I'd be thinking of calories and flavors that might interest her. Perhaps some coconut oil with the chicken, ricotta cheese, even a bit of vanilla ice cream? I'm very sorry that you are all dealing with this.

So sorry for her, what a good person you are to cook her something delicious. I second Lisaam's idea of cheese to snack on, my dogs always like just about any kind.

Try some boiled hamburger..just put it in water and boil..no salt or anything..mix with white rice.

Is there any such thing as Manual Lymph drainage (MLD) for dogs as there is for people?

I'm so sorry your pup and you are going thru this.

The dogs in my play group love chicken livers. I would not give too much but a little might spice up a meal.

Sometimes when my dog doesn’t seem eager to eat I put about a half a teaspoon Parmesan cheese sprinkled on his food. Then he eats.

Do be careful of offering too many high fat items as there’s always the risk of pancreatitis.

Cooked chicken....boiled, actually, I poach it....keeps it tender and not dried out....is my go to food for sick animals. Baby animals I use chicken baby food....dip my finger in it and wipe on the roof of the mouth....but for a dog, try the chicken. You can even buy a rotisserie chicken and remove the skin and bones.

Like lisaam, I'd feed her whatever she will eat.

Is she still on the herbs and mushrooms? If so, I'd stop using them since some dogs can't tolerate them (stomach distress) and they can cause loss of appetite.

Have you tried raw food? Try bits of raw ground turkey, low fat beef or rabbit instead of chicken. As with the herbs, some dogs react to chicken so other types of meat should be tried......even scrambled eggs.

Try pasta instead of rice, and mix a little cheese in it. Your dog can have nearly every thing you eat, but I suggest you pre-cook any veges (carrots, zucchini & green beans are a good start) so they're easier to digest. I would avoid white potatos and give some sweet potatoes instead. Also, I'd puree everything.

Does she take Pepcid or any type of med to quiet the stomach?

Also, since she can have swelling in different areas, has the vet checked to see if there is any pressure around her esophagus? If she can't swallow well, she can't eat.

Whenever any of my dogs was ill, it was scrambled eggs and rice that appealed to them. And liver anything (liver snacks, chicken livers, liver sausage) and cheese. My current beast will do anything for liver or cheese!!

I am so sorry to hear this. I had a cat once that refused to eat for weeks. While the specialist were trying to figure it out, she got prescription wet food labeled for “the anorexic pet”. Very mushy and smelly, but enough calories in something like 2 teaspoons to keep her going. Not sure what was in there and honestly at this point I didn’t care. One of my dogs got it short term, too. Same thing for cats and dogs.

Marilyn I would think the rotisserie would be loaded in salt and I haven't seen one yet that didn't list garlic in the small print.

Ask your vet or call others about the MLD. It is done on dogs.

When my dog was sick, my vet recommended canned Mighty Dog dog food. He gave me a few cans and it smells terrible. She ate it. Loved it. Also fried liver ( also strong flavored ) For some reason it was all she would touch was strongly flavored meats. She recovered.

When our dogs didn't feel well, the things that got them to eat were chicken, scrambled eggs, cottage cheese (well, any kind of cheese, but not too much), vanilla yogurt and rice. Since your dog doesn't like rice, perhaps she'd prefer pasta as suggested above or maybe even bread if she's not wheat intolerant. Chicken broth poured over food sometimes works too. Almost forgot, they devoured plain canned pumpkin which is also good for their digestive systems. Just make sure it's plain pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. Canned baby food was also another favorite.

Best of luck finding something that she will eat. Poor baby!

What food were you feeding her to begin with? First start back with that. My pets do not do well with grain free. They do do well with the ones that have no wheat, corn, or soy. Mine do not like rice. fix the meat liked best and add English Peas and carrots. Do not mix feed separtely.

Very sorry for your doggie and you. I agree with the strong flavored meats. Some dogs even when ill will respond to hot dogs. (For the peanut gallery, it's okay with an ill dog to feed what otherwise might not be the best choices)

Has your dog been seen by a vet who's board certified in Internal Medicine? They have the letters DACVIM after their vet degree following their name, having undergone a minimum of 4 years of additional training and passed rigorous tests.

Best wishes for both of you.

If you have a blender, try blending different meats with broth and veggies, sort of like a thick soup. Warm foods seem to stimulate their appetite. Most dogs and cats also love baby food meat ( the kind without onions and garlic) and you can spoon some on her food.

