Dog not eating after illness. Should I switch to canned dog food?

If it is temporary (a week or less), its ok for your dog to eat primarily chicken breast or tuna. Try to feed her a little bit of rice mixed with it as well. If she needs to be on medication long term, it would be better to try to formulate a well balanced long term diet that she will eat. Should that be the case, check out this site: www.balanceit.com Thanks for asking PetCoach!

It is possible she's developed an aversion to her regular food due to the recent sickness you've described. I am unsure if her food made her sick or not but I would make sure there are no recent reports of illness or recalls associated with this food. I recommend feeding a bland, easy to digest food such as homemade, boiled chicken breast mixed with white rice. If she eats this well with no vomiting or diarrhea for a couple days, you can gradually mix in her old food to reintroduce it or try a different type of dog food.

Hello. I would just slowly try to re-introduce Jagger's food by adding just a little more of his food to the chicken & rice at each feeding. Soaking his food in low sodium chicken broth may help too. Just mix it up well & maybe let it sit for 15-20 minutes to meld the smells & flavors before feeding. If his food is usually a dry kibble, switching to a canned or soft moist food might make him happy. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I recommend Purina Pro Plan shredded blends chicken and rice. This specific diet is very palatable and also very good in terms of nutrition. You could also consider adding dog grade gravy to her food which may improve her appetite. Another thing you can do is add pieces of chicken to the kibble at least for now to encourage her to eat. Good luck!

I am assuming Charlie was previously having diarrhea and that's why you are giving chicken and rice. If Charlie is not vomiting or showing signs of other issues I would not be overly concerned. You can start to switch him back to his regular dog food now and add a little canned pumpkin into the food to see if that helps stimulate a bowel movement. If he does not have a bowel movement by tomorrow or he vomits or stops eating then he should be examined by your veterinarian. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Fifi. Her appetite may be decreased due to all of the life changes she has experienced recently. Everything you described can be stressful for a dog. I would continue to offer the canned dog food if that is what she currently prefers. It will be nutritionally balanced for her. Once she is eating normally again, you can begin to offer kibble and she should eat it. If she is vomiting, has diarrhea or other signs of illness, then she will need to see her veterinarian. In this case, her lack of appetite is likely related to an underlying disease. I hope this information helps!

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. I'm sorry to hear that Iggy has had all these issues. It is best to start transitioning him back to his regular food now. I recommend just putting a handful of kibble in with the chicken and rice and just gradually increase the amount of kibble at each feeding (and reduce the amount of chicken and rice) until he is back on straight kibble. This should take 5-7 days. I would also recommend giving him prebiotics/probiotics (I recommend Fortiflora Pro) and use it daily until the stools have been completely normal for at least one week. Not only did the induction of vomiting change the normal flora of his stomach but also the addition of the antibiotics probably did more to harm the GI biome. Antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria. Fortflora is easy to use - one packet on his food once daily. It is a powder and is very palatable. Each box of Fortiflora has 30 packets so you will have a month's supply. ( https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/223965_HomeDelivery.pml?productId=138172&auto=true ) As for the water drinking, you cannot force him to drink but you can encourage drinking by using some low sodium chicken broth added to his food. Are you sure he isn't drinking from other sources (pool, toilet, puddles, snow, etc)? Hope this helps. Best wishes.