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My dog has pneumonia and won't eat. Should I force-feed or what else?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Female | spayed | 9 years old | 13 lbs

My dog has pneumonia,and she refuses to eat. We've tried bone broth, baby food, and the cooked chicken with rice. She refuses it all. Should I try force feeding her with the syringe? Or what should I do? We can't afford taking her to the vet for the third time. We're giving her antibiotics and CBD oil, stopping the anti-nausea pill because we want her to get all the mucus out of her lungs. What can I do?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Sara Farmer, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on April 23rd, 2019

I wouldn’t recommend attempting to feed witha syringe - this can lead to food aversions or aspiration. You may want to consider restarting the nausea medication since nausea could lead to a decrease in appetite and I can’t think of an anti-nausea medication that would affect mucus. You could also consider asking your vet about an appetite stimulant medication for the short term.

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    Answered By Dr. Elizabeth

    Veterinarian

    Published on April 24th, 2019

    Poor Lucy, she sounds very sick. I recommend to call your veterinarian and update them. They may be able to give her an appetite stimulant which could help. Sometimes we will also recommend force feeding a dog a specific canned food called recovery. You must be careful with dogs who cannot breathe well because they can aspirate liquids and even food. This could make things worse. You may also ask the veterinarian if they can provide force feeding or show you how to do it. I hope she starts feeling better quickly and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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