You can also get appetite stimulants from your vet, one of our kitties takes them off and on and they make a big difference in her appetite.

There are lymph drainage massages to decrease swelling, maybe that would help her feel better?

Hope she is drinking water. Besides the suggestions given, I suggest cat food. Whenever our dog was ill and didn't want to eat, we would give her cat food which is 'smellier' and she enjoyed. At this point, you need to get her to eat something.

I would definitely look into drainage massages to make her feel better which in turn will bring back her desire to eat.

Purina canine Fortiflora, might work. The feline variety is irresistible. The reviews are pretty good!

Price and reviews link

McDonald's hamburger, plain - dogs love this stuff. This is the last meal my beloved Golden had on his last day on earth.

Hill's Prescription Diet Urgent Care - this is what the vets will give dogs in crisis.

so sorry your baby is having problems eating!

when my old girl starting having problems I'd scramble her some eggs. I remember many a nights that I'd be up at 2 a.m. doing that. She loved to walk, so I'd be up at all hours outside walking her too.

I also remember frying up hamburger for her (to sprinkle in with her kibble food). I'd pat the grease off of it with a paper towel.

maybe because of her condition, your baby has lost her sense of smell and needs a stronger scent for her food?

Now with my furbaby (about 7 yo), I've started steaming peas and carrots and mashing them up to mix into her kibble. I buy a bag of them at W for 88 cents to keep in the freezer.

Often I'll chop up a strip of chicken (that I baked and keep in the freezer for us. was originally for me, but now I share with her). I also keep canned pumpkin on hand and mix a Tbsp of that with it.

and she does love spaghetti! when I have it, I'll pull out a strand of it and hold up for her. of course, she was sitting at my feet begging for it... she might get 3 or 4 strands during a meal. She thinks she is in heaven with 1 strand!

I also shred raw carrots for her. I have a peeler that will shred it into tiny strips. then I usually cross cut those with a knife and sprinkle into her kibble. She loves diced cubes/chips of carrot and will gobble them up for a treat.

And I often mix eggs (scrambled or chopped up hard boiled) into her food. When I make some for me, I make some for her. Scrambled eggs freeze well too (and they freeze well in an ice cube tray for individual servings). Same with the pumpkin puree. Then I put the 'cubes' in a Ziploc (folded over to keep cubes separate). Several Ziploc bags then go into a freezer bag.

I think they just need some real food to eat. I'm very skeptical of the dry kibble food sold for them to eat. If all I ever had to eat was dry kibble food, I'd bulk at it also.

but do check a list of what is not safe to feed to a dog.

I'm with MamaP -- boiled hamburger mixed with white rice. It's what our vet had us feed a dog who was losing weight like crazy and didn't/couldn't eat. It worked for our girl. She had gotten so weak she couldn't even walk.

Our 14 yr old setter was a diabetic who had to eat something before insulin shots, and also dealing with various health issues. She was such a sweetheart, but she decided no "special" dog foods for her. I tried almost every people food imaginable and after a short interest, not eating again. I roasted and pulled a whole chicken every week and for awhile she would eat some of that if I hand fed her. She was so unhappy, thought she wouldn't make it much longer. Well, she did maintain her love of milk bone treats, so our girl got several 2-3 times a day for her meals & before bed treat. She never turned them down and we were able to enjoy our last 8 months with her. It's heartbreaking, I hope you can find something to sustain her, it's sooo hard when you just want to help them to feel better.

We have been in the same situation and never take the sight of a healthy dog wolfing down foot for granted again. There's so many great suggestions and hope at least one of these provides some relief.

When our pup was diagnosed with "failure to thrive", the vet prescribed a high calorie supplement paste/gel, Nutrical (there are other brands too). We noticed that he would eat a few bites and then stop. We removed the food and set it down a few hours later and rinse, repeat. Feeding out-of-hand may work better than bowl-feeding.

Suggest asking your vet about appetite stimulants (mertazepine) and ciprohepatadine).

My Gigi loves Cheerios, hand fed when she is ill. Cheerios at any other time is a treat.

Hills science diet? My pups love it.

I hope she feels better soon.

Peanut butter.

Did we say canned hills science food.

The food Iris S mentioned sounds like it could be Science Diet AD. It’s a highly palatable, mushy, “fragrant” wet food, for both cats and dogs who are ill, and/or not eating. It’s a prescription food, and most, if not all vets carry it.

if your dog is uncomfortable from the lymphedema, and it’s not contraindicated for any reason, perhaps your vet would consider giving him prednisone for a while. It could help him feel more comfortable, and that alone might help him feel more like eating, but it also can stimulate the appetite in and of itself as well.

