Worried About Flake

[Burpdog]

Solid Gold makes canned tripe if you know someone who carries their food.

[Jackandgrey]

The Orijen fish kibble stinks to high heaven. She may like that. Sardines?

[Batmom]

Don't know if I can add much to the wonderful ideas above. The things that worked for Batman:

 

- The meatloaf recipe already posted. I used medium-fatty ground beef to balance the chicken (or turkey), which has almost no fat.

 

- Tripe! I got canned Tripett. I would mix it with a couple tablespoons warm water. Eeeeeeeeeeeuw. But dogs like it and he would usually eat it.

 

- Scrambled eggs. With or without parmesan cheese.

 

- Spaghettios. Might have too much salt for your baby but Batman did like them. Might be some Healthy Choice soups she could have?

 

- Almost anything with honey or molasses drizzled on top, or a spoonful of vanilla ice cream melted on it.

 

- Graham crackers.

 

- Pepperidge Farm cinnamon swirl bread.

 

And some tricks:

 

- Putting the food in a people bowl, warming it in the microwave, and feeding it with a people spoon.

 

- Sitting down to eat one's own meal on the floor next to the dog and doing "bite for me, bite for you ...." I lost my Lean Cuisine sesame noodles this way, but B got a nice snack out of it .

 

- As already mentioned, feeding only one thing at a time, or at least not mixing things. When B was being picky, I'd do up his dish like one of those divided plates, with the meat in one area, spaghettios next to it, canned meat next to that, blob of yogurt or scrambled egg in between ..... That way he might eat *something* in there even if there was something else that annoyed him.

 

Gentle hugs and luck.

[MarcR]

The Orijen fish kibble stinks to high heaven. She may like that. Sardines?

 

Same with the Pro Plan Select salmon. Almost smells like cat kibble.

[Guest jurishound]

I also use 85% ground beef for the mestloaf - which is somewhere in the middle, I think. Rotisserie chicken was also a favorite, mixed with some rice. Does she rub her nose after sniffing?

[Guest Greensleeves]

Before Whistler went on pred and his weight finally stabilized, he would do EXACTLY what you're describing. In fact, I kept a food diary for him last June, and it's scary how much it paralleled what you've written.

 

We finally resorted to offering him EVERYTHING in the house, and letting him eat whatever he wanted. Anything. Dog food, human food, anything.

 

We also fed him ALL DAY LONG. As soon as we got up, out came the hot dogs, the stinky cheese, the yoghurt bars, the bagels. He got two *main* meals during the day--but the rest of the day we just shovelled the food down the old man, at absolutely every opportunity. We never stopped offering.

 

I know it sounds strange--but we, too, had VERY good luck switching up bowls, and, finally feeding him canned food directly out of the can, in huge chunks on a fork. Food that he would not eat in a bowl or on a plate... he'd gobble down when it came off a fork. We fed him that way for the rest of his life, and he *rarely* turned up his nose after that.

 

He would also get sick of things quickly. If he showed interest in something, our instinct was to *inundate* him with that. "OMG, he's eating chicken!! Quick--go out and buy ten pounds of chicken breast!" By the third time we offered the chicken, he'd refuse. I learned to switch things up frequently.

 

Whistler also liked salty things. I had pretty consistent luck (as consistent as they ever get in that state) with opening a can of (plain old or reduced sodium) chicken noodle soup into a bowl, adding a little water (sometimes a whole can's worth, sometimes less), and then dumping kibble in until it just barely sloshed around. I'd then stick it in the fridge overnight. The kibble will soak up the soup (and it actually looks *really* tasty... I was tempted on more than one occasion!), leaving the noodles and veggies behind. Whistler LOVED this stuff... but as soon as he finished one batch, I'd wait a few weeks before making more. I learned that lesson! Sometimes I'd crumble up some ground beef in there, too... or add leftover veggies, noodles, etc.

 

Whistler didn't really like mushy food, or things mixed together too much.

 

The last thing that worked really well for us was just fixing him a plate of whatever WE were eating for dinner (a greyhound-sized portion, naturally). He became fond of beef stroganoff, spaghetti (although he was scared of it cold the next day), sweet potatoes, pizza, white gravy, risotto, cornbread, biscuits, etc. I got to the point where all my shopping and meal planning revolved around, "What does Whistler feel like for dinner tonight?"

 

So, yes:

1. Food all day

2. Offer her whatever *you're* eating

3. Hand feed her if necessary

4. Feed in a different room

5. Mix it up, constantly.

 

Good luck!!

[HopeForHounds]

I feel your pain. We've tried many of the suggestions above without luck.

 

Foxy is 12 1/2 and has lost weight over the past few months. She is however starting to gain a bit. The best thing with her is cheap canned food. Half a can mixed with her kibble and she eats almost 2 cups that way. If she doesn't finish I mix in some peanut butter. I also give her peanut butter sandwiches as treats.

[Guest nerak254]

Jessica was like this the last few months herself. I called it musical food. The pet stores were nice enough to give me samples of everything so I didn't have to pay for stuff she wouldn't eat the next day. I also fed her all kinds of things like Dintey Moore Beef Stew (she loved it) I put soup on her food, she ate lots of left overs, and the homemade recipe of 6-8 cups of rice, a qt. of vanilla ice cream, hard boiled eggs, some Hawaiian bread (she liked that too) and kibble. If all else failed, she would eat that. I still find myself in the grocery store and thinking , "I wonder if Jessica would like this". This is an amount that will go for 3-4 days. I hope she snaps out of it soon. I'm sure she misses her buddy. Missy was pretty upset when Jessica died.

