advice. Just hand fed her a small amount of salmon and she gobbled it up. She will probably change her mind and not like it tomorrow but at least she has eaten something so thank you.

Chappie is great. Cheap and easy to digest.
I do hope she’s recovering soon.

Chicken is a common allergy for dogs just in case that matters. I was also going to say fish and sweet potato.

How about offal?
Not too much because it's so rich and nutrient dense.
Try to feed food warm so there's more aroma and is easier on her digestion.
Stocks are good too. If you can get some bones or a chicken carcass you can make a really tasty stock. Let it cool first and remove the fat but hopefully there'll be jelly underneath. I would try giving her that cold because it will liquidize obviously if you heat it. Either way mine loves it to be honest.
Hope she gets better soon.