Oh-No! I've Become One Of Those People!

[sobesmom]

I've always been pretty strict about food - you eat the food you get. If you try to get "fussy"... you'll get hungry the next feed and eat what you get. I've never had any greys, or fosters with food issues, so this has worked fine for us.

 

Now... my Diana....who has always been super-skinny- but got to "normal" pet weight after a few years....had a medical issue recently - and had a med with a side effect of not eating. She took that to the extreme. We stopped the med - but she still wouldn't eat....for days and days. So - I've now started adding 1/3 of a can of tunafish in oil to her kibble....and she'll eat. Well.. the meds are totally out of her system, but she won't eat dogfood. So - I'm still adding 1/3 can of tuna to her meals....and she eats.

 

I've NEVER catered to a fussy eater. But - Diana is 9. She came to us at 2. I've worried about her weight for most of the time she's lived with us, because she stayed skinny, healthy, but hystrung for years.

 

So - I'm breaking all my rules with her. At every meal now she's either getting 1/3 can of tuna on top of her kibble - or some dinner leftovers. I tried to go straight dogfood again- and she won't eat. No matter how long I leave it.

 

I'm babying her - I know.

[Batmom]

There are worse things .

[Guest greytone]

I totally know what you mean. Freddie has always been a picky eater. If its hot out, he doesn't eat. If its cold out, he doesn't eat. And if he is sick of his dog food, he doesn't eat. However, now that I know that he isn't in the best of health, I have broken my rules with him....and baby the heck out of him. ( I guess I'll have to be more stict with my next dog.)

[sobesmom]

There are worse things .

 

There are worse things .

Thank you Batmom. I know you know how to take care of dogs. And not baby greys, because greys don't need to be babied.

[Batmom]

I used to be more of a hard butt about it. But, there's a difference between young, healthy, robust, and shining you on ... vs. older, maybe has some health problems, needs to keep weight on, etc. Sounds like you know the difference, and you're doing what's best for you and your lovely dog.

[gryhndsr4us]

When my bridge girl Gypsy was young she would skip a meals and I wouldn't worry. She was almost 12 when we lost Clark and lost a lot of weight due to grief (they were very close). So I "babied" her. All sorts of add ins to get her to eat. I would even choose items that would be good "doggie leftovers" when we went out to eat. She loved chicken alfredo! You know your pups and you do what you have to keep them going. Was she spoiled, yes but she was healthy and with us for another year and a half (passed peacefully in her sleep).

I have another diva now, and Sky skips meals, when she gets older I'll probably "babie" her too.

[Remolacha]

I am going through the same thing with Molly. She has always been quirky about her food, but has generally responded (eventually) to "eat or don't, that's what you are getting". She got weird again after I lost Fletcher, and I just don't have the heart to take a hard line. She is 11, and if adding half a tin of sardines to her food makes her eat, then sardines she gets. As Batmom said, there are worse things!

[Guest avadogner]

I think most of us end up catering to fussy eaters as our hounds reach advanced age. My ange at the Bridge Ava had to be hand fed by me only a mixture of kibble, numerous dietary supplements, cheese and vanilla Ensure during her last year. I was desperate to keep weight on her. I had to put a baby bib on her because it was so messy. She would flip the bowl to refuse it so I sat in front of her and held it in my lap. It took 3 15 min sessions through the day to get it all down. My Vet said we would have lost her much sooner if I didn't work so hard feeding her. She was worth every bit.

 

Hopefully you will be able to transition back to plain food. At least your hound has a shiny coat from all the fish oil. Hang in there.

[Guest Giselle]

I've fed my older dogs meals of steak, pan-seared fish, and a bit of butter to really get them going. No shame at all. Older dogs deserve to be babied for their lifetime of love and giving

[cleptogrey]

I've fed my older dogs meals of steak, pan-seared fish, and a bit of butter to really get them going. No shame at all. Older dogs deserve to be babied for their lifetime of love and giving

 

i too have been found guilty of serving such pleasurable foods to the old and infirmed. the young and healthy gets kibble and water!