[Guest nerak254]

Before Whistler went on pred and his weight finally stabilized, he would do EXACTLY what you're describing. In fact, I kept a food diary for him last June, and it's scary how much it paralleled what you've written.

 

We finally resorted to offering him EVERYTHING in the house, and letting him eat whatever he wanted. Anything. Dog food, human food, anything.

 

We also fed him ALL DAY LONG. As soon as we got up, out came the hot dogs, the stinky cheese, the yoghurt bars, the bagels. He got two *main* meals during the day--but the rest of the day we just shovelled the food down the old man, at absolutely every opportunity. We never stopped offering.

 

I know it sounds strange--but we, too, had VERY good luck switching up bowls, and, finally feeding him canned food directly out of the can, in huge chunks on a fork. Food that he would not eat in a bowl or on a plate... he'd gobble down when it came off a fork. We fed him that way for the rest of his life, and he *rarely* turned up his nose after that.

 

He would also get sick of things quickly. If he showed interest in something, our instinct was to *inundate* him with that. "OMG, he's eating chicken!! Quick--go out and buy ten pounds of chicken breast!" By the third time we offered the chicken, he'd refuse. I learned to switch things up frequently.

 

Whistler also liked salty things. I had pretty consistent luck (as consistent as they ever get in that state) with opening a can of (plain old or reduced sodium) chicken noodle soup into a bowl, adding a little water (sometimes a whole can's worth, sometimes less), and then dumping kibble in until it just barely sloshed around. I'd then stick it in the fridge overnight. The kibble will soak up the soup (and it actually looks *really* tasty... I was tempted on more than one occasion!), leaving the noodles and veggies behind. Whistler LOVED this stuff... but as soon as he finished one batch, I'd wait a few weeks before making more. I learned that lesson! Sometimes I'd crumble up some ground beef in there, too... or add leftover veggies, noodles, etc.

 

Whistler didn't really like mushy food, or things mixed together too much.

 

The last thing that worked really well for us was just fixing him a plate of whatever WE were eating for dinner (a greyhound-sized portion, naturally). He became fond of beef stroganoff, spaghetti (although he was scared of it cold the next day), sweet potatoes, pizza, white gravy, risotto, cornbread, biscuits, etc. I got to the point where all my shopping and meal planning revolved around, "What does Whistler feel like for dinner tonight?"

 

So, yes:

1. Food all day

2. Offer her whatever *you're* eating

3. Hand feed her if necessary

4. Feed in a different room

5. Mix it up, constantly.

 

Good luck!!

 

I am glad to see that I am not the only one who would shop with the hound in mind. Like I said, I still find myself considering things. I forgot about rotisserie chicken and angel Burpdog sent a couple of things for her to try.

[Guest Winterwish]

I'll just add these 2 ideas Sheila if they can be of help.

 

Solid Gold's Buckaroo Beef patties. They're freeze dried beef,liver,and the bones too,all freeze dried.

 

You can crumble half of one and sprinkle it on top or mixed in Flake's food,or even give as is,it's just a bit dry when giving it plain- so altho' you aren't supposed to rehydrate it,I keep water right there and if need be I throw a sprinkle of water on it.

Comes in a bag of 5 and is about $18. for the bag.

 

 

Also,Merrick makes a Beef Texas Taffy-- it's the one that completely wrapped. It's not thick at all-- it's very thin,about 10" long.

It's a nice chewing beef chewy. Not a meal,but it may provoke an appetite in Flake.

 

Sending hugs ~

 

Here's a picture of each of these products so you have the visual should you see them if they sound like something that could help:

Edited August 18, 2008 by Winterwish

[tbhounds]

She might have an upset tummy--I second trying the Pepcid

[PAWsPups]

Willow, my 14.5 yr old turned super picky about 5 months ago. She used to be happy with kibble and some canned food mixed in. Now, I give her a cup of kibble and a cup of something yummy I buy and cook especially for her: steak, meatballs, liverwurst, pork chops, beef liver, hamburger meat. Just over the past few days, even those things are not interesting her so much (she will go nuts over cookies, though).

 

I'm not really concerned with how 'bad' something may be for her, I just want to her eat *something*. Lately, I have dolloping a little bit (maybe a tablespoon, total) of canned cat food over her meals. That stinky food is enough to get her interested and she will usually finish her bowl of food (sometimes it takes 2 attempts - she'll eat a little, and a few hours later come back and finish). I know its not the best thing, but at least she's eating and her stools are normal.

 

Its worth a try.

Good luck with your senior girlie.

[Guest vthounds]

We are going through the *exact* same thing with our Katie-Girl (also 13.5). She was a 60 pound dog, but became a 56 pound dog over the last few years (legs weaker, losing muscle). Now she's around a 50 pound dog. I've got every type of dog food known to mankind in my house at present. The last few days have been crazy - she won't eat any commerical dog food, but will eat our home cooking. I picked up two cookbooks - I can only remember the name of one of them "Barker's Grub" - that had a few recipes that have so far worked well. The Barker's Grub one theoretically provides a balanced meal, but I don't know. So far, we've made her a meatloaf, which she *loved*, a beef and potato thing, and a tuna and potato thing. We've learned that Katie hates potatoes, but loves tuna. We also give her a multivitamin each day. We're doing a second urinalysis and bloodwork on Friday...

 

Good luck with Flake!

[Guest gonewtthewind1]

Shelia,

 

Are you going to share a hamburger with Flake? I got a big laugh out of that!! I bet you'll get Greg to do that!

 

Becky

 

P.S. If she likes biscuits I'll make her some and bring them in on Monday. Let me know what flavor she'd like. Let me know.