Geriatric Barely Eating

[Guest ShelbysMom]

Shelby has been having eating issues for a couple of months now, but in the last week her food intake has dropped dramatically. The vet did a geriatric exam about 3 months ago, and there were no red flags raised other than she's obviously in a decline that was said to be basically normal. They were actually impressed with how well she has aged....how few problems she has had throughout her life with us.

 

That said, she has lost an alarming (at least to me) amount of weight. She naturally dropped from her more youthful weight of 72lbs to about 68lbs as she turned about 11 years old, and she had maintained that until late summer this year. Then her eating changed.

 

She began skipping a meal here and there. Then she started skipping a day of eating altogether about every 3 days. Her last weigh in was 3 weeks ago when she was at 60.8 lbs. Since then her eating has declined even more....especially in the last week. She hardly gets even a quarter of a normal meal in each day when she used to eat 2 large meals a day. Her abdomen is so small, every rib is extremely visible, every vertebrae is prominent down her back.

 

Today I discovered DogSure. I pulverized her kibble and mixed that with a half serving of DogSure, and she ate ALL of it! Hopefully she'll still like it tomorrow, as that is how it goes with her these days.

 

I'm open to any suggestions regarding how to get her to eat. I do realize that she won't be around much longer, but she isn't giving up just yet ... so neither am I.

[KF_in_Georgia]

I used to grind 3 cups of kibble in the morning, then add a half-cup of the crumbled kibble to multiple meals during the day: oatmeal, rice, Ensure, yogurt--whatever I thought might tempt my old boy. I also fed him four meals a day. He needed pills that often, they needed to be taken with food, and he was much better at eating lots of small meals rather than a couple of bigger meals. (He didn't want to stand long enough for a big meal.)

[Charla]

My Gracie did that and as has been suggested above she did better with several smaller meals a day. I had to keep a variety on hand as what was eaten one day often wasn't the next. Wet foods mixed in with kibble, smelly foods ... sardines, Jack Mackerel, tuna, wet cat food either alone or mixed with a bit of kibble. Vanilla Insure, cottage cheese, crock pot rice and chicken thighs cooked until gloopy. She loved store bought rotisserie chicken ... breast only! and would often eat that with smashed potato or rice. In other words I fed her whatever she would eat, some days it was just Milkbone cookies and some vanilla Insure.

 

Carl, now 13.5 is starting to skip meals or eat just one meal a lot later in the day, so far adding Parmesan cheese or Tripett green tripe does the trick.

[Guest ShelbysMom]

I used to grind 3 cups of kibble in the morning, then add a half-cup of the crumbled kibble to multiple meals during the day: oatmeal, rice, Ensure, yogurt--whatever I thought might tempt my old boy. I also fed him four meals a day. He needed pills that often, they needed to be taken with food, and he was much better at eating lots of small meals rather than a couple of bigger meals. (He didn't want to stand long enough for a big meal.)

Today was the first time I ground up her kibble, and it worked at least this once. I would be thrilled if Shelby would eat 3 cups of kibble a day. The last 3-4 days she's barely eaten a 1/2 cup. I have been supplementing with whatever she will eat....chicken breast, turkey, and sometimes beef (though she is more likely to vomit beef). Up until 3-4 days ago she always had chicken and rice with her kibble (typically 2 cups of kibble a day), but that has turned into something she won't go near now.

 

I've not tried yogurt yet. I'll get a bit of that on hand as something I can rotate through with her.

 

Thank you.

[Guest ShelbysMom]

My Gracie did that and as has been suggested above she did better with several smaller meals a day.

I have switched over to 3 meals a day from 2, and that does seem to help. I've also noticed that she eats better later in the day.

