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What do I do about my undiagnosed pup who will only eat chicken?

My 9 month old puppy, Leia, has become sick over the last two months. It started with extremely heavy breathing and lack of energy - and she is now sooo skinny in addition. After going to the vet twice a week for the last three weeks, all the vets have said "this is a weird case". They cannot find the main problem! They have so far found that she had anemia, psnumonia, and giardia (took meds for those), has dog herpies, has a swollen liver, does not have heart disease, does not have distemper, does not have any type of worm. Her breathing has gotten more calm since they put her on new meds and her anemia has gotten better.

Although she's a skeleton, she has always eaten pretty well, especially with vocal encouragement. She became more picky over the last few weeks and only wants to eat meat. I now mix boiled chicken in with puppy canned food. But she picks at it more and more everyday. The vet gave her a med to help increase her appetite, but it doesn't seem to be helping much at all.

On other forums, people say to stand a firm ground and not give the dog anything but the canned or kibble balanced diet. And if the dog doesn't eat for a couple of days due to stubbornness, that they'll be fine and eventually cave and eat what they're given. However, with my sick pup - it feels like I should just feed her anything that she will eat so she doesn't die? She's just sooo skinny.

Any tips on food for my pup? Any thoughts on what might be wrong with her in general?

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I am so sorry you are going through this! Yes, you are correct Do Not Stand your ground on this one, give her what ever she wants to eat. You need to get weight and calories on your puppy. (Yes, had your puppy been a healthy, regular puppy then it would be different but because your puppy is sick your situation changes.) You also want to feed her every 3-4 hours if you can. I would reccomend asking your Veterinarian for a prescription diet food called A/D. It's by Science Diet, it is a really rich, high calorie dog food. (It is used specifically for hospitalized pets who are not eating, and pets that need to put on weight.) It is can food. But that should hopefully help your puppy gain weight. (They also have one by Purina which is N/F, works the same).

I have worked in the Veterinary field for over 20 years. In my 20 years, I have only seen 1 other case that sounds like yours (and it actually was more reccently last year). It was a French Bulldog 6months old, same symptoms as your puppy. I know it gets frustrating at times but hang in there. And trust me, I know how painful it is seeing your puppy like this, as long as she spirit is still up and she is having more good days then bad, hang in there. I can tell you with the Fench Bulldog it ened up being a fungal infection in his lungs. (Not saying it is a fungal infection but something they may want to check for.) I would recommend getting a second opion by a different Veterinarian in your area, maybe even a Veterinary Internal Specialist. (Make sure to take a copy of your puppies medical records so they dont have to repeat tests you have already done).

I wish you the best of luck! My thoughts and prayers are with you and your puppy. I hope she has a speedy recovery! -Erica Marie