What Can I Feed My Sick Dog That Is Not Eating?

For sure, it’s no strange to find your Chihuahua or Beagle or Bulldog has skipped his morning or afternoon meals. It’s even no stranger when you find the kibble that you poured in the morning is still in the feeding bowl in the evening. When it now becomes a day or two with the bowl still filled, it surely will bother you. It will even be more disturbing if it’s your first experience and you don’t know what to feed a sick dog that will not eat.

This is so as food is one of the necessities for survival for all breathing creatures. And when you notice your sweet friend has gone for 24 hours without eating, it should worry you as it can cause starvation. This can then cause death or expose the canine to health issues like rickets, amongst other immune disorders.

Ways To Help Restore Appetite Of Your Sick Canine

Although sometimes it can make your heart run first, sometimes inappetence maybe not as alarming as you might think. Just like when you lose appetite after undergoing certain trauma, your dog can be affected in the same way.
Particularly after a loss of a loved one, be it a fellow dog or family member, some dogs get affected emotionally and ap. This, of course, won’t need the intervention of a veterinarian to solve but your efforts.

If your pooch is sick, though, special attention is needed to help restore the appetite and also enhance the recovery. You might need the best dog food for sensitive stomach and diarrhea, for example, if your pet is showing a suspicious poop color.

What to feed a sick dog that will not eat?

In case the dog patient is having trouble eating, you can try any of the following ways to make sure he puts something in his belly.

• Give Canned Dog Food

Dental issues are some of the disorders that can get your dog and inhibit his eating habits. Whether it’s a loose tooth or swollen gums, the condition usually inflicts pain in your pet every time she tries to chew. In particular with kibble, the food is usually a bit hard and that can make the dog avoid it.

With canned/ wet dog food, though, the recipes usually have high moisture content, making it easier to chew. Compared with dry formulas, canned food is even more palatable and with a high amount of protein to stimulate the growth of strong muscles.

• Warm And Flavor With Bone Broth

In case you’re wondering, bone broth is the broth that is made after simmering bones for several hours. Prepared by using beef or turkey bones, broth can help moisturize and improve the flavor plus the scent of your dog’s meal. Hence, enticing him to eat for energy and enhancing hydration.

For added advantage, bone broth comes with numerous essential nutrients that can help support digestion, as well as skin & coat health. In the process of making bone broth, the cartilage in bones releases chondroitin and glucosamine to help strengthen your dog’s joints too.

If the canine is not in a position to take the broth on his own, you can use a syringe without the needle to administer it. Make sure, however, the broth is not very hot and you use small amounts to avoid choking.

• Try [Shredded] Chicken

Even if it’s a type of meat, chicken is packed with more amino acids, vitamins and minerals than the beef. This means the food compound can make a great snack for your sick dog since it will help serve the famished belly. As well as provide essential nutrients to help improve the overall health without upsetting the tummy.

Considering it is even shredded, the chicken is very easy to chew and digest.

• Pumpkin And Sweet Potato Can Also Help

Pumpkin and Sweet Potato are some of the ingredients that you’ll find in the best recipes for Upset Stomach and Vomiting in dogs. Compared with grains, the two have more digestive health benefits. They are highly digestible and with a significant amount of fiber to maintain the health of the digestive tract.

On top of that, many dogs [maybe even yours] like the taste of pumpkin and sweet potato. so, it might be hard for your dog to turn it down. Due to the higher fiber content, by the way, pumpkin and sweet potato will help regulate mild constipation if present.

Treat With Treats

Even when the human body is not interested in normal food, a space for the candies and chocolates is always there. Even if you don’t feel like putting anything into your mouth, you’ll always try taking one or two bites of them.

The same goes for home pets, including dogs and cats, particularly when they have an upset stomach. Providing them with treats excites them and can help improve their lost appetite in a big way.

With the wide array of treats in the market, you can even choose the type that can help treat your dog’s health condition. In the case of dental issues, for instance, you can choose soft, chewy treats that has natural antibiotic properties, vitamin C, and calcium. This include treats with cinnamon, pumpkins, or salmon.

• Go With Baby Food

This is another stunning option that you can go with if your sick dog is not eating. As a matter of fact, veterinary emergency hospitals usually provide their dog patients with certain types of baby food during treatments. Some of the recipes used include chicken, banana, sweet potato, beef, and carrot.

Usually, baby food is very easy to swallow and digest. Hence, an effective way to coax a sick pet to put something in her belly. In case of dental issues but you know how to force feed a dog who won’t eat, go ahead and apply it. Only make sure you do it correctly.

If it’s syringe feeding, for instance, only administer small amounts to avoid instances of choking. And if it’s smearing the food in your finger for him to lick, ensure they are clean to avoid giving your dog bacterial infections.

Apart from satisfying hunger and nutritional benefits, baby food can be an excellent way to administer oral medications.

• Grass Can Do Magic Too

That’s right. On the subject, however, we don’t mean you get hay from your barn and bring it to your pooch. We just mean you don’t stop the dog from eating the grass when you find him doing so.

The grass is one of the home remedies for dogs that are feeling unwell, ideally with an upset stomach. It helps invoke vomiting, which of course will expel whatever might be bothering your pooch.

As the canine graze, however, you have to make sure the grass has no dangerous chemicals [pesticides] to irritate your dog’s stomach.

Conclusion

Feeding is a crucial step in caring for a sick dog. Depending on the type of diet provided, it can help enhance recovery, as well as boost the immune system’s health. If your dog is having trouble eating his normal dog food, either of the above ways can help solve the issue.

With the treats or baby food, nonetheless, avoid providing too much of it to your dog. Overfeeding either of the two can make your dog develop a picky behavior and he starts turning down normal food. Just a small amount in his favorite kibble or other healthy normal food is enough to motivate him to eat again.

If the canine has lost a few pounds during recovery, learn how to make him gain weight and some of the best food formulas for that.