[PatricksMom]

At that age, with medical issues, you do what you have to and be glad they eat.

[sobesmom]

Well - I've discovered a new add-in - wet dog food! Ok - you can all say "Duh" now. I seriously didn't think of it until I was at the store to pick up more tuna, and wandered through the dogfood aisle. I've NEVER fed canned dogfood, cuz it seems not very cost-effective and kinda gross - so it didn't occur to me!

 

Come to find out - a bit of canned food mixed in with the kibble seems to do the trick, and is probably more nutritionally sound. We'll still do tuna sometimes too, cuz you can't beat tuna! (or JackMack if DH isn't around, or sardines). I gotta tell you though, those beef chunks in gravy look and smell good! LOL! Not at all like the rank Alpo blob I remember seeing my grandma feed her geriatric poodle (that was GROSS). I guess quality canned food has come a long way.

 

Ok, everybody giggle at the lady that didn't think to feed her dog.......dogfood.

 

I will try to go back to straight kibble after the weather cools down and/or when Diana seems like she's back to "normal". WOW- did she drop weight FAST. But - this dollop of goodness on top is really not a big deal, so we can do this forever if it works.

 

I'll try to be less judgmental of folks that cater to "fussy" eaters in the future. I guess you don't know till you've been there. Unless it's a young, healthy dog that's just playing you - I'll still be a hard-butt about that!

[Guest JessieRahl]

Claire gets picky too, but she's only three. She's kind of small though, so I do kind of baby her a little when it comes to food. I don't want her to get too skinny. I'll add some vanilla yogurt to her kibble, or some fish oil (mostly for her dry skin though). Today I found some "canine cups" in the dog food section of Hannafords that are like apple sauce cups for dogs; one pack is molasses and pumpkin, the other chicken and sweet potato. She LOVED the one I gave her today, so maybe that will help her eat regularly.

 

I also think it's the heat here, lately. It's been really hot and humid here in VT. I don't care to eat much either in this weather.

[Rickiesmom]

If you are going the canned route (been there, done that, for similar reasons) you might want to look at canned tripe. Trippett is the brand I have always used (they have several variations). It's very good for most dogs, and I've yet to meet one that didn't think it was the best thing ever. Also, it doesn't smell as bad as you might think, which is not to say it smells good. At all.

 

If you can't find it locally, you can purchase it from Sitstay.com. They changed hands awhile back and I like them better than I used to.

[Gryffenne]

Not at all like the rank Alpo blob I remember seeing my grandma feed her geriatric poodle (that was GROSS).

When I was a teen, our neighbors went away on vacation and hired me to dog sit their beagle. He also had that "rank" Alpo and it is the very reason I have never fed canned dog food! I can still remember the smell and the *slooouk* sound of it coming out of the can.

 

As for the tuna, Sammi goes gaga when she sees DF and I making tuna sandwiches. (Or if I am making him tuna salad for work at 6am) She is standing patiently dancing from foot to foot at her food dish. She knows that what I drain out of that can is gong to be going on her meal, and that she gets to clean the bowl for me.

 

I remember when my first husband walked out changing my life from SAHM to single mom with a baby. He was an alcoholic gambler, and I was left with debt and utilities shutting off on me since he hadn't paid them in months. I needed a job FAST, and I needed to provide for my son, and cat, FAST. So I sucked up my pride and went to talk to family assistance. They helped with working out a deal with the utilities and my landlord. They got me insurance for my son and food assistance. They helped me sharpen my resume. Only one thing... They wouldn't cover cat food. I was at the store, almost in tears wondering how I would feed my cat, or who would take her in for me, when I noticed... hmm... tuna. Same sized can, cheap, covered by food assistance. Let's see if this will work.

 

a few weeks later, I had a job, things under control and I went off of assistance. I think my cat was the only one upset by that fact.

