Need to "make a meatball"

[Stacy]

I just got off the phone with Ava's dentist and the tumor is bigger than he expected, he still thinks she'll do great, but they are going to have to remove both lower canine's and the central incisors. I'm devastated, but trying to be proactive. 

He says that some dogs have a learning curve up to a couple weeks to figure out how to eat without those teeth and suggested a food that you can "make a meatball" with, that that might be easier for her. 

Given that she normally eats Fromm Chicken Ala Veg, do you have any recommendations on what to give her that would work? Maybe one of the freeze dried foods? I feel so helpless, but at least I can find her something to eat. 

And yes, I am totally freaking out.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm sorry to hear this, Stacy. Poor Ava. Like JD, she just can't seem to catch a break.

There's canned Fromm, but feeding that exclusively is going to be very expensive. Maybe you could mix the canned with the kibble and make "meatballs" from that? 

Honest Kitchen would be really easy for her to eat, but also $$$. You can make it less expensive by using one of the base mixes and adding your own chicken or ground beef. 

[Stacy]

She really can't catch a break. I just love her so much and it breaks my heart that everything has to be so hard for her. Think we can get her some little doggy dentures? I love her pretty teeth. I'm going to miss them.

The softened food should only be temporary while she figures out how to make it all work and heals from surgery. So I'm not too concerned with the cost. My concern with the canned fromm was that the consistency is more like a stew, and I'm not sure if that would be easier to eat or not. I kind of thought that Honest Kitchen would be the way to go - I just don't want to mess up her gut to go with her poor broken mouth. Maybe I need to pick up some more probiotics to go along with it. Lord knows she's going to be on enough narcotics to need them.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Honest Kitchen is very, very easy on their digestive systems. Many people here whose dogs had digestive issues have switched to for that reason. 

And probiotics are always a good idea. 

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

You could try frozen raw food. For example raw bistro, Stella and Chewys , Northwest Naturals to name a few. They are just like hamburger patties, so your dog shouldn't have a problem eating it. And it's very good for them.

[Stacy]

I admit, I'm kind of afraid of raw. I had a bad experience with it once upon a time. But making a meatball with a meat patty would be easy!

[Bonnie Barber]

We've been feeding Primal frozen raw for a couple years now. No problems. We can get it from local pet store.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The commercial, "complete" raw products from brands on our recommended list are generally safe. You want to stay away from "do it yourself" homemade raw diets and you need to use caution when a dog is taking any type of immunosuppressant drugs, including steroids, cyclosporine, Apoquel, etc.

[Stacy]

The first store I went to didn't carry Honest Kitchen so I did look at Primal and Stella and Chewy's and something called OC - I think, it wasn't on the recommended list so it scared me. But honestly, they were all pretty cost prohibitive. The dehydrated foods they had were in 1 lb packages and according to the feeding recommendations Ava would go through one like every 2 days. Even the frozen was really expensive. The biggest package had 13 patties for $28.00 and Ava would need 3 a day. I would do it if it was our only/best option, but I ended up going with Honest Kitchen Force chicken recipe. It's 10 pounds for 65.00 and it says it makes 40 pounds of conventional dog food. I can live with that. I'm happy to find a balance between a good food and a reasonable price. 

Good news! The vet called and everything went well. He feels like they got it all (but they will send it out to the pathologist to be sure) and I can pick her up in 45 minutes. About 15 minutes before he called I was starting to get really anxious. There may have been some crying going on. 

Edit: It looks like that OC Raw Dog would have been okay. They use all USDA certified human grade meat from the US. I wish the packaging would specify the sourcing. We know that "Made in the USA" doesn't always tell the whole story. You would think they would be proud of their sourcing and display it prominently.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm glad the surgery went well. I wish her a fast and easy recovery. :)

You know, if this is only going to be a temporary thing, you could cook for her. Ground beef, chicken or turkey and mashed sweet potatoes, that would make an awesome "meatball". Of course, good luck getting her to ever eat kibble after that, lol. 

I hope she likes the HK and it works well for her.

[Amy and Annabelle]

Poor Ava, she may be losing a few teeth, but she will recover and that is the main thing. Dogs learn to compensate with what they lost whether it's a limb, teeth or eye sight,  and they don't seem to notice it like we humans do. I hope this is the last of it though for her. She has been through more than enough to last a life time.

[Stacy]

My poor girl. She has completely been through too much. I thought she was going to lose a few teeth, but when I picked her up and he showed me what he did it looks like he cut off half her face. She has sutures all down her chin, her lower jaw is shaved, her tongue is hanging out. Basically she's a mess. But she doesn't seem to be in any pain and she's content. She very much enjoyed her meatball with my help and she's going to be okay. Bless her doodle heart, she is so precious. I just hope this is the last of things. I feel like I'm torturing her. All she wants to do is snuggle and play and I keep dragging her off to the vet for procedures. I feel like the meanest mom ever!

[Amy and Annabelle]

Glad she enjoyed her meatball, that is a great start. Give her a good snuggle. She sounds like such a sweetheart. Annabelle and I are wishing her a quick recovery.