[Snoopaloop]

My 10 year old Akita just had three masses romoved from his stomach along with half his stomach and a portion of his pancreas. He not eating in the hospital so they want me to bring him home tomorrow to see if maybe he will eat at home. Although at this time we do not know if the masses are in fact cancerous, I will know in a day or two. Regardless of how that turns out, I do need to get food into him somehow. Can anyone give me some advice please?

[labman]

I would start offering him his regular chow. Home, regular chow, and own food dish might make a difference. If not, try good stuff, a cooked egg, cheese, sausage, etc. Once he starts eating, a day or 2 of boiled chicken and rice might soothe a very mistreated stomach. Stay in touch with the vet, and follow directions exactly. Let us know how he does.

[Snoopaloop]

Thank you Labman. I will do as you suggest. I picked up some other ideas at the Dog Den chat room http://chat.pethobbyist.com/ . A few folks told me to try grilled chicken and some chicken broth. Perhaps even use my food processor which I have done before to make it easier for him to eat. Today I went to the hospital with chicken and rice but he did not touch it. My Mom thinks I should heat up some serloin chop meat in a bit of olive oil and make a bit of beef gravy from a bulion cube. Tomorrow once he is home and starts to recover from this very tramatic experience perhaps he will start to eat again. Thanks for your reply and God bless. The Dog Den is a wonderful chat room at the link I provided. There are many wonderful people just like yourself. Wednesday night at 10 they will be meeting again. I'm not sure who's who but they all seem to love animals very much, perhaps I will give you an update then.

[ladyandjan]

Thank you Labman. I will do as you suggest. I picked up some other ideas at the Dog Den chat room http://chat.pethobbyist.com/ . A few folks told me to try grilled chicken and some chicken broth. Perhaps even use my food processor which I have done before to make it easier for him to eat. Today I went to the hospital with chicken and rice but he did not touch it. My Mom thinks I should heat up some serloin chop meat in a bit of olive oil and make a bit of beef gravy from a bulion cube. Tomorrow once he is home and starts to recover from this very tramatic experience perhaps he will start to eat again. Thanks for your reply and God bless. The Dog Den is a wonderful chat room at the link I provided. There are many wonderful people just like your self. Wednesday night at 10 they will be meeting again. I'm not sure who's who but they all seem to love animals very much, perhaps I will give you an update then.

Went to the site you mentioned but searched for pethobbyist.com to see if they had a site beside the chat feature-they did and you can also view pets up for adoption, find places for dog food, treats, etc. Thanks for the site-found a lot of useful info on there!

[novia]

Hi, very sorry to come in to your thread, I am very new and can't seem to find the way to post my own. I just had a quick ? I have a 7 month black lab who has stopped eating and energy level is lower than normal. I am very concerned only because she has had a lot of problems in the 4 months I have owned her she has had worms, bladder infection, ear infection, mange, and she just recently got into some of my plastic bowels and almost died because she swallowed very sharp pieces of plastic. Every now and then we give her scraps well more than that at least once a day she has had some kind of human food, do you think that she has just gotten use to that and doesn't think she has to eat her food, because she thinks she will get something better? Please help.

[labman]

Glad to see you did figure out how to post your own thread. As I said in it, best back to the vet again.

[trinaduke]

I have an 8 month old rat terrier and he likes to chew apart his toys. I thought that he was just spitting them out after he chewed them up because there was little bits of his toys all around the house. Then, this morning I heard him puking and I saw that there were little bits of his toys in his throw up. He threw up like 10 times this morning but seemed fine afterwards. He wanted to play and didn't seem bothered when I pushed on his abdomen to see if I could feel anything there. I left the house and then came back to see that he had eaten his food and thrown it all up, a total of 6 times. His temperament is fine, playing etc. He pooped twice today and there wasn't anything in his stool. I realize that there could be something blocking his intestinal tract however I wonder if that's what it is because he chews everything up so small. Is it possible that he's swallowed so many small things that now there is a large mass stopping him up? I don't want to take him to the vet just yet because it's only been going on for 1 day. I'm worried sick though. He very rarely throws up. How long should I wait? :(

[Snoopaloop]

I think perhaps a few days should allow for enough time to help in your decission. The fact that he pooped twice the other day would seem a good sign to me. Check with your vet after a day or two. Good luck! Let us know how things work out please.

