Ideas For Picky Eaters?

[Roo]

Daisy is not a greyhound, but as I am a greyhound person I am turning to you guys for help

 

Daisy has decided not to eat. For three months (a record for her) she cleaned her plate at every meal. For the past week, she hasn't really eaten a full meal despite the fact that nothing has changed.

 

She was just at the vet last week for some regurgitation problems and we were told to start pepcid. This is when the eating problems started. She ate a meal with her pepcid, then was acting nauseous the next day, wouldn't eat, threw up bile, then gobbled down dinner. I stopped the pepcid for two days and she ate alright, then I started the pepcid again. Two doses in and she stopped eating, only her appetite hasn't come back even after stopping it. I doubt the pepcid s causing the problem, but it was all I could think of!

 

Anyway, the vet suggested feeding her meat and rice, so I bought beef and rice and gave her a bowl of that last night after three days of her barely touching her food. She gobbled it up. Had the same thing for breakfast this morning. I'm going to try mixing in some canned food tonight but I'm not optimistic - she's still being picky about anything that isn't meat and rice, so she likely won't eat anything that smells like canned food.

 

My question, then, is what homemade meat-based food can I give her so that she eats but still gets good nutrition? She's 13 and has a variety of medical problems that we're keeping an eye on so eating is really important (in other words, I can't just wait her out). We're headed to the vet for chest x-rays on Wednesday (checking in on how her heart is doing - she's been coughing more recently and is less willing to drag along behind me on a walk) and I'll ask her, but it would be nice to have some ideas going in.

[XTRAWLD]

That Pedigree Gravy type canned stuff usually is rarely turned down from my previous experience. Try warming it up a bit before feeding it for extra stink. There is also a very high caloric and gentle gastro intestinal tract canned food you can likely pick up at the vet (I think it's Hills). Not cheap, but if you can only get a bit into her, it's easier to get more calories in her with a small amount imo.

 

I've also done really bland to just get nutrition into her, like broth and rice. Perhaps sardines to the mix would be stinky and inviting enough. Baby food is also a popular option, but that can have a set of issues on the other end since you are trying so many different foods to get her to eat, she will have an upset tummy.

[Roo]

That Pedigree Gravy type canned stuff usually is rarely turned down from my previous experience. Try warming it up a bit before feeding it for extra stink. There is also a very high caloric and gentle gastro intestinal tract canned food you can likely pick up at the vet (I think it's Hills). Not cheap, but if you can only get a bit into her, it's easier to get more calories in her with a small amount imo.

 

I've also done really bland to just get nutrition into her, like broth and rice. Perhaps sardines to the mix would be stinky and inviting enough. Baby food is also a popular option, but that can have a set of issues on the other end since you are trying so many different foods to get her to eat, she will have an upset tummy.

 

She actually handles food changes surprisingly well, but the Merrick canned I tried the other day did have a somewhat loosening effect on her I'll pick up some Pedigree gravy and ask the vet about the Hills stuff. I bought a small can of Nature's Variety Instinct Rabbit (which she's eaten and enjoyed in the past but which is too expensive for me to get regularly, especially when she's being snooty about her food) so I'll try that this afternoon.

 

She's picky about her fish food - sometimes she'll eat fish-based foods, other times she sniffs it and turns her nose up because it smells too fishy. I heat all of her meals anyway because she won't eat if it's cold, but recently she won't eat when it's warm either

 

At this point, I'm willing to just feed her whatever she wants (which seems to be limited to meat and rice - she refused her egg white today) but I want to make sure she's actually getting proper nutrition, too.

[Remolacha]

Try sprinkling some stinky cheese, like Parmesan on top of the food, that usually helps (for awhile, anyway ) Another stinky food that is rarely refused is green tripe. Good luck, feeding picky old dogs can be so frustrating!

[JohnF]

Try sprinkling some stinky cheese, like Parmesan on top of the food, that usually helps (for awhile, anyway ) Another stinky food that is rarely refused is green tripe. Good luck, feeding picky old dogs can be so frustrating!

 

That's a good idea, even reasonably mature cheddar will do. Just sprinkle a little on to start, then mix the contents of the dog's bowl two or three times and sprinkle as the dog is eating. They'll try to pick the cheese out but fail as it is now stuck to the food you want them to eat.

