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Worried about my female English Mastiff health

Cher

Active Member
My 2 year old female English Mastiff is the pickiest eater I have ever met. She won't eat her food unless I add some topper which is preferably some chicken or meat of some kind. Her favorite is Costco rotisserie chicken. However, sometimes she won't even eat the food even with the chicken, or she'll just eat the chicken. She looks so unhealthy at 125 lbs. I think her good weight should be 10 lbs more. She was 138 lbs just last month before she had some parasite issue. She first contracted giardia after going to daycare at Petsmart last April. Since then, it seems to be recurring. She's been on Fenbendazole so much I should just give it to her daily in lieu of food. :( She just finished a 10-day dose of Fenbendazole which seemed to help clear up whatever it was that was plaguing her because at least now she will not totally reject ALL food and treats, and does not throw up any more. Has anyone ever dealt with a picky eater and how did you overcome it? Thanks for your advice.
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
Giardia is hard to get rid of, for sure. :(

Do you think she's just nauseous from the meds?
She is eating again now?

I would add some probiotics to help her tummy settle, and get anything she likes to eat in her tummy for a few days until she settles and gets on a good eat/elimination schedule again... then start working on the pickiness issue.
I keep a bottle of OnlyNaturalPet's "GI Support" on hand for these kinds of situations. It has probiotics and also herbal support for the GI tract to help soothe things, and get things moving smoother (and more firm) at the back end again.

My pup is not picky... so hard to help on that end. I also feed a raw diet... which you might consider doing. I'm not sure what her normal diet is, but adding the salty rotisserie chicken is probably not a good long-term solution.

After meds, my pup has refused a meal or two... and I just sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of Parmesan cheese on the top to get her juices started... and once she gets started, she finishes the dish 99.9% of the time.
Other "toppers" that might lean toward actually being "healthy" adders would include plain live yogurt (no sugar added), cottage cheese, low-sodium broth (bonus if home-made), or even some plain (no spices) scrambled eggs.

You can just slowly reduce toppers until she doesn't need them anymore... and/or once she's back at a good weight, you can stop adding them cold turkey, and let her skip a meal or two until she's hungry enough to eat what's given without any adders at all. I'd probably give in for now, though, until she's feeling healthy and robust again, and hopefully get her immune system back to where it can fight off any remaining bugs floating around in your yard (probiotics with as many strains as possible would be a big help in that direction). Some of those parasites leave friends behind that can live for years while waiting for the host to stop by again. :(
 

Cher

Active Member
Giardia is hard to get rid of, for sure. :(

Do you think she's just nauseous from the meds?
She is eating again now?

I would add some probiotics to help her tummy settle, and get anything she likes to eat in her tummy for a few days until she settles and gets on a good eat/elimination schedule again... then start working on the pickiness issue.
I keep a bottle of OnlyNaturalPet's "GI Support" on hand for these kinds of situations. It has probiotics and also herbal support for the GI tract to help soothe things, and get things moving smoother (and more firm) at the back end again.

My pup is not picky... so hard to help on that end. I also feed a raw diet... which you might consider doing. I'm not sure what her normal diet is, but adding the salty rotisserie chicken is probably not a good long-term solution.

After meds, my pup has refused a meal or two... and I just sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of Parmesan cheese on the top to get her juices started... and once she gets started, she finishes the dish 99.9% of the time.
Other "toppers" that might lean toward actually being "healthy" adders would include plain live yogurt (no sugar added), cottage cheese, low-sodium broth (bonus if home-made), or even some plain (no spices) scrambled eggs.

You can just slowly reduce toppers until she doesn't need them anymore... and/or once she's back at a good weight, you can stop adding them cold turkey, and let her skip a meal or two until she's hungry enough to eat what's given without any adders at all. I'd probably give in for now, though, until she's feeling healthy and robust again, and hopefully get her immune system back to where it can fight off any remaining bugs floating around in your yard (probiotics with as many strains as possible would be a big help in that direction). Some of those parasites leave friends behind that can live for years while waiting for the host to stop by again. :(
Thank you, DennasMom, for your kind advice. I give her probiotics as well. If she won't take it readily, I force it down like medicines. Some days she takes it with encouragement, some days without, and some days she won't take it at all unless forced. I will try the parmesan cheese to see if that helps. Thanks again so much!