[KF_in_Georgia]

My old Sam would carefully eat around his kibble. I started grinding it in an effort to make it something he'd eat by accident, and it worked. Giving him kibble every day meant I didn't have to worry about whether he was getting a balanced diet with the "add-ons" I was giving him. (But don't grind several days' worth at once because it goes stale--and less fragrant--quickly.) Sam adored vanilla Ensure. Or I'd cook oatmeal at night and let it cool, then add a couple of tablespoons of blueberry yogurt to the oatmeal for breakfast. His teeth were okay: he could handle a cookie without a problem. But he just didn't want to eat crunchy. Also, he liked smellier stuff later in the day--stuff like tuna. He wasn't eating as much at breakfast, and he might have been a little queasy first thing in the morning. But later in the day, he was doing better. I was feeding him roughly every 6 hours. Sometimes, I'd set an alarm, get up and feed him and give him his pills, then go back to bed. But I needed for him to get food on his stomach before the pills hit, so I never gave the pills until I'd seen him eat something.

[greysmom]

Beneful Prepared Meals. Not the best, but certainly not the worst. Smells good, tastes good, and that encourages them to eat. Cottage cheese and scrambled eggs with cheese are both good as they have a lot more protein. You can also try all meat baby food. If she likes wet food more, just switch her to all canned food. There's no law that she has to eat kibble. Add some pasta or mashed sweet potatoe if the canned food needs a carb source.

 

If she is interested in food and food preparation, but then doesn't want to eat, that indicates she's slightly nauseous - she wants to eat, but it upsets her stomach to smell it.

 

One thing that worked with my picky seniors was to give them just a *very* small amount in their bowls at first - just a tablespoon or two - and let them eat that. Then put in another spoonful, and another. If she begins to look up at you for more spoonfuls you can add more each time. Yes, it's pretty labor intensive that way, but it did encourage them to eat a bit more at each meal.

[Charla]

Ditto what Chris just said about trying a spoonful in the dish at a time, sometimes it just takes a bite of food and a bit of time to pass for any nausea to pass and they will start to feel hungry.

[Remolacha]

What the others have said, multiple small meals, change things up, let her eat whatever she wants. Stinky stuff, baby food, green tripe, sweet bread, Cheerios.

[Guest ShelbysMom]

So is it normal for the nausea to be at its worse in the morning? 5th time in a bit more than a week that Shelby spit up a little bile first thing in the morning after getting up. I gave her a Pepcid-type pill last night at bedtime hoping that would help, but same thing this morning as yesterday without the Pepcid.

 

If not Pepcid-like meds, is there something else she can have to calm the stomach? I'll call my vet first thing in the morning to ask for it.

 

Thank you again for all the support. Sounds like what Shelby is doing is pretty normal for her age. It still breaks my heart to see this happening.

[45MPHK9]

Our 12.5 year old Murray loves Costco rotisserie chickens.

[MaryJane]

Give her something at night before she goes to sleep - maybe a few tablespoons of unsweetened applesauce mixed with a bit of yogurt. It could be that her empty stomach is giving her some distress in the morning.

 

Also, try removing the kibble entirely from her food. Give her rice, cooked mashed up veggies, and a few tablespoons of some chicken or beef cut up in small pieces. Add almond milk (or regular milk) to make it more soupy.

 

It could be that she is having trouble digesting the kibble as she has gotten older. She might also have some trouble with her teeth/chewing and that is preventing her from eating large amounts at one time.

[winnie]

What worked best with our super senior Darcy when she was 14.5+ was mixing in can food with kibble and water. We had her seperated from the other dogs while we were at work. She didn't eat well when other dogs or people were around. So, we just loaded up her bowl at breakfast time. It would often take her all day to finish it, but we almost always came home to an empty bowl.

[Guest ShelbysMom]

Our 12.5 year old Murray loves Costco rotisserie chickens.

That is Shelby's favorite as well.

 

Give her something at night before she goes to sleep - maybe a few tablespoons of unsweetened applesauce mixed with a bit of yogurt. It could be that her empty stomach is giving her some distress in the morning.

