Won't Eat,,half The Time

[Guest FordRacingRon]

Let me preface this with,,Leia is almost 11, her activity level is, well, what you would expect from an 11 year old. She just had her senior evaluation and blood tests in Dec and medically she is fine. She acts fine, she goes to the bathroom just fine.

 

So Leia won't eat,,but,,only her breakfast (sort of like the old days with Bill and his dinner!). No matter what I do to add things in, change foods no matter what, I cannot get her to eat her breakfast anymore. When dinner rolls around, no problem, down the hatch. But breakfast, just isn't happening.

 

Is this normal for an old dog, to not want their two meals anymore? I am seriously thinking of just blowing off breakfast and giving her the full amount of daily kibble at dinner time when she will eat.

 

Am I wrong here?

[misspiggy]

My two 12 year olds just eat dinner,but have treats during the day)

[LaFlaca]

At just 8 years old, Wendy's been doing this lately. Otherwise, she's her usual self. Vet says she's healthy. Is this just senior-syndrome?

[scullysmum]

Having always been the kind of dog who virtually "inhaled" her food, Sadi became quite fussy in the last 6 months or so of her life. I put it down to the reduced amount of exercise that she could manage. As long as she got one decent meal a day (even if that meant adding some yummy things) I was happy, she was not losing weight other than the muscle wasting that happens due to inability to walk much.

[Guest FordRacingRon]

You guys are making me feel better already.

 

Since it's been so long, wasn't the main reason we fed two smaller meals a day instead of one larger one was to prevent bloat ? if you have a dog that doesn't really run or excersice much after dinner (okay,never after dark) one meal is fine. Plus she doesn't inhale anymore either. Back in the day it was gone in 20 seconds,,now it is like she savors every bite!

At just 8 years old, Wendy's been doing this lately. Otherwise, she's her usual self. Vet says she's healthy. Is this just senior-syndrome?

What I am thinking,,,,sort of like now that I have made 62 trips around the sun I can go out to lunch and have enough left over for dinner. Sort of like, I need to eat off the kids menu again.

[Remolacha]

I have heard of many older dogs who do this, although so far none of my seniors have . As long as she medically checks out ok and seems fine, I would just skip breakfast, but maybe give her more treats during the day (I am sure that will be difficult ) The only reason I am aware of for feeding twice a day is to prevent a "sour" stomach and vomiting that clear stuff. If she is comfortable only eating once a day, that obviously isn't a problem.

[Guest FordRacingRon]

Thanks so far,,I neglected to mention she is 100% herself in every aspect of her daily life,,no difference at all except her not wanting to eat in the AM.

 

I also should mention this has been goign on for a couple of months but i could always trick her until this last week or so, she figured out all my tricks and the last few days she stands her ground now.

[LaFlaca]

I still offer breakfast every morning and leave it down for 1/2 hour. After that, it goes in the fridge and is served for dinner. It must be said that Wendy is a weirdo in that she won't eat if anyone is in the kitchen with her, or if a meal is served later (or earlier) than usual. When I start to worry is when she refuses breakfast when all seems right with her world.

[Guest budsmom]

Or you could just free feed her. Put out the full days worth of food in the morning and just let her munch all day whenever she wants. I had to do this with Twister starting last summer because she wouldn't eat when I wanted to feed her.

[Robin1017]

Robin Does This Sometimes Since The Past Year. I Try Not To Worry About It, But I Do Give Him "Second Supper." His Normal DinnerTime Is 5, So I Give Him MoreAgain At 7-7:30iIsh. That Way He Gets More In Him Daily. He Seems To Prefer His Meals Later In The Day Now For Some Reason.

[Guest IrskasMom]

My Morty is just going on 10 ( May ) and he will not eat Breakfast . He was a picky Eater to begin with ( by all means , not Food Motivated ) . Now I give him more for Dinner which he eats 2/3 and the Rest just before Bedtime. I have to add , he is not an active Dog but healthy all in all .

[Guest FordRacingRon]

I still offer breakfast every morning and leave it down for 1/2 hour. After that, it goes in the fridge and is served for dinner. It must be said that Wendy is a weirdo in that she won't eat if anyone is in the kitchen with her, or if a meal is served later (or earlier) than usual. When I start to worry is when she refuses breakfast when all seems right with her world.

Leia to,,she used to want you to watch her eat,,now she will wait for you to leave the room before she eats dinner.

 

I would free feed her but she has to have broth in her kibble and you know what that looks like after an half hour or so.

 

I think I am giving up on breakfast. Last couple of weeks we tell Leia "are you ready to stare at your breakfast" when we put it down. Now she won't have to worry about staring anymore!