I’m not a vet, but have had both AD and prednisone prescribed for my cats when they’d stopped eating.

Wow thank all of you for your responses and your kindness!

She was seen by two internal medicine specialists at regional vet hospitals. The last one is affiliated with a large group across the state and they didn't feel referring her to any other specialists in their group would help. So discouraging to spend thousands of dollars only to be told nothing can be done.

There's no way to insert a drainage tube because there are probably 4 sacks of fluid at any time. And she leaks the fluids out constantly so we devised our own system of using a pee pad and a kid's vest to help put pressure on her chest. We massage her leg ourselves. The holistic vet said we could try acupuncture but he was not optimistic it would help.

I've written down the food suggestions and will try any and all of them! This morning she wouldn't eat at all so I hand fed her a few pieces of her chicken till she started spitting them out.

As for the steroids, we've done many rounds. This started almost 2 years ago and has just gotten worse and worse. There literally isn't anything our vet hasn't tried at this point.

I bought Pill Pockets to get her meds in and so far she's liking those. She likes PB but can manage to spit out the pills. She doesn't like pumpkin which is another of my go-to favorites for ill dogs. The other day she ate pepperoni and the next day snubbed her nose at it. One of the reasons I didn't want to buy a case of expensive prescription food and have her not want to eat it. I will call the vet today to see if they have an appetite stimulant we can get for her.

Again thank you all for the great advice and your thoughtfulness!

Share, best wishes to you and your pup. No doubt this thread will be helpful to others as time goes by.

(I’m sure the vet has looked at your dogs teeth, right?)

I'm sorry to hear that your dog is not doing well. My dog would go through sickly episodes of not eating at all. We did what mamapinky suggested with boiled hamburger and rice. Sometimes I'd throw in a bag of frozen peas/chopped carrots. I'd sit on the couch with her and put the bowl in my lap. Maybe she thought it was my food she was sneaking? She would eat that pretty well.

We had a cat who went through much like you described in eating something one day and then not touching it again. That is frustrating. The vet said focus on calories, not nutrition- whatever she eats- even if it would be something you consider a poor quality food otherwise- give it to her just to put calories into her. It sounds like you are already offering her whatever you have on hand, or whatever it is that you are eating (within reason of course). I'd just keep doing that.

Crunchy PB Gigi and sibs don’t know a pill from a nut.

You have tried Pedisure?

hope your babe gets better.

Boiled chicken or beef with rice is a go to dish for a sick pet that will eat. A sick pet refusing food is much more difficult. As mentioned they may eat something one day and then refuse it. When this happens all you can do is continue offering anything even if it isn't the healthiest choice you would normally use. When our dog went through this we found adding gravy, parmesan cheese, or canned cat food to the dry food often worked.

Pedisure for humans? Or is there a pet one?

Calling the vet for an appetite stimulant this morning.

Sadly, she's not going to get better. The vets all said this will kill her but they didn't know how long she had.

I don't know if she's even going to last the summer at this point. I just want her last days to be as good as they can be. If she'll eat a McD's hamburger then that's what I'll get her. : )

When my 2 year-old male cat was having difficulties eating and my vet was stumped on the cause, he immediately recognized the urgency of the situation and his limitations and recommended we take the cat to the college of veterinary medicine at Auburn University. Has your primary veterinarian (or any of them, really) even mentioned the vet school approach? I know they (vet schools) are few and far between, but most people in the U.S. live within a day’s driving distance of one.

Very true, Sammy. It may be hard to hear, but it is true. Don't wait too long. Animals can be very stoic in their suffering. You can't always know the extent of their suffering.

Scrambled eggs

My often-picky dog loves Weruva canned food. It literally looks & smells good enough to eat - - this is one of their chicken options:

I'd also try boiled hamburger and cheese. My girl also likes chicken hearts - I cook them up in a pan with a bit of water, and give them to her as treats.

I understand what you are trying to do - make her last days great ones - and I know how hard it is. Sorry you're having to deal with this.

Sammy we have not talked to the vet about that yet. My husband won't let it go on too long. This was his dog from before we met and he loves her dearly (as do I). My mom let one of her dogs go too long and I've always said I would never do that. It's a horrible decision to have to make but we won't knowingly let her suffer.

