Feeding An Old Dog

[natty]

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Hi

MY little chrissy is still alive but yet again she is giving me cause for concern and i dont know what to do . Back in december she had all her teeth removed, and her jaw has shortened somewhat (we were told it would). the problem is this :

for a while after the operation she was eating well and would quite happily eat a tin of dog food , but then she started so she would barjk for food and when given it only eat 2 or 3 mouthfulls and then leave it she would then bark for more not even a half hour later she would do this continually sometimes barking every 10 mins and often not even taking a single mouthfull of food after asking. We moved her over to a dry cat food and she seemed for a while to manage the little pieces easier but now i think she is struggling again . This past week she has barked somewhat less for food but is also taking only a very small mouthfull each time . She has had runny stools for the past two weeks. She has mammary tumours as well , they are small tho and the vet thought best to leave them . Its her birthday today and she is at least 13 years old now. She is a sweet little thing but im very confused at her eating habits .

Have any of you had this problem before ? and any suggestions as to what the problem is ?

thanks natty

 

[dessie]

Poor Chrissy, sounds like she has dementia.

I have a 13 yr old who although seems fit and healthy and goes out for a walk twice a day, is losing condition and can't eat big meals so I split his daily intake over two main meals but he can't always finish the afternoon meal so he has it before he goes to bed. I have also changed his food from just raw meat/tripe to include tinned Butchers tripe (all the different ones they do), Naturediet or Forthglade Menu. He is not very keen on biscuits either now but will eat a bit of greyhound complete.

Sometimes he just walks away from his bowl so I will then either hold it for him whilst he eats or hand feed him.

 

[Trish]

yes my old girl that i lost 2 years ago now prefered to eat laid down,she was 15 years old and must have been painful on her joints to stand and bend her head down to eat,so we use to feed her on her bed.

R.I.P sandy. :wub:

 

[kim & Tilly]

How sad

I have no advice but :huggles: for you and your little lady :wub:

 

[tanyia]

) Hi natty we were only thinking of your chrissy the other day as she raced with our old girl. I sent you a video remember.

Its heart breaking watching them grow old, our old girl eats like a horse but she is now deaf and going blind. Our old girl loves her food soaked in gravy now. You may need to take chrissy for a cheak up just to make sure she has nothing there stoping her from eating, if shes barking she may be hungrey but unable to eat enough.

Josie sends Chrissy :huggles: keep in touch sorry we cant be of more help

 

[natty]

hi tanyia i rember you

shes just come in season today so this may explain (im hoping) her weirdness with food im going to wait a bit longer before i go into full panic mode . she ate some mash potatoe and gravy last night so shes had some food at least and shes not losing weight , at least not visibly and thankfully although shes not fat she had a little spare for emergencies that i am now glad of .

 

[imperative]

We have a 13 year old bichon frise,Leo, who can be rather fussy these days with his food.He has lost a few teeth and his eyes are cloudy,still manages to suck a pigs ear! OH got so lovely crunchy natural food for seniors.Is so delicious our pups like it as treats during training,perhaps I could ask OH what it is and let you know.

 

[melanie]

my oldest whippet is 11 this year and iv just changed her on to arden grange senior, she loves it and the pieces are small and flat, i soak it first and add a spoon full of something like tinned dog food or tripe, she is doing really well on it and almost seems younger :wacko: to the point where she is playing with the younger dogs all the time!!

 

[Karen]

We have Classy she is 15, she has had no teeth now for a couple of years.

IMO toothless dogs find it harder to eat soft slimey food because it slips out of the mouth.

Classy has Chum complete which is fairly big chunks but low protien so tummy is fine. You would think that dogs would need to chew but they dont really they just throw the food to the back of the throat and swallow. Classy's bowl is in the top of a heavy flowerpot so she is not eating with her head hanging down. She is thin but eats very well and is really happy now we have sorted her out. She also has her meals 3 times a day plus toast for breakfast and a digestive at bedtime

 

[tanyia]

) She might feel better now she has started her season. I know Chissy used to love fish , tuna , sardines , pilchards.

There are lots of good dry foods for older dogs on the market you can soak in alittle gravy and add alittle meat or fish.

Im lucky Josie eats four times a day and still tries to get my dinner but she has no spare weight on her at all infact she is fairley thin now. Thay are all different. Josie has puppy milk as well and loves steamed veg with chicken and rice.

 

[dessie]

I'm glad others of you have said your oldies are quite thin even though they eat well. Dante really worries me the way he is beginning to look. Poor is the only way I can describe it!! I now see it as a challenge to try and restore him to his former glory but I guess I might not be able to. In every other way he is fit and healthy and compus mentus.

I might take him along to Vitnary when I next take Coco for her check-up ............. another one of mine that has rallied just when I had made up my mind that we had got to the end of the road!!! :b

 

[Louise_Simon]

My old girl Betsy has no teeth and has no problems eating as she vacuums her food, she did this even when she had teeth. I feed her on a complete dry food with a few extras like chicken or whatevers left over. She is mostly maintaining her weight, if she looks a little thin sometimes I up her food abit. Betsy is a greyhound so I dont know if this counts.

 

[Karen]

I'm glad others of you have said your oldies are quite thin even though they eat well.  Dante really worries me the way he is beginning to look.  Poor is the only way I can describe it!!  I now see it as a challenge to try and restore him to his former glory but I guess I might not be able to.  In every other way he is fit and healthy and compus mentus.
I might take him along to Vitnary when I next take Coco for her check-up ............. another one of mine that has rallied just when I had made up my mind that we had got to the end of the road!!!  :b

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We have 2 15 year olds and they have both been 'Right thats it the time has come' and then perked up and been right as rain again, Classy is better now than she was 3 years ago. I dont think you can do anything about the thinness, they are just like some of those little old dears you see in a care home.

 

[Lakey]

Let the poor sole have a little dignity in their old age, not nice but right time to let the whippet go

 

[tanyia]

Let the poor sole have a little dignity in their old age, not nice but right time to let the whippet go

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As long as my vet continues to agree with me that my old girl is not in pain , she is eating well and still enjoys life she will go no where , unless I see in her eyes that she wants different.

When her time comes she will know she is at home safe with me and her daughters when and if the vet has to help her on her way.

 

[natty]

Im not ready to give up on her yet , if she can maintain her weight by being hand fed and the vet can not acertain a reason for her refusing to feedherself , ie so long as she doesnt have internal tumours that are making it hard for her to eat and also as long as she is not in pain im going to keep trying with her, she has rallied several times over the past year and she is doing better now than she was at xmas.

 

[zilloot]

I'm glad I read this thread. My oldie, Morgan, turned 12 in April and I've been worried about her 'thin-ness' for the last couple of years. I thought at first she was just losing muscle because she wasn't getting enough exercise but she gets the same as my other five - she just doesn't run around as much.

It is the muscle she has lost because she is still 'soft' over her ribs but she does look like a wifie in a nursing home.. all bone and she has a scrawny neck. She eats a low-protein food and has all her teeth and puts away a good dishfull twice a day with meat, scraps and biscuits too. (I still clean her teeth and whether it helps or not it seems to keep her breath fresh.)

I was going out in the car yesterday and she 'asked' to come with me - none of my others did, they just stayed in their beds. I went in past the supermarket and bought her a 'Jumbone' which she thoroughly enjoyed in the back of the car!! I think she enjoyed her little run out with me :wub: :wub: :wub: