# canned chicken broth ok?



## [email protected] (Oct 6, 2009)

quick question for ya'll online --- my 12 week old puppy was diagnosed with pnuemonia yesterday (sorry, i don't know how to spell pnuemonia correctly)! i have tried feeding a list of things and he will not eat any of it. am now going to try chicken broth --- is canned broth ok or do i need to make it from proper chicken? 

thank you!


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

if i were going to give my dog chicken broth it
would be made from cooking a fresh chicken.
if i were going to use broth from a can i would want it to be all
natural/organic. i would perfer it not to have salt in it.

i hope your puppy feels better soon.


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## kaitrinn7 (Aug 14, 2009)

I agree with doggieDaD, I wouldn't get one with salt, or any additives or preservatives. All natural definitely if I were to by it from a store.

But I would also just cook a chicken as well, you know what's in the broth from that!

Hope pup gets well quick! Good luck


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## GSDSunshine (Sep 7, 2009)

Are you feeding just broth???? Or like a mixer to make his food more appealing? If he wont eat ANYTHING, have you tried a simple rice and boiled chicken mixture? plus the water you cook the chicken is broth you can use for the future. The canned has a LOT of sodium.... so i would be worried about that. I'm not a pro. just my 2 cents.


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## Donna Shenuski (Jul 13, 2007)

You may have already tried this but it worked for my dog after his splenectomy...jars of baby food. It was important to get him eating and that is what my vet suggested.


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## lucymom (Jan 2, 2009)

Ask your vet for suggestions, but I also used organic baby food when my girl was on chemo. She liked it. How about some fresh chicken? I second concerns about store bought broth--too salty.

I don't know if the vet would recommend....but when all else fails, my dogs will eat deli-sliced turkey.


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## lucymom (Jan 2, 2009)

While I'm not a fan of Science Diet, your vet may sell cans of ...I think it's the Science Diet C D, for easy digestion for a sick dog. Ask the vet if syringe-feeding (mix a bit of water and canned good food in a syringe and squish it in to the pocket between gum and teeth) is recommended. Just as important as food is making sure your pup is getting water too.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: JenniferDAsk your vet for suggestions, but I also used organic baby food when my girl was on chemo. She liked it. How about some fresh chicken? I second concerns about store bought broth--too salty.
> 
> I don't know if the vet would recommend....but when all else fails, my dogs will eat deli-sliced turkey.


Deli cuts of meat are going to be just as salty as broth.

You can buy low sodium broth, which is a lot better... and can be used in a pinch. I'd prefer to see you cook up broth too. Just buy any ole chicken at the store, toss in in a pot of cold water and boil away. 

Organic baby food is good, but read labels. It may have a lot of grains, which your pup may or may not be able to tolerate (For example, chicken and rice is often "water. rice. chicken." in that order -- and it may contain other ingredients like squash.). AND if you get baby food for Stage 2 or older children (infants older than a few months old), it may have seasonings which includes salt and onion...which we definitely don't want to feed to our pups. 

One thing I like to feed my dogs when they don't feel well is fresh (boiled) chicken, overcooked rice (add extra water and cook longer) and boiled sweet potato. The sweet potato has a flavor that most dogs like; it's very healthy and easily tolerated. You can substitute that with a dollop of canned pumpkin on off days. 

REAL maple syrup (not the fake stuff like Aunt Jemimah or Mrs. Butterworth's) can be poured over the chicken/rice/sweet potato mixture to make it even more savory. Maple syrup has some essential minerals, so it doesn't just add calories and a yummy flavor. It's actually nutritious in small doses. 

If you find a mixture that your dog will eat, you can mix in some whey powder (available at your health food store --buy UNSWEETENED vanilla whey powder). It doesn't add much in the way of flavor or bulk, but it provides extra protein and adds in calcium that a growing pup needs, especially to offset the phosphorous of the meat you're giving. Whey powder actually has the ideal ratio of calcium to phosphorous, so you can just mix it into almost anything and it will give your pup a great boost of protein, calcium and phosphorous --which every growing pup needs. 

I consider it an essential and always have it around my house. 

If your pup won't eat ANYTHING and isn't drinking much, then you need to bring him in to your vet's office to be evaluated for dehydration. He may need fluids to help him along. 

I hope he feels better soon.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

I definitely agree with the whey protein!!

How about some blended liver?


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

From your other thread:



> Originally Posted By: LJsMomHave you tried slightly heating the canned food/baby food?


Been thinking, have you tried a different protein? There is a good chance that the chicken is the problem, and also may be contributing to the itching?


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: LisaTI definitely agree with the whey protein!!


That's because I learned about it from you.









