My dog had lung infection, why isn't she gaining weight now?

Infection in the body can be the cause of weight loss if they are sick enough. After it is treated, if the weigh loss continues, you need to move forward with imaging. Radiographs and ultrasound, basically you are looking for any signs of cancer or internal organ disease that could also cause weight loss. If you are worried about this things, you do not need to wait until treatment for infection is over, you can discuss getting those diagnostics done with your veterinarian. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

At this point it sounds like she needs a higher amount of calories. There are some food you can try but with her history of the pancreatic cancer component it could cause inflammation of the pancreas. I will discuss with your veterinarian something like hills a/D, recovery diet, are you at Max-Cal diet. Sometimes something like Ensure works as well. Sometimes we also use kitten or puppy food as it has a high calorie counts as well. But again your veterinarian maybe concerned about him on a fat with your dog having pancreatic issues.

Poor puppy. It is hard to say how best to help your puppy without knowing if there are any specific underlying problems going on here. I would recommend getting your puppy's stool tested for intestinal parasites first. If there are parasites that are taking away his nutrition, this could be the only reason for his failure to thrive. I would also recommend getting some bloodwork done on this pup to look for other clues as to why he is not recovering well. Anemia, parasites, congenital disorders, etc, could be at play here. Also lung infections are notorious for taking forever to resolve, especially if a fungal infection was present. These can take 6 months to a year in some cases. As long as your puppy is eating well and still bright and alert, then take it one day at a time. The best thing to do is to continue the medication prescribed and feed your pet a high quality puppy food, as well as checking for any other underlying problems as I mentioned above. Some good brands of food to consider are: Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Eukanuba and Purina. I hope that your puppy is able to make a full and speedy recovery soon! Best wishes and take care.

I wouldn’t recommend attempting to feed witha syringe - this can lead to food aversions or aspiration. You may want to consider restarting the nausea medication since nausea could lead to a decrease in appetite and I can’t think of an anti-nausea medication that would affect mucus. You could also consider asking your vet about an appetite stimulant medication for the short term.

Puppies can be prone to viruses and bacterial infections that cause coughing with respiratory symptoms. The only way to know is to have a vet check her out. They can listen to her heart to see if there is a murmur or a congenital problem that is evident. They can x ray the heart to look for any changes. If every thing looks good, then they can get your medicine to treat the cough and underlying cause to help her

If Diesel has food sensitivities (usually z/d is to address this) but still isn't gaining weight on it, I'd definitely let his regular veterinarian know that he still isn't gaining. Your vet may recommend upping his current food for more caloric intake, or recommend adding in some supplements such as rice or chicken that are gentle on the stomach still (unless he is allergic to one of those ingredients.) I'd hesitate to just add in any OTC food as that may interfere with whatever caused the initial inflammation and make symptoms worse. It would be best to monitor this with your vet so that you can track his progress and see if upping the amount of food helps, or if he continues to not gain weight. Most vets will allow you to walk in without an appointment for a weekly weigh-in.

Provide food that is high in calories, like puppy food or a food that’s designed for active, athletic, or working dogs. Higher protein and fat pet foods are best. Underweight pets should be eating foods that are around 30% protein and 20% fat if they’re eating dry kibble; 7% protein and 5% fat (or higher) if you’re feeding a wet food. Intersperse your pet’s diet with small amounts of high-calorie supplemental canned food or canned products made of 100% meat sources. These will have a high protein and fat content, like 100% pheasant or bison, for example. They won’t say “complete and balanced” but rather “for intermittent or supplemental use” because they’re not meant to replace regular feeding. Some moist foods may be easier to digest, so your pet may retain more nutrients, and more importantly these products tend to be more palatable and tempting to a pet who isn’t eating enough. Any diet changes should be done gradually over a week's time as to not cause any GI upset. Hope this helps. Best wishes.