With this condition, are ALL treats and other food out of the question? This dog has poor appetite. I have to coax her to eat by mixing in “extras” like baby food, chicken, hot dogs, etc. If those are harmful to her, I don’t know how I’m going to get her to eat :(.
I’m honestly not sure; I’d have to ask my vet. But really, we’ve done some “fudging” on the diet (ie. he’s had to go on ID a couple of times for an upset stomach after antibiotic treatment) and he seems to be fine as long as that’s mainly the food he gets. I do give him occasional treats but he’s one of those picky dogs who also doesn’t like to eat, and he seems to find the CD quite palatable. I do mix in some Omega 3 and that seems to be fine (and he gets a joint chew daily). I mix the canned and the dry for him, so maybe that helps with the palatability :D.
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You are so kind to take in this dog and care so much for her 
I fully believe that gastric ulcers are common in small animals, and an ouchy stomach certainly can cause them to not eat. Have you considered something like Pepcid for this girl? In my experience, pets that don’t eat often respond really well.
It’s OTC, and inexpensive. You can easily find dosing charts on veterinary sites online, or speak to your vets about it. In your shoes, I’d just start, but I’ve been down that road plenty of times before.
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Purina Pro Plan makes a urinary diet for cats and dogs. The cat version is a lot cheaper than Hills and other rx diets, the dog plan may be, too.
Purina and other companies also make urinary treats. If you google urinary treats for dogs, quite a few things should pop up.
That said, I would just do the urinary diet. There are some urinary safe add ons, like chicken broth (preferably homemade, it’s way less sodium) and pumpkin, for example, that can be added to a urinary diet to encourage eating. I would be curious how she does on strictly a urinary diet as some dogs will hold out on dog food just for “people food.” Likely not the reason for her lack of weight, but it could encourage better eating habits, though she may refuse food at first. If she isn’t eating after a few days of the new food, the vet could possibly do a cheap appetite stimulant. Even something like prednisone comes to mind. It’s available and low costs.
And while I’m thinking of it, famotidine is the generic, OTC version of Pepcid if you become interested in trying that. I get it in tablet form for my animals.
I hope things work out for her. Thank you so much for fostering this dog. People like you are so valuable and rescues and shelters could not operate without you. I don’t say that to guilt you into caring for this dog in any way, I just really appreciate what you are doing.
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I’m not sure, but do you think she doesn’t want to eat because she is feeling poorly because of the tumors? Even benign ones, if large enough, can be causing her discomfort. Once they’re removed, maybe her appetite will pick up.
ETA: Thanks for caring for this precious dog! 
Actually her appetite is getting better! I separate her in the laundry room to eat, and I think she was just feeling isolated and scared in there. I sat with her for dinner last night and breakfast this morning…and she licked her bowl clean! She’s still not on the UA diet, as a I need a prescription from the shelter vet and – if you’ve been reading this thread, you know what a PITA this shelter is to deal with.
Thanks to those of you who gave tips on the urinary diet. I haven’t dealt with this before. It is expensive, but if this is the worst of her issues (fingers crossed), maybe she has hope for some good years ahead.
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Get it from chewy, and let them fight for the prescription, maybe? That’s where I get my c/d from, and they’ve been brilliant at wrangling my busy vet.
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Ooh, that’s a great idea. I’ll do that immediately.
I am surprised they will do any surgery on a dog in her condition. Honestly, I would probably euthanize. If the tumors are larger, and she’s losing weight, then she’s not doing well to begin with. Pets with cancer rarely survive more then one year. Probably better to opt out of surgery and keep her as a hospice patient. Or call them and tell them she passed away prior to the surgery.
It’s cruel to do surgery on a dog that is already dying. I did surgery on my cat with mammary tumors. She survived about a year. I even did a second surgery, but that was wasted, as the tumor invaded the incision site and quickly progressed to the size of a golf ball. I discovered this after she passed, as I could finally palpate her stomach and feel how big it actually was. If it’s just one small lump, you can remove it, but anything more then that I would assume it has probably spread. Given the weight loss and her age, there’s no way I would put her through further surgery. Not even for a spay.
If the tumor is small enough, they can remove it during spay surgery. If it’s huge, and there is more than one, then I would not want to put her through that.
Tumor size
This probably is one of the most important prognostic factors for a dog with a mammary mass. Dogs with mammary tumors less than 3 cm in diameter have a significantly better prognosis than dogs with larger tumors. In another study, dogs with tumors larger than 5 cm in diameter were more likely to develop metastases than dogs with smaller tumors and were seven times more likely to die in the first two years after surgery.
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My first dog had two cancerous mammary gland surgeries. The second one was when she was ten, and she lived to fifteen.
I used a holistic vet for the second surgery and she wanted to wait until the tumor was very large before removing. Leading up to then, my dog had diarrhea on and off during the night. So perhaps your dog is having some digestive issues.
Instead of feeding an expensive prescription diet (which is usually overpriced junk food), look into feeding a raw diet. The high moisture/carb free/high protein is perfect for controlling urinary issues. A more affordable one is by All Provide. It’s an expensive solution to a dog you aren’t keeping but may be what’s best.
I’m told with struvite crystals, this dog actually needs a low-protein diet.