 

Also, try removing the kibble entirely from her food. Give her rice, cooked mashed up veggies, and a few tablespoons of some chicken or beef cut up in small pieces. Add almond milk (or regular milk) to make it more soupy.

 

It could be that she is having trouble digesting the kibble as she has gotten older. She might also have some trouble with her teeth/chewing and that is preventing her from eating large amounts at one time.

 

I think you may be right about the empty stomach in the morning. Maybe I should set an alarm during the night to feed her a small meal again (she is already eating a little something around 9:30 at night). Shelby began turning away from rice and veggies about 4 days ago. I have begun grinding up the kibble even though her teeth are doing really well according to the vet, but it still seems to help.

What worked best with our super senior Darcy when she was 14.5+ was mixing in can food with kibble and water. We had her seperated from the other dogs while we were at work. She didn't eat well when other dogs or people were around. So, we just loaded up her bowl at breakfast time. It would often take her all day to finish it, but we almost always came home to an empty bowl.

That was a go to option about a month ago, but it too doesn't seem to work anymore. The many suggestions offered about 4-5 small meals throughout the day worked the last 2 days. Fingers crossed that it keeps working.

[greysmom]

So is it normal for the nausea to be at its worse in the morning? 5th time in a bit more than a week that Shelby spit up a little bile first thing in the morning after getting up. I gave her a Pepcid-type pill last night at bedtime hoping that would help, but same thing this morning as yesterday without the Pepcid.

 

If not Pepcid-like meds, is there something else she can have to calm the stomach? I'll call my vet first thing in the morning to ask for it.

 

Thank you again for all the support. Sounds like what Shelby is doing is pretty normal for her age. It still breaks my heart to see this happening.

 

An acid reliever won't work overnight to prevent difficulties at breakfast. It needs to be given 20-30 minutes before eating. You also mentioned she was getting a bedtime snack, so you should give a Pepcid prior to this snack too.

 

If she doesn't like/won't eat kibble anymore, just drop it. She'll do better with more nutritious, fresh food. You might try cooking something in the crock pot for her, there are loads of recipes on the web for home made dog food.

[FiveRoooooers]

{{Shelby}} You have received so many good suggestions! I'm pasting below the list of noms I started for Zeke-aroni and finished with Seamie - I hope there will be something here that Shelby will want to try.

 

Noms I might enjoy today. But KNOT tomorrow.

But perhaps again another time (pick a day …)

Compiled by: A senior hound ♥

Kibble: pulverized; wet with chicken broth or water

Chicken: ground; breast or thigh nuked and cut into pieces; rotisserie

Turkey: ditto

Beef: ground; cheezberger plane

Sardine Saturday

Peanut butter: plane or on anything!

Scrambled eggs; plane or add cheese (cottage; cheddar, American, spray, shakey)

Scrambled eggs with ground turkey or chicken (add cheese?)

Pasta, any shape

Egg noodles, plane or with: butter, peanut butter, ground chicken, turkey, or beef

Waffles, with butter; peanut butter; syrup (small amount)

Pancakes: ditto

Oatmeal: ditto

TEXAS Toast, with butter or peanut butter

Ensure (vanilla or strawberry)

Vanilla ice cream or yogurt

Applesauce

Liverwurst, sparingly

Hot dogs, chicken, turkey, beef; boiled; sliced small & nuked til crisp; use as meal/topper.

Shakey cheese

Any cheese!

Assorted canned noms: Merrick’s Grandma’s ChickenPotPie, 95% Tripe, any flavor!;

Purina One chicken; whatever flavors they’ll eat: Alpo or Pedigree

Natural Balance (or other) rolls

Canned puppy food to keep weight on old bones

Crockpot Stew:

water, broccoli, canned (real) pumpkin, white rice, chicken breast, water

Lemon Loaf

Peanut Better Biscuits

Cereal: Chex Mix, Cheerios, Kellogg’s Corn Pops, Apple Jacks

Bananas, Apples

Green Beans

Zucchini

Sweet potato: nuked or baked; plane or with butter

Instant potatoes

Vanilla Oreos

White bread, with seedless strawberry jam (PB&J!)