 

If Kidney disease is involved you'll need to tackle nausea, also the use of acid supressants can ruin the gut flora for quite a long time, as indeed will antibiotics. So feeding probiotics can help.

[Roo]

 

That's a good idea, even reasonably mature cheddar will do. Just sprinkle a little on to start, then mix the contents of the dog's bowl two or three times and sprinkle as the dog is eating. They'll try to pick the cheese out but fail as it is now stuck to the food you want them to eat.

 

If Kidney disease is involved you'll need to tackle nausea, also the use of acid supressants can ruin the gut flora for quite a long time, as indeed will antibiotics. So feeding probiotics can help.

Oh, that must be why the vet suggested a probiotic! She didn't say why and I couldn't puzzle it out. Thanks! I've stopped the pepcid but if there's something causing nausea, we'll give it another try and add probiotics this time.

 

I've tried parmesan and she no longer has any interest in it

 

She also will not touch peanut butter! She's so strange

 

Haven't tried tripe but that may be my next stop. Where do you even buy it?

[palmettobug]

Do you have a large Hispanic community? Their groceries stores should have it. Or maybe Amazon, they have everything!

[Roo]

Do you have a large Hispanic community? Their groceries stores should have it. Or maybe Amazon, they have everything!

 

I was just at an international market! Wish I'd thought to look They have stuff from all over Asia, Mexico, India, etc - bet they'd have tripe. Guess I'm going back!

[Time4ANap]

If you get tripe you can make menudo for her!

[macoduck]

Since Daisy fancies herself a hunter, tell her whatever you give her ..... is bear meat!

[Remolacha]

The tripe you get at ethnic markets is usually bleached, not what you want. Green tripe looks like what it is, the contents of a cow's gut and it stinks! If you have any independent pet stores, you may be able to get the frozen, or more likely the canned. The bleached won't hurt her, but it has lost most of its nutrients and isn't as stinky, which is what you are going for

[JohnF]

>>She also will not touch peanut butter! She's so strange>>>

 

That is a big red flag, I don't know of any well dog that doesn't like peanut butter.

 

Stopping the pepcid might allow a really sore stomach lining to develop, so why not ask the vet if Omeprazole would be better?

 

If not already done, have kidney and liver bloodwork testd so that you have a base point from which to start working

[Roo]

She's eagerly gobbling up meat and dog treats, and she'll eat peanuts - just not peanut butter

 

She hasn't been on pepcid long-term - just a couple doses. We're not even sure if acid reflux is causing the regurgitation or if it's something else. It doesn't happen every day but has become more common recently - at least once every week or two.

 

She needs to start a daily dose of Benadryl for mast cell tumors but I have such a hard time getting pills into her. Lunch meat is the only fairly reliable vehicle for pills, but that only works sometimes and I'm not fond of the sodium content, even when I get the lowest-sodium option. I'm waiting till she's eating fairly reliably before adding anything else.

 

She ate most of her dinner, but she did it slowly and with many glances in my direction to make sure I knew she didn't like the addition of the canned food

 

She had blood work done in August (came back all good with slightly low blood sugar) and the vet didn't say we should repeat it, but I'll ask about it on Wednesday.

Edited January 27, 2017 by Roo

[Busderpuddle]

>>She also will not touch peanut butter! She's so strange>>>

 

That is a big red flag, I don't know of any well dog that doesn't like peanut butter.

 

Stopping the pepcid might allow a really sore stomach lining to develop, so why not ask the vet if Omeprazole would be better?

 

If not already done, have kidney and liver bloodwork testd so that you have a base point from which to start working

Ruby is SUPER picky too, and she will not eat peanut butter. When Ruby had stomach issues a year or so ago, I boiled rice forever and some chicken, and then mashed up a dog vitamin (Dr. Foster and Smith) and she hoovered it down. She also had trouble with the Pepcid.

[RedHead]

There are now vitamin powders which you can add to rice and meat to make balanced meals. BalanceIT is run by veterinary nutritionists (also does homemade vet diets for health conditions) and has recipe plans that are pretty simple (basically a carb/meat/oil plus the vitamin powder) . I know someone who feeds it and basically cooks rice and chicken + an omega oil and the supplement powder.