[brandimom]

I used to be more of a hard butt about it. But, there's a difference between young, healthy, robust, and shining you on ... vs. older, maybe has some health problems, needs to keep weight on, etc. Sounds like you know the difference, and you're doing what's best for you and your lovely dog.

Totally agree with Batmom. I would like to think I would do the same for my dog if she became picky.

[Busderpuddle]

I hope when I get old I can eat nothing but raspberries and ice cream. I think the tuna is just fine.

[MarcR]

My picky eater was Nadia. I used to be in the "hard butt" camp, too (although I did try a few different kibble formulas before I found one Her Grace would eat regularly). But Nadia was on heart meds for many years, meds that needed to be taken with meals. Toward the end I was actually cooking ground turkey and rice for her, something I thought I would never do for one of my dogs. But it was the only thing she would eat consistently and she had dropped so much weight (down to 45 pounds from 60+) that I did what I needed to do.

 

Ironically, none of my cats have been finicky eaters

[GeorgeofNE]

I was going to suggest that stinky "tuna" cat food is a lot less expensive than actual tuna! And trust me, dogs like it just as well!

[Guest kahjul]

I have a diva that won't eat. Shes only 4 and has been like this forever. She came to us at 12 weeks almost dead. Her first few months were on/off an iv drip and in/out of the vet. We fed her whatever she would eat as a pup so that has continued into her adult life. I shudder to think what she'll be like when shes old! Right now she gets honey nut cheerios with peanut butter (mixed in dog food) for breakfast and a cup of cooked chicken over kibble with dinner. That will last a month or so, then she'll stop eating those options for a while. She doesn't like any kind of fish and won't eat anything raw. My other 2 get kibble only, but they're quick to lick out the divas bowl when shes done.

[Guest chickenpotpie]

Thankfully my girl isn't too picky (except with tripe, but maybe its because she knows I hate the smell?? ) but yeah I will admit I do cater to her tastes. She's taking a great liking to bananas, so I give her a half of banana in her morning food with a little coconut oil. She doesn't like to eat a lot in the morning, she gets literally 1/4 cup kibble, a spoon of oatmeal (5 grain), coconut oil, and her 1/2 nanner. More than that and she starts leaving food behind. She's not big on kibble in the evening, plus giving her kibble twice a day dosen't agree with her tummy for whatever reason. So I let her eat raw which is preferable to her (or sometimes cooked, depending on what I'm doing at the time!) and better for her tummy. She gets her veggies, turkey neck or fish, sometimes lamb, sometimes rabbit (our grocery store sells it so why not right?) or depending if they have it, organ meat (heart or liver are the favorites) I can't do fresh tripe again, I damn near lost my stomach contents.

 

At any rate I do what I can to make sure she eats well, and is happy with it.

Edited July 17, 2013 by chickenpotpie

[MP_the4pack]

There are worse things .

 

[sobesmom]

4Health (Tractor Supply brand) Salmon dogfood looks and smells like old-lady's catfood. NASTY. That was a mistake. No more experiments with cheaper but pretty much equivalent brands. Ick.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

I baby my nearly 16 year old Whippet, too. In fact he only eats canned food and some raw now- no kibble at all UNLESS someone else doesn't finish theirs and he decides to "steal" it. That's the only way he'll eat kibble, and not much even then. I think it's okay sometimes.

 

Lately my young Whippet hasn't been eating his food, like the past three days... but he's almost fat, so I am not worried yet, and he's always been a big eater. Now with him, I'm going to tough it out, unless I see a sign something is wrong (so far he's as crazy and happy as ever and everything else is normal).

 

As for my Greyhound senior, when I got her she was underweight and reluctant to eat. I did baby her, and now she's a pig. She'll eat plain dry kibble, and if I mix canned and water, she inhales it. She will also eat raw.

[scullysmum]

There are worse things .

Much worse Maybe Diana's taste has changed since she was younger, maybe her body needs something that's in the Tuna that she wasn't getting in her "normal" food....maybe she just wants to find out how much of a "soft touch" you are....been there, done that.