Help me, Please! My dog has been diagnosed with a tumor/ tumors in her nose. Because her nose is plugged up much of the time, (from clotted blood), she cannot smell her food, thus, nothing really motivates her to eat. I've tried most everything. The problem is being able to feed her a balanced meal and keep it, "smelly" in order to gain her interest. I mix everything with her dry food, which she doesn't care for at all, no matter what I try. I've tried mixing in cooked eggs, ground beef, bullion, most all kind of poultry, (of course all food mixed with dry has been heated first), and much more. She seems pretty normal, and we walk a mile or two every day. I'm concerned about her losing too much weight, because being a normal Greyhound genetically tends to keep her weight down anyway. I own a pet sitting business, and get to speak with many clients about health problems, but can't seem to fix this one for my own dog.

So I repeat, Help me, help Brynna!

Is this a rescue greyhound; we have two facilities in Ontario connected with Florida racetracks because their racing life is so limited and traumatic?

Racing greyhounds have a very specified diet, and sometimes no diet at all to keep them in skinny racing form from adolescence.

I can put you in contact with one of these facilities if this is the case, or if this is a new pet.

In any event please give us more detail; the Borzoi, as well as greyhound are an entirely different canine to care for.

Thanks for your reply! I've been a volunteer with local Greyhound groups in the Phoenix area for many years, working as both Vice Pres. And Adoption Coordinator. I have spoken to other people in the know as well, and can't seem to get anywhere. I pretty much know her problem, and it seems that she needs to be able to smell food better in order to stimulate the taste buds in Brynna, but can't seem to find the right food. I'm thinking that the stinkier the warm food is served, the better. I do want her to have a balanced diet as well. Any ideas? Our Vet. Has made suggestions, but to no avail at this point. Has anyone had any experience with a dog that has or had tumors or any growth in their nostrils that cause them to not smell their food, resulting in lack of interest, and weight loss?

Have you tried heating the food?
Hills Science Diet makes a high calorie super smelly food called A/D, another possibility, if you haven't already tried that.
Has a plan been set in motion to remove the polyps or tumors, or is that not a possibility for her?

The vet. Really hasn't spoken in terms yet of removal. I know that Hills does have many different products to be taken with certain medical conditions. I will have to try this one, "the extra smelly" one. She is almost eleven, and perhaps age is a factor. At this point, I'm not sure if cost is. I give her Epinephrine per bleeding episode, but a week after starting to take the herbal supplement; Yunnan Biayao (twice daily), she has not had a nose bleed in 31 days. Now she just doesn't seem interested in eating. We figure because she just can't get excited by what she can't smell. It makes sense!

Thanks for you suggestion, I'll try it!

It's possible that hard food and the action if crunching it with her jaw causes pain in her nose. I would try feeding soft food to her, something she doesn't have to physically chew and jar her sinuses.

I would try just a little bit of canned first to start with, even offer it to her on your finger and physically force her to taste it by rubbing it under her lip.

I have a dog that has heart problems. The vet suggested I feed her "dog" food that I can make at home. My dog has had a turn around so far from deaths door. I know medication has done a lot of it but he is doing well on the home food also. What it consists of is A meat. Sometimes it is turkey or ground turkey. A lot of times I use chicken (usually skinless breasts). I also try to make calf liver about every 4wks. I take about 8chicken breasts with about a half a cup of water, and bake them covered for about an hour and a half. I let them cool of so they are not real hot. While chicken is baking I cook about 6 servings of brown rice. I also take carrots and shred about 3 good size carrots and about 2 cups of fresh or frozen green beans, I boil them together until tender. I let it cool then I mix together to about a purée. Then I take the chicken breasts (reserve some of the broth of the chicken) and I chop them in the food procsessor. I put the rice, meat and veggie mixture all in a big bowl and mix together good. You should have about cups of "dog" food. This is no or low salt. You can add some sort of fat if your dog needs that in his diet and if your vet feels it is needed you may be able to add a vit. Supplement to it. My dog is a very picky eater and he loves this. When I make the calf liver I cook it like I am making liver/onions with gravy but DO NOT use onions. After the c. liver is cooled I mix it in the food processor, then mix in large bowl with b. rice and veggie mixture. You may not need to process the meat as much as I do but my little guy is a chihuahua and he does not have very many teeth. I can tell you one thing the liver mix is sure smelly. I would ask my vet first just to make he feels it would be good for him but I don't know why he would say it is not OK for him.
One more thing I did want to mention but I don't want to sound negative but it may be something you need to watch for. Your dog`s body may be telling him not to eat because of his illness. A lot of times mother nature knows things we do not know. You may probably need to talk to your vet about this and ask him to be up front with you about what he thinks prognosis is and what treatment options is there for either a cure or for comfort measures. I hope some of this is helpful. I know how it feels when you are worried about your furry friend but are not sure what to do.