Quinoa, with or without butter and/or shredded or shaky cheese

Your LEFTOVERS!!

[Guest ShelbysMom]

{{Shelby}} You have received so many good suggestions! I'm pasting below the list of noms I started for Zeke-aroni and finished with Seamie - I hope there will be something here that Shelby will want to try.

What a wonderful list of good eats. Thank you so much for sharing this.

 

I'm so glad I came back to Greytalk after so many years absent. I've received so much support in such a short time.....and none too soon.

 

Shelby is on day 3 of eating much, much better. She even has a spark in her eyes today I haven't seen in about a week. Fingers crossed that all of these suggestions will keep her eating just a little longer. I love my heart doggie so much!

[Batmom]

Hugs to you and your girl. Glad she is eating better.

[galgrey]

What a wonderful list of good eats. Thank you so much for sharing this.

 

I'm so glad I came back to Greytalk after so many years absent. I've received so much support in such a short time.....and none too soon.

 

Shelby is on day 3 of eating much, much better. She even has a spark in her eyes today I haven't seen in about a week. Fingers crossed that all of these suggestions will keep her eating just a little longer. I love my heart doggie so much!

So glad to hear it.

[FiveRoooooers]

What a wonderful list of good eats. Thank you so much for sharing this.

 

I'm so glad I came back to Greytalk after so many years absent. I've received so much support in such a short time.....and none too soon.

 

Shelby is on day 3 of eating much, much better. She even has a spark in her eyes today I haven't seen in about a week. Fingers crossed that all of these suggestions will keep her eating just a little longer. I love my heart doggie so much!

Good girl Shelby

[Hubcitypam]

When Rex wouldn't eat it was a total crapshoot. As stated above, every day was different.

Some things he liked:

freeze dried liver

liverwurst

hot dogs

braunschweiger

tuna

jack mackerel

salmon

sardines in tomato sauce

scrambled eggs

mashed potatoes

soft cheese

ice cream - DQ soft serve

McDonald's plain cheeseburgers
...and the very popular live trap bait - McDonald's plain Filet 'O Fish

 

Gosh - I still remember when I took Buck down to Corsicana to search for a lost greyhound years and he cued and pulled me. I thought we had the long lost dog but Buck took me straight to the trap with the fish sandwich inside. Sheba and other smelly cat food can also work well sometimes.

[Guest ShelbysMom]

After 3good dats of eating, Shelby once again turned her nose to most food offerings yesterday. I tried everything I had on hand (chicken liver canned food, salmon, unsalted beef broth, ensure...), and she barely touched any of it.

 

This morning upon her first outing to go potty, Shelby pumped that tiny little stomach of hers for several minutes. Less than a tablespoon of bile came up, and she just looked so miserable. I could hear her stomach squeaking loudly.

 

She's back inside on her bed resting for the time being. I'll try some food in about an hour. I guess I foolishly lead myself to believe these new food options miraculously solved all of her issues.

[Batmom]

{{{{{{{{{{Shelby}}}}}}}}}}

[MP_the4pack]

Onyx lived to 15. She would go several days without eating and just about when I was ready to ship her off to the vets, she'd start eating like there was no tomorrow.

Drove me nuts!

[Guest ShelbysMom]

Breakfast didn't go so well this morning. I think her stomach was still upset. So I headed off to work upset, and troubled over Shelby's health.

 

While at work though DH got creative. He went to the grocery store and bought some chicken liver and some ground chicken. He came home and proceeded to make a meatloaf for Shelby. Instead of bread crumbs, he used ground kibble. It didn't smell that great while cooking. However, Shelby took to it right away. So she's gotten one small meal in thus far today.

 

Fingers crossed that she still likes it later today.