The Right Way To Deal With a Sick Pet!
It is natural for an owner to be concerned when a pet is sick. Especially because when a pet is sick, they get lazy, sleep a lot, and lose their appetite. In such conditions, your pet will refuse to eat any food. If your pet has missed a meal, it isn’t much of a worrisome thing, but if your pet continues to resist eating, you might want to get to the bottom of the cause. This article will be focusing on dogs and how to get a dog with liver disease to eat.
You will learn the signs and symptoms and how to make the situation better at home. If you are truly concerned, or even if you want to educate yourself, continue reading this article below.
The Signs and Symptoms:
Is your dog being stubborn? And most importantly, does your dog no longer want to play catch or go for a walk? If so, you might want to check the symptoms for liver disease in dogs that are written below.
Symptoms:
- Jaundice (yellow eyes and gums).
- Diarrhea.
- Frequent urination.
- Vomiting.
- Constant need to drink water.
- Unable to walk right.
- General weakness.
- Blood in pee or stool.
- Loss of weight.
- Appetite loss.
- Seizures.
Liver disease in dogs is a commonly occurring condition in dogs. It is treatable but if it isn’t caught early, it can lead to some serious health problems like hepatic encephalopathy (brain condition) and this is just one of the many conditions your dog will be vulnerable to, if not treated at the right time!
How You Can Make Your Sick Dog Eat:
Guidelines Before Beginning:
Changing a dog’s diet, especially a sick one’s should be done with caution and care. Don’t be impatient with this process because doing it too fast will damage your dog’s stomach and might even worsen its condition.
Instead of feeding the usual 3 meals, break the meals down into smaller portions and feed your dog frequently. This will make it easier for your dog to digest. Since the liver has to process all the nutrients, the smaller meals with gaps in between will help the liver process them a bit easier.
You may also want to steer clear of branded dog food and start making your dog’s food at home. You never know what is exactly inside these branded food boxes and it can risk a reaction. A raw diet is always better than commercial food brands because at the very least, you know what you’re feeding your dog.
Homemade Dog Treats:
There is plenty of homemade dogs treat recipes online, however, here is one spectacular recipe to make life a little easy for you!
Ingredients:
- Banana
- Peanut Butter
- Flour
- Spelled flour
- Oats
- Egg
Method:
- You’ll need to mix the wet ingredients together.
- You’ll need to mix the dry ingredients together.
- Now mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
- Add 1 tsp at a time, until it has the right consistency. The dough should be easy to knead but still tough and somewhat dry.
For more dog food and treats: Homemade Dog Food for Upset Stomach | Food for Sensitive Stomach
This is the overview of this amazing recipe that we found here. If you want to dive deeper into this recipe, do check the website out.
Protein Control:
One thing that is absolutely essential is that your dog is being fed low protein food. If you are not careful, this can worsen your dog’s situation. Visiting your vet is compulsory at this point and when you visit your vet, ask them about protein control. The liver needs a good amount of protein and you will need to keep track of your dog’s protein intake.
Proteins can be found in different types of food, not necessarily always in meat. You can find high amounts of protein in amino acids which are also easy to digest! You may want to look at plant-based options as well. It is important to confirm what stage your dog is on, if the condition has worsened, it may be possible that your dog has developed another condition over the liver condition which may actually require a minimum amount of protein intake. Do as the vet says after a proper diagnosis.
The aforementioned are all the owner’s part of the job. You still need to get your dog to eat the new diet you set for them. You can try the methods below:
- Reward System:
Give them a reward every time they finish a small meal. It doesn’t necessarily have to be food, since extra food will be harmful. You can reward them with a toy after every achievement.
- Use a syringe to feed them:
Try to feed your dog with a syringe. It might just be that your dog is too weak to eat on its own! Feed them a liquid diet through a syringe till they are better.
Conclusion:
Lastly, all that Dogs need is love. Give them loads of love, appreciation, and time. This will help them mentally cope better with their condition. We hope this article helped!
