My dog is recovering, won't drink. When can I switch back to kibble?

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.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If the dental surgery was yesterday I would give it some more time for the interest in water to come back. I've seen this commonly post operatively where the patient does not want to eat or drink for 1-3 days after the procedure and is then fine after. If she is not taking in any water at all, you can syringe feed her some water throughout the day to ensure she is taking in enough water. Adding moisture to the kibble will give her water but likely not enough if you are only adding a small amount. I would add in 1/2-1 cup of water to the kibble and see how she does with this. If the decreased thirst continues beyond 2-3 days, I would call your veterinarian again and discuss this with him / her over the phone about what they would like you to do next. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If Ghost is otherwise normal and has normal energy, I would offer him a bland diet as outlined below and see if he will eat the bland diet. You can also add chicken broth to his water to entice his water intake more, just be sure to change the water every 2-3 hours if you add chicken broth or it will go rancid. If he continues to not want to eat or worsens, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine him so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm. TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days. If stools continue to be firm then continue substituting the regular diet in 25% increments and feeding the combination in 2 day time intervals until the diet is 100% regular diet. Minimize treats for 1 week after moving the diet back to 100% regular diet.

I recommend to check with your veterinarian if refeeding syndrome is a concern: https://www.sheltermedicine.com/library/resources/?r=starvation-and-re-feeding-animals If your veterinarian thinks Nicko is ok to begin eating again, I recommend a GI friendly diet like Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Low Fat or Hill Science Diet I/D. These diets break down easier in they system and will help to avoid shocking his system. He should eat the diet for two weeks before gradually transiting back to his normal food. I'm glad he is recovering!

I would start trying to feed liquid foods such as royal canin gastrointestinal liquid or recovery blended with warm water then slowly introduce thicker textures until he iis eating semisolid ad solid foods again. If not taking these voluntarily I recommend an earlier recheck

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!

Hello. I would not be too concerned. Just continue to add water, or low sodium broth to his food. You can also offer him broth or stock ( either beef or chicken ) as a source of liquids. He might find this very appealing. If his appetite is great, he will probably start drinking soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.