 

Not sure on costs, etc. as I have never tried it.

https://secure.balanceit.com/info/videos_usage.php?m=cooking

 

 

 

[Roo]

There are now vitamin powders which you can add to rice and meat to make balanced meals. BalanceIT is run by veterinary nutritionists (also does homemade vet diets for health conditions) and has recipe plans that are pretty simple (basically a carb/meat/oil plus the vitamin powder) . I know someone who feeds it and basically cooks rice and chicken + an omega oil and the supplement powder.

 

Not sure on costs, etc. as I have never tried it.

https://secure.balanceit.com/info/videos_usage.php?m=cooking

 

 

 

Thank you!! I'm okay with spending on this - it'll probably end up being cheaper in the long run than all the food I've been buying and throwing away (half cans and the tail end of a bag of kibble that no shelter would want donated). I wonder if they'd let us sample it...

[PrairieProf]

Olewo beets and carrots totally turned around my friend's Akita's reluctant eating when I turned her onto them. You can find a zillion threads about them here.

[Guest Cilla]

My sheperd dog Dora has the same problem, she gets bored of her food after a couple of days. She eats one meal of kibble plus a tablespoon of canned meat and one homemade meal. She likes pasta more than rice and she likes oats flakes too. Every night I change type of meat, she likes pork more than others. I add one graped carrot or an apple or some peas and a tablespoon of corn oil. That's quite a job but she hoovers the whole meal!

[palmettobug]

My cat takes cyproheptadine for his mast cell --one of the side effects is "may increase appetite". So you may want to ask your vet if you can use that instead of the benadryl!

[FiveRoooooers]

Seamie's List is here, post #11.

[Jerilyn]

Have you tried putting her food on or in something other than her regular bowl? It probably won't work if she's really not feeling well, but it might if she's just being finicky. A simple paper plate has worked wonders here.

[Roo]

I've tried putting her food in other things and sometimes it'll work, sometimes not. She already eats out of a cheap ceramic bowl because she won't eat out of stainless steel. If she nibbles then goes away, I dump it on a paper plate and she'll nibble a little more, but it never gets her to finish it. Part of the problem is just her finickiness but the other part is the fact that I have to hold the plate still or it slides all over the room, and she has somehow recently decided that me being close to her while she's eating is scary. I have to stand across the room and not look directly at her, but I have to be in the room or she'll run off looking for me.

 

Seamie's List is here, post #11.

Thank you!

[Roo]

Now we're refusing our after-potty cookies. Not outright refusing, just crunching, eating a crumb or two, then walking away. Goodness. Whenever she does this, I start to worry that something is really wrong with her. Then she'll gobble up a bowl of meat. I know the value is different and meat is MEAT! but if she was really feeling crappy, I think she wouldn't eat at all, right?

[XTRAWLD]

Well I'd lean towards the fact that sometimes she feels good and other times not so hot, which might be why she's not eating regularly. Certainly her tummy could be upset, I'm assuming though she has ok poops? How are her teeth?

[Roo]

Well I'd lean towards the fact that sometimes she feels good and other times not so hot, which might be why she's not eating regularly. Certainly her tummy could be upset, I'm assuming though she has ok poops? How are her teeth?

Her poops are solid! She hasn't been popping as much recently though with the lack of intake. We were at the vet last week and she didn't say anything about her teeth (she looked, too). They're not great, but they're not awful. I tried brushing when I first got her and it was a no-go. She can't be restrained or she panics. Doesn't like her mouth touched (never has). Even when I later tried just showing her the toothbrush (thinking we could work up to it) she pinned her ears back and took off running.

 

I made up a meat-oatmeal-veggie mix for her (blended so she can't pick out the veggies, because she absolutely won't eat veggies) and she ate maybe 1/4 cup. I put down a little more and she licked it then walked away. I can't figure her out.

 

Eta: I was thinking it may be her teeth because she won't crunch treats (but she will when she's in her crate, just not when she's in the kitchen), but unless they're so bad they're making her body sick (and she hasn't had any symptoms of anything other than her pickiness - she's maybe a little more subdued and less willing to walk, but she's never enjoyed walks, so... She still bounces around when I'm fixing her food, she just won't eat it) that doesn't really explain why she won't eat soft canned food or this recent slurry mixture I cooked up. She's eaten the homemade slurry before and loved it! Now she has no interest... She just wants to drink a lot, but she's always been super thirsty and her blood work has never indicated a reason for it. I think she drinks to fill her belly when she's not eating. (Unless there's an actual medical reason for the drinking that hasn't been discovered yet.)

Edited January 29, 2017 by Roo