[3greytjoys]

One of our hounds has refused to eat breakfast most days for seven years (since adoption); however, she has severe S.A. so the other dogs must have already eaten, and be resting on their beds. She needs to have eliminated just before her meal, and the stars must align perfectly for her to eat (still with a human nearby). If she waits too long and her tummy begins to gurgle, it's a challenge to get her to eat anything (even after a Pepcid)... sometimes for another day.

 

Whenever our other hounds (including the 12 year olds) refuse food, the first thing I consider is possible dental pain, then whether they are on medications that might change their appetite, then a possible problem with a particular food, then other medical issues.

 

Food storage is important too. If pouring food into a storage bin without thorough washing and drying after each batch, the oils build up in the storage bin and become rancid. The rancid oils contaminate the new food. Kibble manufacturers recommend storing kibble in it's own bag.

 

Good luck with your sweet Leia...

[KF_in_Georgia]

For a while, my angel Sam wasn't eating his kibble. If I added something yummy--rice, chicken, oatmeal, yogurt, Ensure, etc.--he'd eat the add-ons but leave the kibble.

 

I was worried about his weight. I also needed for him to eat frequent meals (4 a day) to cushion various meds he was taking, and I was worried about him not getting a balanced diet. I started sending three cups of kibble through the food processor each morning. I'd scoop some of the kibble into his bowl, add the yogurt or cooked oatmeal or whatever, and stir it up. Sam would clean his dish. This went on for several months. Then, one morning I was running late with grinding his kibble and I tossed him some kibble pieces to distract him. He ate the pieces, and from then on he'd eat his kibble--which I still usually fed with add-ons.

 

So if Leia's weight starts to be an issue, or if she's interested in eating fancy add-ons but not her kibble, you might try grinding the kibble and mixing it in. Then you can be reasonably sure she's getting a balanced diet.

 

P.S. Aside from Sam needing to get multiple meals a day to cushion his meds, he was having trouble with his back and his legs, so staying on his feet for a big meal got to be a problem. Four meals a day meant smaller, shorter meals, which seemed to agree with him.

[Guest FordRacingRon]

So to address some of the things,,she does eat her dinner no problem so if she had teeth trouble I would think Dinner would be out too,,as would her daily bully stick.

 

For a long time we did have to add tasty add-ins for her breakfast and none of her favorites work anymore, nothing at all. Chicken,,nothing. Not even stinky sardines.

 

Leia could stand to lose 5 pounds anyway. I woudl like her to drop some to get the weight off of her rear legs.

 

So as I am saying,,save for the 20 minutes every morning where we play, "Ignore the Breakfast",,her life is pretty much the same as it has been for 5 or more years (except her walks aren't 5 miles long anymore!).

[Burpdog]

Huston doesn't eat well some days in the morning. He's ready around 11 and at night sometimes at 5 and sometimes at 8 -- many times he will eat 2 - 3 times. I find the advanced age seniors like to eat between 10 and 12 at night.

Edited March 21, 2014 by Burpdog

[3greys2cats]

Late to this thread but wanted to add my experience w/Max who is approaching 12, he likes also to eat later in the day too, he likes to potty in the yard and then we walk @ a park. I add all his favorites too, chicken, fish, chicken livers, and now I feed @ 11 then @ 4 0r 5, then a little @ 7, smaller amounts. I do whatever works for him, snacks, he is not on any meds other than occasional Metacam when I see him getting up slower from laying down, this winter is taking its toll on his aging body. His walks are shorter and some days he statues in the middle of the road, gotta love Seniors

[Guest WhiteWave]

Not a Greyhound, but my senior JRT mix goes on and off breakfast. But he normally always eats supper. But then he has gone a few days w/o eating just to freak me out and then he will eat everything the next few days and go back to not eating breakfast, but eating supper. Drives me nuts. I started making a buffet. Seems to work. Give dry, can food, home cooked without mixing it. He doesn't like to take his meds and he knows I try to sneak them in so he will not touch dry food mixed with can, but if it all separated he tends to more inclined to eat it.

 

But he has gotten addicted to these salmon jerky treats and he expects one every night before bed. Petsmart stopped selling them, but I found them on Jeffers so I've been ordering them for him. My step Mom was like I would give him his food and if he didn't eat it, he could starve. No way, had the dog for almost 17 yrs, I'll do whatever it takes to get him to eat. He likes baked salmon over rice and I will cook it for him. Or if he wants beef and potatoes. Whatever he wants, he gets as long as he will eat. I have small bags of all kinds of food that that the other dogs end up eating cause he won't eat the same food for long.