Old dog won't eat, scared what the vet will say

gemmaj

Hi, I am at the vets tommorrow (again) and am worried about what they will say. I have a 10 (almost 11) year old greyhound. He barely eats and he is now horribly horribly thin. Last time I went we had blood tests done and he has no obvious health problems, his teeth are fine too, but he just stopped eating all his food. Since then I started by soaking his food in hot water, and now I am giving him three meals a day of his dry food (Arden Grange senior) and am adding tinned Chappie, some semi moist dog food, yogurt, chicken, potatoes, anything I can find that is dog-suitable to entice him but he will only eat a bit and then walk off. He is fine within himself - not got a huge amount of energy for long walks but he is lively and fairly energetic - he tried to go chasing off after cats twice today! He should be about 36kg, last time at the vets he was 30kg and he looked thin - now I keep waiting to be accused of cruelty he is that thin, its embarrasing walking him, so I dread what he will weigh tommorrow.

Does anyone have any suggestions? The vet suggested the senior diet last time (he was on adult before) but if he is only eating a tiny bit would he be better on hi-energy or puppy food? I will be asking the vet this tommorrow, but a few more opinions couldn't hurt!

Thanks, Gemma

Feefee_4

Hi Gemma,

It's always a worry when they don't want to eat, not sure what to suggest really but hope you get on ok tomorrow.

Feefee

lifesuckssometimes

gemmaj wrote: »

Hi, I am at the vets tommorrow (again) and am worried about what they will say. I have a 10 (almost 11) year old greyhound. He barely eats and he is now horribly horribly thin. Last time I went we had blood tests done and he has no obvious health problems, his teeth are fine too, but he just stopped eating all his food. Since then I started by soaking his food in hot water, and now I am giving him three meals a day of his dry food (Arden Grange senior) and am adding tinned Chappie, some semi moist dog food, yogurt, chicken, potatoes, anything I can find that is dog-suitable to entice him but he will only eat a bit and then walk off. He is fine within himself - not got a huge amount of energy for long walks but he is lively and fairly energetic - he tried to go chasing off after cats twice today! He should be about 36kg, last time at the vets he was 30kg and he looked thin - now I keep waiting to be accused of cruelty he is that thin, its embarrasing walking him, so I dread what he will weigh tommorrow.

Does anyone have any suggestions? The vet suggested the senior diet last time (he was on adult before) but if he is only eating a tiny bit would he be better on hi-energy or puppy food? I will be asking the vet this tommorrow, but a few more opinions couldn't hurt!

Thanks, Gemma

hi have you changed anything in your home. A new pet, new partner ,have you had the vet check his teeth.Has he been upset by anything recently.Also try feeding him some of your food to see if he may eat that. Give him lots of love and not pass on any of your anxiety he might be picking up from you.Also with age we all sometimes lose our appetite. good luck at the vets.

orlao

Have you tried him on chicken and rice or scrambled eggs?

I know, I know not exactly a balanced diet but at his age does it matter so much? and it might get him back into the "habit" of eating........

As long as all his functions at the other end IYSWIM are working and he's drinking a normal amount he should be ok! Check with your vet though that it's ok to restrict his diet so much.

Good luck, older dogs seem to like to give you regular worries:D

BTW, wouldn't worry about accusations of cruelty....as he's under the treatment of a vet you're covered in all directions....even RSPCA:eek:

sandy2_2

Better to feed him senior food rather than puppy food, different nutritional values. Perhaps the vet might give him steroids, that helped our old cat to start eating again.
Good luck with your next visit

Night-owl_6

I hope everything will be well.
It is possible he may just be off his food, dogs do go through pattens of not eatting.

Best of luck!!

Sagz_2

You could try asking your Vet if he thinks a B12 injection will help stimulate your old boys appetite, it sometimes works.

Warmed up cat food is really really smelly so you could try mixing that in with his Arden Grange (which is an excellent dog food IMHO), or some bacon - just a little to get him interested in his food again.

Have you tried raising his feed bowl off the floor, to about chest height (his not yours!), he may be having a few twinges in his neck/back that makes eating off the floor uncomfortable.

I know it's easier said than done, but try not to worry too much or he will pick up on this too - good luck at the Vets and let us know how you get on.

x

happytails

Try hand feeding him?
or feeding very small amounts 6 times daily?

What about a swap of food - could be he is bored of it and eating just the bare minimum - i have a german shepherd like this - goes through phases and is underweight. But remember an underweight dog is better than an overweight dog of his age (mine is 10/11 too).

Dont worry the vet is there to help you and your dog and should not pass judgement - a bad owner wouldnt be taking there dog to the vet

LillyJ

My MIL's dog wasn't eating and he is 13. He had a deep seated problem with his teeth and has had them all removed! He is like a puppy again and has been jumping around like a mad man.

Buddy_Banana

Hiya
My dobe was horribly thin and it looked bad (even though he eats like a horse!) but My Golden is chubby but hardly eats (unless it's human food! lol)
...anyway, one of the girls from my Canine Psychology course is also doing a nutrition course and has been trying to help me a little with advice, she works in a kennels and they can have some very stressed dogs that wont eat - she says that they add tinned tuna to their food and they nearly always start to eat again
...I haven't tried it but she swears by it!!!
Have a try and let me know how you get on
Julie

gemmaj

It went better than I thought. Max has only lost 1kg in the last month, and also Max's weight loss has been going on for almost 3 months now so the vet said if it was something horrible (renal failure etc) we'd know by now. He has had a stab in the dark and we have tablets for colitis, and I'm to go back Monday if those haven't improved his appetite. Thanks for all the suggestions, some I already do (like raised feeders which are fantastic!) and theres a few more things for me to try out.

Thanks for all the ideas -Gemma.