Steroids and hunger

[Jenko109]

My dear little 7 month old whippet has been diagnosed with meningitis.

He is starting steroids this evening and I should be able to take him home tomorrow evening if hes comfortable.

I've been told to expect insatiable thirst and hunger.

I'm trying to think of things I can give him to eat to help him when hes desperate for food without obviously over feeding him on his normal food.

So far, all I can think of is perhaps a frozen carrot!! Any ideas?

 

[skinnydipper]

I'm sorry to hear your little chap is poorly. I hope he makes a speedy recovery.

You could try giving him his meals in food dispensing toys so he has to work to get his meals, so that his normal food ration last longer. If he likes natural yogurt spread some on licky mats. Hide treats in snuffle mats.

 

[Sandstone1]

Mashed banana on a licky mat and freeze

 

[fiwen30]

Licky mats are a great idea, you could try snuffle mats too, to really try and eek out how long it takes him to eat.

 

[Jenko109]

Thank you. Just got a licky mat from pets at home to tide us over. Gonna order some better ones online.

 

[MissTyc]

My little terrier was on steroids for a skin disorders and he turned into a total bottomless pit. He became vile and reactive towards the other dog and everyone else, until I realised he needed a lot more food than I imagined. So we upped the meals, added a lunch, gave endless carrots and other healthy and less healthy snacks. He put on a bit of weight but was happy, and then lost the weight once he was better.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

{{{{{{Vibes}}}}}} to your puppy, hope all goes well.

At 7 months of age, you've maybe started to feed him 3 or 2 times per day, but if possible try feeding him 4 times per day. With less time between the meals, it might be less time for him to get too hungry before it's time to eat again. Also, judging only by the dogs I have had, and currently have, I would say that I'm more likely to get away with somewhat increasing their total amount of food they eat per day, without them increasing too noticeably in weight, if I spread it out over 4 or 5 meals per day, than if I somewhat increased their portions when they've eaten 1 or 2 meals per day.

If he has a Kong toy, you could fill, and freeze it with e.g. mashed banana, or yoghurt/kefir with or without some added treats/green beans/peas/broccoli...
I've heard some dog owners buy a whole pineapple, remove the outer layer, cut up, and freeze, in suitable length and width size for their dogs to gnaw on.

If he eats dry food, throw some meals out on the floor in a room. If you want to variate it, besides the suggestions already given about hiding in snuffle mats, you could e.g. get a Qulan or similar:

(Nina Ottosson have created lots of interesting brain training toys to hide food/treats inside, Qulan is one of the easiest ones.)

 

[Birker2020]

I've just had to google licky mats as I'd not heard of them before. Well you learn something new every day.

 

[misst]

My old JRT was on steroids for a nerve tumour for months - high dose for a while and then weaning off over a couple of months. She was fine in her mood but cruised for food constantly and was thirsty but had no accidents at the time. She was fed little and often but did gain weight. She went from 5kg to 8kg and looked very square! A child asked why her head was too small for her body and we had to explain her body was too big for her normal head! Once the steroids were finished we cut her normal food allocation by 10% and she was able to exercise again. It took us almost a year to lose the weight from her but she returned to her normal weight and stayed there. Sometimes you have to work with the circumstances of the time though I appreciated a puppy is more at risk of joint problems than a more mature dog.

 

[Clodagh]

I’m so sorry to hear he’s got meningitis. I hope he is soon on the mend.

 

[spacefaer]

We had a cocker with IMHA and she was on a high dose of steroids. She was permanently hungry and thirsty - she didn't get any more food and tbh, she was sufficiently ill that she didn't want amusing with toys/food - she just scarfed down her normal food very very quickly.
I remember she did have a few accidents with her extra water intake - particularly as she wasn't very mobile, so wasn't feeling the love for going outside as often as she apparently needed to.

I hope your little one feels better soon

 

[Penny Less]

My friends greyhound is permanently on steroids due to an immune system problem . She splits the food up into several smaller feeds

I know how the dog feels, one of my meds caused me to be ravenous all the time!
Hope doggie gets better soon and hopefully wont need to be on steroids long