Dog with Lymphatic cancer; just wont eat!
So two days ago my shih tzu/peckingese mix was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. The lump is right on the side and under his neck, and it puts pressure on his airways so he cant breathe through his nose anymore, only through the mouth. I can understand if eating is uncomfortable for him, but it is VERY important. We got him some mushy wet food and he ate it for the first two/three days, but since yesterday (he had a lot of tests run and 3 doses of a drug i dont remember, and then when we got home he hadnt eaten all day so my dad gave him little pieces of steak and he ate a lot of it, just as a "reward" for his rough day). But today, he hasnt eaten at all; in a few hours it will have been 24 hours since he last ate. He wouldnt even take his pills when we put it in his favorite snack (cheese), so we had to crush the pills in water and make him drink it through a little syringe. Can anyone recommend any ways we can get him to eat? Hes lost a lot of weight because of the cancer and right now it would be so amazing just to see him eat something. I put a very very small, minuscule piece of treat in his mouth and after a couple times of spitting out, he finally downed it and it made me so happy. If any of you guys have any special ways you got your dogs with cancer to eat, even if they are uncomfortable? Also, he is nine years old.
Poor Jessie, I hope you can get him to eat something. I do see the picture. The fact he was able to swallow the piece of treat and keep it down is good. Maybe he'll prefer to eat something soft that doesn't get him chewing much. Have your tried some canned food?
Vets often carry canned foods to entice dogs to eat, and if they don't eat, there are pastes that provide calories and nutrition such as Nutrical. Warming up some food sometimes help entice dogs to eat.
Try cooking something tasty like bacon, and let him smell it, but don't feed it (it's too fatty) and can cause pancreatitis in some dogs. Then try offering him some foods.
Try to dilute some canned food with warm water and rub some on his gums hoping he'll like it and want more or try chicken bone broth with an egg beaten into it.
Is he at least drinking? You can learn how to syringe feed him orally have your vet tech can show you how with canned food. I hope he eats for you.
The best thing to do is to see the vet to get to the bottom of his reluctance to eat. You need to determine why he's not eating in the first place.
Is he in pain? He may need some pain reliever.
Could it be the swollen gland is making swallowing painful?
Could the medications be causing him nausea?
Has the vet suggested chemo or is too advanced for that?
Were his spleen, liver and lungs checked to rule out the spread of cancer?
What stage is the cancer?
Without chemo unfortunately, dogs will progressively lose their appetite, lose weight and weaken, but chemo is not very helpful unfortunately in advanced stages. Force-feeding and nutrients in paste may help at times, but it's also important to assess his health with your vet to see if there's anything else that can be done to make him more comfortable.