Back To Not Eating

[Guest kar]

now snow is back to not eating. just had blood work and ultrasound all was normal. she will only pick the chicken out of her dog food. will not touch the dry food. I take her to the vet tomorrow. I am afraid he might tell me to put her down. any one have any suggestions.

[RedHead]

If she is eating chicken, why not try a simple homecooked diet? You can buy supplements from a few companies and prepare a very simple diet with only 2 or 3 ingredients. Sweet potato has a decent amount of nutrition, even a mixture of that with some rice or pasta and chicken would be fine to try for a few weeks. Eggs are great too.

[lukasmom]

What about Honest Kitchen foods or their bone broth.Bone Broth is really good for sick dogs.

[Guest IrskasMom]

I know what you are going through. RedHead had a good Suggestion

[greyhoundlady]

Can she have ground turkey? (I usually do this with hamburger, but just made a batch with ground turkey tonight and there isn't a morsel in the bowl.). Make a mixture with an egg, oatmeal, finely chopped fruit and veggies, turkey, and grill the patties, broil them or just cook it all in a skillet. See if she will eat that, and if so, add a little kibble to her bowl, add in some water and the turkey mixture to see if she will eat that. I have added sardines, Parmesan cheese, regular cheese - just to,change things up. She may just not like her kibble - I wouldn't force her to eat it, but then it doesn't sound like she will anyway.

 

It sounds like you just need to get her to eat, so maybe what we humans eat will work for a while. The above suggestions are good too. Sweet potatoes mashed down are a favorite here.

[Guest gordysmom96]

If her blood work & usound are normal and she's just being a picky eater, there shouldn't be a reason to put her down. Has she lost a lot of weight? Have you considered a home cooked diet, like another poster mentioned? My girly sometimes doesn't eat b/c she doesn't like her food, due to who knows what reason such as the same ole food everyday, may not be hungry or an undetermined reason.

 

My girl is raw fed which is healthier than kibble, IMO. Research raw feeding and you may be surprised that it's relatively inexpensive.

 

Have you tried cooked or grilled burger? Grilled is more palatable than boiled. My girly was recently in chemo meds, which suppressed her appetite. Grilled food made a huge difference. Granted, grilling may not be an option, but pan frying would be an alternative. Don't give up! Give her/him lots of love and good quality food & treats.

[Batmom]

Feed her what she'll eat.

[cleptogrey]

Cook for her as you would for yourself. Make it flavorful,sauté meats and add some herbs,chicken broth. Yams are excelkent,mashed white potatoes, couscous (messy but my dogs like it better than pasta).and don't forget Greek yogurt, my dogs adore it.costco chicken,a deal! And remember to warm it up,more flavorful. Pet tabs or another dog vitamin and alternate meats. She may be a dog who eats once a day. All of my Salukis ate once a day since they were such picky eaters.

Edited September 19, 2016 by cleptogrey

[greysmom]

Feed her what she'll eat.

 

This.

 

Keep in mind, there's no law that says a dog *has* to eat kibble. There's nothing special about it, it's just a more cost effective and less labor intensive way to get nutrition into your dog. If she likes the chicken, give her chicken. Add in some pasta and mashed veggies if she'll eat them (cook the veggies in broth for more flavor). But you might also try just giving her a canned chicken dog food. Some have additives that make it a "complete" food without adding supplements, some need the vitamins and minerals added if you're going to feed it long term.

 

You can also ask your vet about mirtazipine (I think) which is an appetite stimulant. It doesn't work in every situation, though it's worth a try.

[smurfette]

When I started feeding raw Andy just stopped eating kibble at all. I had the idea that they could have kibble in the morning and raw in the evening - Andy had other ideas.

And it was a bumpy road finding out what he likes - sheep, beef, chicken and horse are great. Fish was buried under the rug. And don't let me start about vegetables... He eats everything cooked, even cucumbers.

 

I agree, feed what the dog likes.

[MP_the4pack]

I agree with just feed her what she wants.

[macoduck]

It's very confusing to follow all your postings about Snow not eating. People are trying to give you repeated suggestions on the same or similar questions in each new thread you start.

It would be much easier to follow and to offer meals suggestions if you kept only one thread. It must also be difficult for you to follow posts in multiple threads you've started.

We are all wishing only the best for your girl and less stress for you.

[cleptogrey]

my friend's dog lived to a hearty age of 17 eating fried liver every night???? another dog lived to the same age eating cooked pasta, meat and veggies. both looked great, were active and 17 is really old. my friend's champion coursing saluki- 18- 4 years on either rice or pasta and one protein source. i have owned 2 dogs who were are limited protein- one survived parvo and he ate rice for 6 years and that was it! the other had kidney disease that accompanied addison's disease and was on steroids for 10 years- again rice to the rescue. 12 years of an addisonian, that's unheard of. LIVING ON RICE ALONE .....that's ridiculous, but both died at 12. the parvo survivor had liver cancer in the end. obviously this food thing might be marketing. go know-

[Guest MnMDogs]

Agree with others, just feed her what she wants. She is eating, she just doesn't like the kibble, it's easy enough to just feed her the food she likes.

 

I also agree with Macoduck, it's confusing to follow all the threads. but it seems like you have in your mind that it's time to euthanize her every time she is a little picky. I'm not understanding why you just don't give her the food that she will eat.

