Dog off her food (but not mine!)

elsien

Over the last month or so mutt seems to have lost interest in her food, which is extremely unlike her. She's taken a while to eat breakfast for the last few months because she gets bad indigestion, but it's now getting to the stage where she's not eating breakfast till mid afternoon, which then has a knock on effect on the second meal of the day which she's leaving half of a lot of the time.
She's had a check up at the vet, and he's not worried at the moment - he says she's looking well on it, which is probably a polite way of saying she was slightly on the chubby side before. He's putting it down to old age and the heat - she's 13-14ish.
However she's still quite keen on eyeing up my plate when I'm eating so obviously has some appetite, and if I put a bit of potato or rice in her food, it is prompting her to eat it. I don't want to change her food as she gets colititis and I know the JWB suits her, (plus I've just ordered a job lot off tinternet.)
She is getting less exercise now - round the block is about her limit, so she doesn't need as much as before, but I'm still concerned because she's always been such a gannet. Although I'm also wondering if she's learnt that not eating gets her extra treats in her bowl.
Any advice anyone, or should I just give in and start whacking chicken etc in her bowl to entice her? I can never be sure how much she's having me on, but at her age I don't think it really matters.

lostinrates

have you tried adding water to her biscuit? Mine prefer ''dog porridge'' when they are on dried food (they eat a mixture of dried and raw atm) and one of them will often turn noses up at dry biscuit, but wolf the ''dog porridge''.

scheming_gypsy

She might just be getting bored of the same thing. I fed my two chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken and more chicken because i kept forgetting when the order date was and ordered on the last minute. It got to the point where they started looking at me with a 'for f^&ks sake, not more chicken' look on their faces before they refused to eat it.

elsien

Possibly - she's scooting hopefully at my heels every time I go near the kitchen then turning her nose up at her own food. I can't decide if she's successfully training me or is genuinely not interested.
I'm a bit wary of putting too much extra in her food as I'm not sure what triggers her colitis but if I try adding water plus a bit of chicken or rice, that shouldn't cause too much harm.
Is it normal for older dogs to go off their food a bit? I'm a bit paranoid at the moment because mutt has just had a health scare with a lump in her stomach (which has luckily gone of its own accord) but has put the wind up me a bit.
I think I might call into the vets for regular weigh ins just to keep an eye on how she's doing.

rising_from_the_ashes

I'd try a bit of water with the dry too - my dog won't eat the dry (apart from when I put a few bits in his Stuff-a-Ball) out his bowl but eats it quite with a bit of water added (not too cold, I tend to use the water that's left in the kettle).

I also tend to add either veg (trying to get some weight off so for "bulking") or cooked chicken and he loves it! (You can buy big bags of frozen chicken pieces fairly cheaply and I then batch cook and freeze in dinner sized portions so it's not a load of hassle).

lostinrates

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

but eats it quite with a bit of water added (not too cold, I tend to use the water that's left in the kettle).
).

Mine gets made with a boiled kettle (I also make myself a hot drink at this time.) By the time my drink is finished its cooled down in the bowl and I put it down for them. Or otherwise, I make their before we go out to do the outside chores and they have it when we come back in.

MrsAtobe

As a human with Crohn's Disease (one of the forms of colitis), I frequently go off my food! There are times when I could eat for Britain, and other times when I really have to force myself to eat anything. Strangely enough , the times when I don't want to eat tend to be when I've put on a bit of weight. Almost like an in-built self balance, if that makes sense?

The only advice I can offer is keep feeding her a little of what she fancies, sometimes for me this is enough to kick my appetite back into sync. But, only a little, as you said you don't want to make her colitis worse, but then her starving herself isn't helping either. Only you can make the judgement on how much she's playing you!

Sorry, longer than I thought, try giving her a small amount of food more often throughout the day. I can be repulsed/overwhelmed by a large amount of food when I don't feel like it, but can often eat more in smaller portions spread throughout the day.

HTH, this has to be the bizarrest post I think I've made on here! :rofl:

CFC

She's old bless her - if putting a bit of spud or rice or chicken in her bowl persuades her to eat her dinner without setting off her colitis, I'd go on doing it. At her age it's not going to do her any harm, is it?

tankgirl1

Hmmmmm - Chances are, if the vet has given her the AOK, then she is just 'training' you!

I mean c'mon - given the choice of eating dry food like a good girl vs not eating it and getting yummy food.... no brainer!

Yes she is an older lady, and if she lost her appetite completely it would be worrying, but if she is still begging and eating yummy foods - she may well be having you on!

tealady

Hi
Might she be losing her sense of taste (don't know if this can happen to dogs?).

~Chameleon~

Completely agree with Tankgirl and by the sounds of it she could afford to lose a little weight. Older dogs don't need to eat as much as they are far less active. It might help to divide her food into smaller meals so she's eating little and often rather than one (or two) larger meals. Be guided by her and unless she completely stops eating then I wouldn't worry. Keep taking her for regular (6mth) vet checks where she will be weighed and monitored and if there's anything to worry about it will be picked up on straight away.