Retriever Rescue

my 10 y o goldie is being investigated for hypercalcaemia and the outlook looks bleak has anybody been through this and what was the outcome good or bad
i can't get him to eat at the moment and would welcome any advice to how i can tempt his appitite

Hello.

Sorry to hear your news. I have not come across this condition but the best thing I can suggest for getting your dog to eat would be to cook some chicken and give it while still warm, possibly with a small amount of rice. It is light on the stomach and my Jazzz always wolfs it down. She only gets it on birthdays or if she is not well herself.

Let me know how you get on.

Best wishes.

Helen.

Really sorry to hear your news - I hope the outcome isn't bleak.

Like Helen said a bit of chicken with rice goes down great - in fact, anything at all that your goldie likes at the moment - just to get him to eat anything.

xx

If ever Honey has an off-stomach, I give her some boiled chicken to get her back onto eating. I've also tried unseasoned scrambled egg which a vet once suggested. The chicken works best but anything light and bland.

Sorry to hear he's poorly - hope you have good news soon.

update on the robstar
last week was awful he literaly wouldn't eat anything i tried chicken,rice boiled ham everything that everyone suggested but to no avail he was constantly vomiting cos he was drinking too much water to counterbalance the high calcium in his blood
after two nights sleeping downstairs with him i was convinced that the vet would recommend putting him too sleep
however even though all the blood results weren't back the vet was sure that he had a tumour called a lymphoma which in dogs does react well to chemo it isn't a cure but he said that if we could get him into remission he could carry on for anything up to two years
he gave him an injection of prednisalone and put him on a chemo drug and prednisalone for 15 days and then 5 days treatment every month for the next 3 months
x-rays show he has arthritis in his back (at ten years old not surprising) and a tumour on his right back leg
the change in him is remarkable within hours he was taking pieces of chicken and ham and over the next three or four days is back to eating normally
he is still a bit weak but is getting there
as a mark of his recovery he was back paddling in the stream in Astley Park today and when we left him for the first time tonight we came back to find he had been rumaging in the living room bin and leaving shreded tissues all over the floor
but after everything he has been through how could we be cross with him!!
i'll keep you updated with his progress with the chemo but so far so good

I would like to wish you all the best with your goldens treatment.It is so upsetting when they won't eat.I have been through it myself and it breaks your heart.I am so glad he has improved.I will be sending you all my wishes please give him a big cuddle from me
all the best Diane

Hi,
This is really good news. He must have been feeling terrible, and so must you, not knowing what to do for him to ease his pain. Fingers crossed that this treatment will give him those years, and good quality of life. Do keep us informed of his progress.

All good wishes, Jean.

Hugs and kisses from Ginnie and Cobi

p.s. they do love shredding tissues or kitchen roll

HI just a little tip for getting your dog to take tablets

JAFFA CAKES!!!

robbie has to take 6 tablets a day so i break 2 jaffa cakes into quarters and hid the tabs in the jammie bit

they don't have to be mcv*****s and shops own brand will do the beauty or retrievers is that they will usually eat ANYTHING!!
love from geri and robbie xx

Geri

I don't want to be critical but I hope that you take the 'dark chocolate' off first.

So relieved to hear that your lovely golden is on the up. I hate to hear of them being ill.
All the very best to you. Samsmum. (Joyce)

re the jaffa cakes
thanks for the warning
I checked with the vets re the pros and cons he advised that for a dog of his size a jaffa and a half(I make sure i eat the other half for him) will not do him any harm
the choc covering has a very low coccoa/theobromine content and at the moment its more important to get the tablets into him with as little fuss as possible its not a long term solution but prednisalone is very unplesant tasting and i dont want to turn it into a daily battle I may try a jam buttie next week!!!

My tablet solution is cheese. You can hide just about anything in a little bit of stilton.

And for recovering tummies I agree with the chicken approach but have found white fish (cod, haddock, coley) lightly poached in a tiny bit of milk is a great favourite. I usually mix / mash it with a little steamed white rice and the poaching liquid. My chow chow just loved it.

As she began to recover a bit she liked mashed or diced carrots added in too. But then she was a little particular in her tastes.

Of course, when Molly feels a bit off colour we feed her bread, bagels and toblerone (Grrrrrrrrr!) (NOT REALLY! Just a reference to her most recent antics)

So glad the Robstar is getting back to top form.

just a quick piccie to show all my followers how much better i'm feeling

love robbie xx

Hi there Robbie,
That's a super picture of you. You are a handsome boy.

Lovely to see him Geri. It's good to know that his medication is working and that he is feeling much better and eating again. Fingers crossed that he stays well.