Failure As A Senior Grey Foster Mama.

[Guest Jollybug]

I am fostering an 11 year old greyhound and I am at my wits end. This may be more of a vent then an ask for help. I have had him for a couple of months. When he came to me he was a little underweight so we added canned food to his diet. Did really well, gained 5 pounds. Well a month went by and we noticed him not eating as much, being very picky about his food. So we went to the vet to weigh him. He had lost 5 pounds! I couldn't believe it. We decided to change him to a better canned food on top of his dry food. Well he liked that for a couple days and then decided to eat nothing! Oh and during this he has started peeing and drinking often. So off to the vet we go again. Bloodwork urinalysis and stool checked. Looks great! His urine may be a little dilute, but everything looks fine, kidneys great. Well we take him home with an antibiotic just in case they missed a bladder infection. We bought him the beneful prepared foods and he loved them. Ate them really well for a few days. I decided to add Satin Balls to the mix to get some weight. Well, NOW he won't eat anything but satin balls. I am so discouraged I could cry. He looks at the beneful and dry food and walks away. Put a satin ball in there and he eats the satin ball. I don't know what to do now. Sorry for the long post, but feeling like a failure as a senior foster

mama:(

[vjgrey]

You're not a failure. Sometimes these things just take a while to figure out. And sometimes you realize you just have a picky hound and let them eat what they want. Especially when you're dealing with a senior.

 

You might do some reading on Beneful, though. It has a lot of fillers and dyes, and there are definitely more nutritious options in the same price range. Maybe you could also mash the satin ball up in the food?

[Tallgreydogmom]

Can you upgrade his kibble to something like the Costco grain free Salmon and Sweet Potato?

 

We also give them a high calorie liquid dietary supplement for Trophy. Your vet or farm store should have some.

Edited April 5, 2012 by Tallgreydogmom

[Guest Jollybug]

I was desperate to find something that he would eat. Sometimes I wonder if his previous owner fed him table scraps. Throw those in his bowl and he eats with excitement. I have always tried to be so careful feeding my dogs and now not sure what to do.

 

I was feeding him Blue Buffalo canned and he stopped eating it! Refused to eat for 2 days.

[Xan]

Having had a senior gal with IBD, my heart cringes when I read posts like these! Good thing his tests look good!

 

I would also suggest a higher quality food, maybe trying different protein sources. If you get one he likes, good! If you're worried he's not getting enough, there are SO many ideas for taste boosters (but watch out for too much salt or fat!): parmesan cheese, garlic powder (not too much!), canned fish, tripe ... The smellier the better, apparently.

 

You say he's been there a couple months. It might even be that he's still adjusting to his new life with you. Maybe he needs to eat in secret (behind a door, around a corner, in a crate), or maybe he will eat from your hand. Maybe his teeth hurt. Maybe he needs his kibbles soaked to mush and warmed up so it smells stronger.

 

You'll find something! Good luck!!

[Burpdog]

Add some boiled meat to a good senior kibble and I bet he eats

[Busderpuddle]

Sometimes I put a raw egg over the dry kibble and mix it up. Never a morsel left.

[Guest aowam]

I am actually going through the same dilemma with my boy (also one month since I got him), though he's 4 years old. He was eating and loving his kibble fine for 2.5 weeeks after we finally found one that wouldn't make his stomach so upset, and then I gave him like 2 pieces of purina pro plan to try and now he absolutely refuses to eat his original kibble. I want him back on the other kibble because I like the quality and results (also because I now have 20 lbs of it left along with the leftovers from the other foods we tried), but he doesn't even want to look at it! And nooooooow he's not even finishing the purina. What do I do????? Maybe it's a one month celebration thing, haha.

[PatricksMom]

My situation is slightly different--Patrick's been with us 10 years, but with his recent illness & hospitalization, his pickness the last 3 years has gotten worse and more problematic since he lost a lot of weight. What's working fairly consistently (but not perfectly), is warm rice, cooked in low sodium chicken broth. The trick seems to be to break the individual grains apart with a fork and mix them really well into the kibble so each piece has a some rice clinging to it.

[SarahsBlackPack]

I second the thought on his teeth hurting. Maybe try giving him some cooked rice and hamburger?

[JohnF]

I'd have the kidney bloods checked again just to make sure nothing has actually moved. (Their normal readings will be higher than other breeds in any case and the test shouldn't be done too soon after they have exercized hard.)

 

One thing I found that makes picky eaters eat better is to cook up some chicken and rice and feed it warm at the same time as we eat. A small can or sardines will seldom fail to get warm moistened kibble eaten... little bits of grated cheese too as it sticks to the kibble.

[kickchick2000]

I too am dealing with senior finickiness over food. Milky Way used to eat anything but now at 11.5 ( he will be 12 in June) he turns his nose up to pretty much anything except canned food. He will eat a new kibble for 1-2 days and then decide it just isn't for him. I've resorted to adding all sorts of toppings to his food just to get him to eat. The most effective method we've had so far other than cans is warm chicken or beef broth over the kibble to soften it.