Tonight I'll try scrambled eggs since I know I have that on hand. My husband got her a burger and fries at McDonald's today. He said she ate most of the burger. We have 2 other dogs and they all got to enjoy some of the fries.

Ah. I missed the part that said she was terminal.

When my Riley was diagnosed with inoperable stomach cancer, she stopped eating and drinking so we knew we would have to put her down soon and selected a date. On that day, DD offered her some of her favorite tuna salad (yup!) and she devoured it. It was a beautiful sunny day and she was lounging in the yard. We questioned whether we should proceed but decided that she would have a full stomach and warmth and peace on her last day of life.

I have an 11 year old old lab with bad teeth, bad joints and a mass around her trachea. She stopped eating a few months ago because she was having difficulty standing and chewing. I did some searching and found Spot Farms dehydrated dog food. It’s not cheap but she’s eating. I had no idea this type of food was available until I did some searching. I think it’s more affordable than canned. It says 8 lbs of the dehydrated is equivalent to 32 lbs of dry food. Hope this helps.

https://www.amazon.com/Spot-Farms-Chicken-Natural-Dehydrated/dp/B01HNFD9U2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1530138109&sr=8-3&keywords=spot+farms+dehydrated+food&dpID=51Yv73VI0IL&preST=SY300_QL70&dpSrc=srch

Thanks traceys! I just ordered the chicken. We've been feeding grain free for about 2 years now and this is actually cheaper than buying the bags of grain free. I hope she likes it! If not, the other 2 will devour it no doubt.

Last night I made her scrambled eggs. She refused it. I tried to hand feed her and that didn't work either. She did eat the McD's hamburger a few hours earlier and some fries so at least she had something in her. She also refused her pill pockets. I was quite surprised at that. But this morning she did eat some of her food so I'll take what I can get!

We also started giving her some hemp oil extract. My mom swears by it helping her with pain. The literature I read said it could help people with lymphedema but of course didn't mention it helping dogs with that condition although it did talk about it helping dogs with other ailments. At this point, it can't hurt to try.

I hope she likes it. If not I’m sure the others will. My other dogs stand like vultures over my lab until she’s finished and lick the bowl. I had a dog with a similar situation about 10 years ago. I cooked scrambled eggs, hot dogs and cheese twice a day for at least a year. It’s the only thing she would eat.

Thanks for the hemp oil tip. I’m willing to try anything.

I am not there so I can not make the decision nor do I necessarily have all the facts. But when my pets become terminal I do what Sammy said. Most vets, in my experience will dance around the question, or if they do tell you often people will hear only the parts they are comfortable with.

These are the rules that work for me.
Think of your pet's 3 most favorite activities. When they are down to one it is most likely time to let them go. If they are down to none you may have waited too long. Too early is always better than too long.

Food is a big motivator for most animals. When they will no longer eat they are telling you something. Either they are ill or they are dying. That is how nature works.

I give my animals the best last days or day possible. I do not expect them to "tell" me. It is my responsibility to live up to their trust in me to follow through in their best interests. On their last ride they get a whole bacon cheeseburger. I am always with them when they cross that bridge. I prefer them to walk in under their own power. To leave this world happy, not frightened, confused or in pain.

I am so very sorry you are going through this. It is never, never easy.

The Spot Farms looks similar to Honest Kitchen. It's wonderful to have these soft, palatable foods available for dogs who need them.

Watchme, our vet told us something similar when our cat was dying. Is she enjoying life? Play a little, sit in the sun, welcome petting, move around during the day, stretch, use scratching post, still using litter box? The rule of 3 is helpful.

I just started re-reading this post (your dog has been on my mind!) and these parts jumped out at me:

“The last vet we tried was a holistic vet who put her on Chinese herbs and mushrooms. They actually seem to help the fluid levels go down some. However, they also seem to diminish her appetite greatly. I'm sure she's lost 20+ lbs. Her backbone sticks out horribly.”

“We also started giving her some hemp oil extract. My mom swears by it helping her with pain. The literature I read said it could help people with lymphedema but of course didn't mention it helping dogs with that condition although it did talk about it helping dogs with other ailments. At this point, it can't hurt to try.”

Are you still giving her these herbs and mushrooms (what is their scientific name, btw?) Is the doctor who prescribed them a D.V.M.?

How many doctors are currently treating her and does each know what the other is doing? Do they know what you’re doing?

What medications are you currently giving her?

How much does she weigh? How much of that is excess lymphatic fluid?