And it helped keep my little girl alive for months til we got her eating straightened out. I owe you for that.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

I'm so glad it helped, I remember we were trying to find any possible solution that we could. You just took it and ran with it, and figured the rest out!! I'm really glad that I had something to offer you two.


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## [email protected] (Oct 6, 2009)

thank ya'll so much for the feedback and suggestions.

i was shying away from feeding him boiled chicken and rice because, yes, lisa, i, too, suspect that chicken is potentially the culprit for the itching and biting. not certain but have been trying to eliminate chicken as much as possible so that i can figure out if that is the case. BUT i am so desperate for him to eat that i was willing to try broth. 

he finally nibbled a bit this evening on the wet prescription diet a/d --- jennifer, is that what you are referring to? and he even took a few bites of the prescription diet dry food --- this is the bland diet that the vet prescribed to try and figure out the scratching and biting --- it isn't entirely chicken free though but i'm trying to follow the vet's lead here as much as i can. 

i would have never thought of whey protein! very good to know. thank you for that information. i did try stage 2 ground turkey baby food --- no luck









the one good thing is that samson is drinking water. not as much as normal but consistently drinking it. that provides some peace of mind. and he will easily take a treat too. 

this morning, the vet said that she suspects that the clavamox antibiotic is the cause of him being without appetite. six AM in the morning will be 24 hours since his last intake of the clavamox --- if he does not eat breakfast, we may be heading back to the vet's office. 

i really hope that all of these health challenges subside very soon. 

thank ya'll for the help and good energy. much, much appreciated.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

Apple juice with honey for the electrolytes?

I hope he turns a corner soon.

How did they diagnose the pneumonia?


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

One of my kids always did better on boiled ground turkey than chicken. You can try that if chicken is an issue; should be able to get it at any grocery store. If he likes it, you can get it for less expensive at Costco, so I assume Sam's Club carries it too. 

I don't know if you've ever tasted baby food, but it's pretty bland. Keep trying with real food. You may have better luck there.

Clavamox gives my current pup *terrible* diarrhea (like, you can't even imagine how bad)...so I wouldn't be surprised if it's causing upset stomach or loss of appetite. I'd be inclined to switch antibiotics if there's another that is just as effective.


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## [email protected] (Oct 6, 2009)

lisa, the diagnosis was from chest x rays. 

he still will not eat. i just talked to the vet who asked me to bring him in to be force fed and then she mentioned that she may put him on medicine to enhance his appetite. i really really really don't want him to take any additional medicine --- i just feel like he has already taken so many different medicines. he is so young and so skinny and the thought of yet another pill upsets me for some reason.

i am going to try ground turkey over rice to see if that works before taking him in. crossing my fingers that he will gobble it up and that there will be no need for yet more medication. 

3k9 mom, lol, good point about the baby food! and in regard to the clavamox --- taking him off hasn't brought back his appetite but taking him off has certainly brought back a bit of his energy level. the two days that he took it, he was so lethargic and just slept. must be some really strong stuff.


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## [email protected] (Oct 6, 2009)

lisa, i just read your post about the potency of azithromycin --- should i be concerned about samson taking it?


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

how about canned catfood or tunafish ?? just an idea,,hope he feels better soon


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## [email protected] (Oct 6, 2009)

yay! he ate! and i cried. so happy that he finally ate! he picked at the ground turkey and the tuna (diane, thank you for that tip, i hadn't thought of trying tuna) and rice --- all separately and all combined. and i know that any changes in kibble should be done gradually but i desperately wanted him to eat so i went out and bought a bag of california natural lamb and rice and he ate about 1/2 cup. i hope his stomach doesn't take revenge. once he started eating it, i couldn't bring myself to stop him! i'm looking forward to breakfast in the morning because if the appetite has decreased again, i will certainly know that this is medicine related since i gave him the medicine tonight after dinner. fingers crossed. thank you all again --- so much --- for the help with this!


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

Hey, that's what we're here for.









Keep us posted!


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## JerzeyGSD (Jun 26, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: JakodaCD OAhow about canned catfood or tunafish ?? just an idea,,hope he feels better soon


I would stay away from canned cat food... Jerzey got a bite of it out of my cats bowl and had the worst diarrhea I had ever seen.

Keep using the boiled turkey and rice and just slowly up the amount of kibble. I actually have Jerzey on that exact diet right now (because this time she got into the bag of dry cat food and she needed her system to settle because that too gave her diarrhea. Ugh!) Anyways, if his system wasn't able to handle the sudden increase in kibble just continue with the turkey and rice until his system is all settled and then slowly add in kibble while decreasing the turkey and rice. I literally just sprinkled, like, less than 1/4 cup at first.


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