hamburger and white rice

[flyingfur]

My 12 yo Golden, Teddy, is sick.

He has been eating less and less in the last 6 months and I have switched food a couple of times thinking he doesn't like what I'm feeding. We've tried Solid Gold Holistic, Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach, and Taste of the Wild Wetlands. He likes them initially, and then looses interest. I mixed in cans of tuna with the Pro Plan and he did well on that for a few weeks. Then he stopped eating again. We switched to TotW about three weeks ago. About 10 days ago I mixed in some stew gravy with his food and he had very bad diarrhea for three days. Very little eating since then. Last night I stirred in a can of tuna and he ate. This morning he had a regular poop, but he threw up four times. He has never, ever thrown up before.

I have made up some hamburger and white rice for him. Will this help settle his tummy? Any advice?

[Canopener Sally]

Is it leaner hamburger meat? They need some fat, just not too much. If he's being extremely selective at some point you've just got to get him to eat. If it means hamburger, go for it.

So what's wrong with Teddy? Do you have a diagnosis?

From my experience of this selective eating behavior, I'd get to the vet. All my dogs that had cancer did that. They'd happily eat something for a few days to a few weeks, then stub up and not touch it but eat other things and repeat the process. I'm not implying anything about your dog. I've just had **** luck.

[stewiedog]

I would do chicken and rice before hamburger, too greasy.
I would also take him in to the vet. I am not one to run off to the vet just for a bad tummy. With his age, and the history you gave in your post I would want him checked out if he was my dog. Especially since he has added throwing up.

Hope he is OK.

[windywaycavaliers]

Poor guy. He likely has some other real issues going on, but I am sure you know that. When I have dogs getting thru some tough GI stuff, I will go with Quinoa or Brown rice and lo-sodium chicken broth or egg noodles and broth. Anything bland..sometimes for other things I will also add some plain yogurt or wheat bran, etc., but every dog is different and may well be allergic to any of the things my dogs do ok with,,so---just feed him what he will eat. Poor kid,,sending him a loving hug. You, too!

[LexPauline]

Well, I'm sure there is a lot of medical advice coming your way from other members and that should be top priority. On the food issue though white rice is good for upset tummy, but I find a lot of dogs a a bit sensitive to red meat, all my dogs have been for sure. I would try chicken and rice. My dog who is also a very picky eater gets brown rice and meat with a bit of veg. I avoid red meats. Fish is great epically Salmon or Mackerel About 75% meat 20 grain and the rest veg and dairy. Chicken liver is also great and very cheap. Watch your seasoning dogs are not like us, I learned the hard way lol. I like to use butter because my dog needs the extra fat an calories and she loves it.

[KarenM]

actually chicken or turkey (just the meat no skin) and brown rice would be better

[Doubledogdare]

Take him to the vet and find out what his problem is.

It probably isn't what you are feeding him, but something else.

You need to pinpoint what that "something else" is. Perhaps it is treatable, perhaps not, but ignorance on that score is not going to help your dog in the long run...

[odette]

i would use chicken and brown rice, also yogurt or cottage cheese. scramblrd eggs are easy on tummy also. much luck with old friend.

[RudyRoo]

When my dog was sick, vet had me cook him chicken and rice, no red meat, no pork and no chicken skin. I would def take him to the vet to find out why he is not eating. Good luck with your boy, hope he feels better soon.

[flyingfur]

All of you are so nice. I'll do the chicken and rice. He has kept down two helpings, about a cup a piece, of the hamburger and rice. I know there is probably an underlying problem. I just want to make him comfortable and happy and I don't want him to be hungry. The vets here would have no problem running up a $10,000 bill for him I'm sure...and I just can't do that. I have been carrying his back end up the stairs (and I have LOTS of stairs) for months. It is just about time

[neanea]

Vet to find out what's wrong.

If you dog is vomiting and has diarrhea, you really need to rest his gut for 24 - 36 hours before offering more food. Also, I agree with the probiotics once food is offered again and perhaps a bit of canned pumpkin if the stool is still loose.

Many of you have suggested brown rice and for a dog without GI upset, it's better than white, but for a dog WITH GI problems, mushy white rice is much easier to digest. It needs to be cook really mushy and either ground chicken/turkey or a lean ground beef is fine. Just drain off most of the grease after cooking.

I'd stay away from fish or organ meats until the vomiting/diarrhea stops. You especially don't want to give your dog much tuna either, due to the mercury issues. Canned salmon or Jack mackerel (rinsed) is much better for them and is higher in DHA/Omega Fatty acids.

[duke]

Flyingfur,

I did use the hamburger and rice for my dogs when they had tummy issues. This is what I did per my vet advice. I mixed rice together with the raw hamburger and made meatballs. Place the raw mixture in water to cook. Boiling the meat helps decrease the grease content of the hamburger. My dogs loved it and it did help them. I hope you find out whats wrong with your big guy from the vet real soon. I just feel terrible when my furkids are sick.

[pipsmom]

Vomiting

Hold all food for 24 hours to give his gut a chance to settle, then offer a small amount of boiled chicken and rice. If that stays down you can feed him a little more. In the mean time get an appointment with the vet.

[Helly]

Your dog is 12 years old. It's very likely that what's going on has little to do with his GI tract and is more kidney and/or liver related. And there's also the chance it's a problem with his pancrease or he has diabetes. Changing his food back and forth isn't going to do much good if his organs are failing, or he has diabetes.

Sooooo, stop with the food trials and get him to a vet. Many of the things that could be going on are fairly easy to control if you diagnose and begin treatment in time.

[flyingfur]

update on Teddy

He has been doing better. Eating twice a day. I have been phasing in the Pro Plan and phasing out the hamburger/rice. The diarrhea has almost cleared up (but I was up at midnight with him last night)

I took him to the vet today. We are doing a fecal parasite check and he is on metronidazole for 7 days to calm down his lower intestines. The vet did a thorough body exam and was impressed with how lively he is. He is, however, weighing in at 56lbs. His normal weight was between 62 and 65 lbs.

He is a happy boy, still wants to go for walkies and bugs me for his ball when we get to the park. I will see how he is in a couple of days. If there is no improvement in appetite after a week, I'll get some geriatric blood work done.