Hello everyone (how do I increase my dog's appetite?)

Hi im Kate and i have a lovely girlie called Missy who is a rottweiler she is 3 this months and i have had since a pup, she has a a bit of a tough year with 2 cruciate repairs but thankfully she bounced back. Looking forward to having a look around the site and see what helpful tips i can pick up!
at the moment i would like any tips on increasing appetite as Missy is 'hopefully' recovering after a nasty bout of stomach bug and isnt really eating very much at all we are day 5! The vet isnt too worried as long as she is drinking and say she has enough chunk on her to last her a little while! x any suggestions very welcomed im at my wits end just want my bouncy baby back x

heres a picture of her


http://s285.photobucket.com/albums/l...0_0309-1-1.jpg

Aww she is beautiful, sorry to hear of the health worries you've been having with her, I'm sure you'll have your bouncing baby back soon.

When our boy was recovering from his cancer he had a terrible appetite, so we fed him an extra meal at lunch - a wainwrights wet food tray (he luuurved these!) and fatty meats such as lambs breast etc, also lots of tripe xxx

Thank u il try that is wainwrights pets at home?

Yeah they sell it at pets at home, it comes in plastic trays boxed in cardboard packaging, you can buy them seperate or in boxes of 12

Just a cautionary note, it might not be the best time to introduce a new food into the diet. Although I can understand your thoughts on needing your girl to eat a little more, a change or introduction of new food can give them the runs which would be the last thing she needs after a stomach bug.

Perhaps trying a little extra of her regular food as an extra meal may be wiser

You can buy vitamin paste which has a concentrated amount of calories (which will make up for those she's not eating) and also stimulates the appetite. Nutri-Cal is one brand, there are a few but I know not all are available in the UK.
Another option would be a herbal supplement - gentian is meant to stimulate appetite. I used it once before when I was handraising some baby pet rats that weren't feeding too well and it definately seemed to help

Thank you il have a research and a think she is eating so little that ecerything i introduce will have to be slow anyway she has eaten bit more tonight as we have had my parents round and the excitment of having vistors made her take some small bits of chicken and white fish! So just take one day at a time, she not a big eater at the best of times.

hi

i would be careful with wanting her to carry too much weight exp as she has had cruciate problems

Thank u for the welcome

Its not that i want her to gain weight as such, just to start eating something at the moment for the last week all she has managed is a couple of tiny bits of chicken each day, hopefully as she continues with the anti biotics it will come back naturally. I do try and keep her trim normally but in the 10 days she has been poorly she has lost weight x

My GSDs skip meals on a regular basis. Occasionally they just aren`t hungry I suppose. I imagine it would actually be better for the cruciate problem if your girl is lighter, so if your vet is happy, I wouldn`t be trying to get her to eat more. JMO. I hope her progress continues. I`m sure when she`s back on normal exercise, she`ll eat more.