[Roo]

Daisy the terrier is picky too. She won't eat now unless I mix meat in, and even then she picks out the good chunks! I've tried kibble and canned - she'll eat each for a couple days then turn her nose up unless I mix in meat chunks.

 

I just made a food addition for her - it's worked in the past, so it might be worth a try for you. Not too much cooking (unless you're like me and like to hover over soup while it's simmering!) and pretty easy to do:

 

1.5 pounds of soup bones and 1 pound of ground meat (I use beef since chicken doesn't agree with Daisy, but you could easily toss a whole raw chicken into a pot of water and make a broth that way - even less work!)

1 bag frozen mixed veggies

1.25ish cups of oatmeal

4 eggs

 

I put the bones in a pot with just enough water to cover them, brought it to a boil, then reduced to simmer for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, I sautéed the meat and added the eggs, mixing to scramble, at the very end. After the soup had been simmering for 45 minutes, I tossed in the frozen veggies. Five minutes later I added the oatmeal, then the meat and egg mix. I let the whole thing simmer for about ten more minutes, then fished out the bones and strained the solids out of the broth. I'll blend the solids after they cool and add only as much broth as necessary to make it a good consistency. The rest of the broth will go in the freezer in ice cube trays (or muffin tins, I may be out of empty trays) lined with plastic wrap. That way I'll have some extra broth for when she decides she won't eat canned food but will only eat kibble if it doesn't taste like kibble

 

You can add or take away or switch out anything she can't have, and if she'll eat whatever it is you make, you can get supplements to make it nutritionally complete. I based mine on a recipe I got from a vet, but tweaked it as she wanted me to use grass fed beef heart and supplements from her little shop, which wasn't going to happen. That's why mine is an addition to her regular food and not a complete diet!

[Guest FordRacingRon]

Feed her what she'll eat.

This.

 

Don't get me started on all the different garbage I have put in my 131/2 year old to keep her going. Now it is mostly hamburger, chicken thighs (all the fat and junk taken off) and Merrick dog food.

 

For a spell all she would eat was the meat off of El Pollo Loco chicken. Then all she would eat was deli sliced roast beef. But I never gave up on her and she finally got back to a sort of normal diet. She likes Merrick canned food , sometimes Merrick kibble mixed in, and once in a while a Little Ceaser's dog food.

 

The vet..a long time ago...gave me a prescription for Mirtazapine and that turned her into an eating machine for a while. Now I may use one pill a month,,if her appetite starts to wean, I give her a half a dose and away she goes.

 

PS: she is not sick, has been tested for everything, and we get blood tests every 6 months since she was 11. She takes Rimadyl and Trazadone for her hips and Diazapam for her nerves.

[Guest gordysmom96]

Based on the majority of us posters' comments, our doggies, whether they are terriers or greys, are picky, picky, picky eaters. Not to be flippant, but if they were human children it would be easier to get them to eat. But, they're doggies and they happen to be.... Anyways, give your hound whatever they'll eat (as most posters stated). Yes, it may be a hassle, but you'll find what works. My girly niwcsnjbs her schnoz at raw chicken neck, which she's been eating for weeks! She'll eat nuked turkey burger probably because it contains its cooked juices. Whatever works, give it. Don't give up!

[Guest kar]

I know I tend to jump around. and that's not good. knock on wood - she is on a kidney diet for pln. that is what makes things so difficult. she cannot have a lot of protein. finally brought her back to vet and told him after she lost another two pounds cant I change her food to my cousins - even though it is not kidney diet. so now I give her a little chicken, rice, 1/2 kidney diet half regular food and she seems to be eating. I am afraid to say that because in two days she might decide differently. I will keep trying. She'd love to eat my sandwich when I have one so he opted against the appetite stimulant because she will eat everything she is not supposed to have. thank you for your suggestions. last year she weighted 76 lbs. now weighs 67. I want to get her weight up a little.

 

on another note does anyone brush their grey's teeth. she needs a dental but has had two weird episodes, vet does not want to put her under. he said it would not hurt to try to brush her teeth.

[Guest FordRacingRon]

 

 

on another note does anyone brush their grey's teeth. she needs a dental but has had two weird episodes, vet does not want to put her under. he said it would not hurt to try to brush her teeth.

All the time, everyday. Leia thinks it's like eating with the chicken poultry flavored toothpaste. she loves it. I also spray her teeth with this everyday..:

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FB0GI4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

She is right around the corner of 13 1/2,,she has never had a dental cleaning. She could use one now and probably could have used one a year ago but I think she is too old to put under now. So we brush and spray,,everyday. She had a gum infection aobut 6 months ago but she is too old for a knockout so some antibiotics and using that spray 2 times a day knocked the infection out.

[Batmom]

Regarding teeth -- if vet is hesitant to put her under, ask if he/she has an ultrasonic scaler or knows someone who does. Several of my greys have been willing to just stand there (or lie down) while someone scales their teeth with the ultrasonic. Can't address big issues but can at least get some of the crud off, and yes, you *can* get under the gumline.

 

Food -- with kidney disease dogs, sometimes you have to bend the rules a little to get them to eat.

 

Hugs and best luck going on.