[labman]

It would have only taken one larger piece to cause a problem. Like Snoopaloop, I think you can get by with a day or 2 to see if he straightens out.

You need to change his choice of toys. The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages. If you are not there to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs. Keep a close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in pieces. Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed. These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive chewers such as Labs. Dogs are individuals and don't read and follow my expectations. Sounds like you have a Rat Terrier that is a strong chewer.

[trinaduke]

Thanks a lot for the advice. Last night he threw up again at 4am but only once and on our walk he pooped again. We'll see how things go today.

[novia]

The same thing happened with my 7 month black lab and I brought her to the vet right away. Many toys they have can be very dangerous if ingested, they can rap around their intestines or cause a bowel obstructions. My lab almost died from ingesting pieces of plastic and string from one of her rope toys. I would bring him to the vet to make sure he is okay. It can be costly but my vet gave nova a shot and it made her vomit up the rest, if that doesn't work they will have to go and surgical remove the toys. But if all the pieces are not removed it can be very dangerous for you dog.

[trinaduke]

Today he ate a little bit of rice and chicken in the morning and did fine. Then at 2:30pm I fed him a little more and he threw it up. He went poop again around 7pm and then I fed him some more rice and he threw it up within 30 minutes. I have no idea. He's also doing this weird thing right before he pukes; he'll walk around the house in circles and then stretch his whole body out and lay flat and still on the floor. I'm starting to think it's not blockage because he's been pooing, what else could it be? I heard that if they have blockage then they won't be hungry and they'll act sick. He's definitely hungry and doesn't act sick except for right before he throws up and right after. HELP PLEASE!

[labman]

The exact same thing happened with my 7 month black lab and i brought her to the vet right away. many toys they have can be very dangerous if ingested, they can rap around their intestines or cause a bowel obstructions. My lab almost died from ingesting pieces of plastic and string from one of her rope toys. I would bring him to the vet to make sure he is okay. It can be costly but my vet gave nova a shot and it made her vomit up the rest, if that doesn't work they will have to go and surgical remove the toys. but if all the pieces are not removed it can be very dangerous for you dog.

You are right. It can be a big problem. I guess Goldens are even worse than Labs. With a Lab/Golden cross last summer, I joined the Golden crowd for the talks. Grabbed a seat right up front where I could hear the nice young lady vet. I could also get a good look at the X-rays of all the stuff they found in the puppies. Some of it they can fish out, and sometimes they have to operate.

If it is coming apart, dump it.

[timmy]

today he ate a little bit of rice and chicken in the morning and did fine. Then at 2:30pm i fed him a little more and he threw it up. He went poop again around 7pm and then i fed him some more rice and he threw it up within 30 minutes. I have no idea. he's also doing this weird thing right before he pukes; he'll walk around the house in circles and then stretch his whole body out and lay flat and still on the floor. I'm starting to think it's not blockage because he's been pooing, what else could it be?? I heard that if they have blockage then they won't be hungry and they'll act sick. He's definitely hungry and doesn't act sick except for right before he throws up and right after. HELP PLEASE!

Hi Trinaduke. Your dog may have roundworm. When did you last worm him?

[labman]

When a dog has an digestive system blockage, its body will try to expel the object from both ends. If anything manages to pass the obstruction, it will quickly be expelled. If a digestive problem doesn't go away fairly quickly, a dog shouldn't be given anything until a vet checks it for an obstruction. Laxatives, worm medicine, etc. can make the problem worse, perhaps even rupturing the intestines. This is worse with young Labs and Goldens due to their chewing.

With most dogs being on heartworm preventatives that also eliminate other worms before they are a problem, worms are much less common.