older dog not eating

[meg321]

I have a 14 1/2 yrs old shih tzu and we think she is getting close to the end of her life, took her to the vet and he also thinks so...it doesnt mean she won't live for awhile or even longer. She has no health problems, she doesn't walk well now and sleeps most of the day.

My biggest problem, she stoppped eating the dog food we had always fed her and the vet said at this point we could feed her good quality canned dog food and some  people food, like chicken, rice, cottage cheese, vegies, ...she loved the change for aa few days, then she decided she doesnt want that so now I cannot get her to eat but maybe a bite or two.

I am at a loss now and not quite sure how to get her to eat and what I can feed her, I would appreciate any help with this..

rhanks, meg

[Anniefromedh]

Try doing something different every meal.  Just tiny bites of minced turkey, minced beef, doesn't matter.  To get them to eat they love meat.  Our dog does the same thing but when I throw in variety....she will come alive.  Still I have to face my 16 year old poodle is going to die soon but if I can "resurrect" her even temporarily with fun food I will continue to do so.

[ginger899]

If her bloodwork is all healthy, her pickiness about food may be connected with not getting really hungry because she doesn't want much exercise.
Also, generally, how often is she fed? Does she get regular meals, like breakfast in the morning and dinner late afternoon? Or does she get food available at irregular times?
One thing that could make a dog picky (in the absence of health problems of course) is always having food available, or being given little snacks too often.
I may be way off the mark here, but sometimes when we worry they might not be eating enough, we can try to tempt them a little too often, so they never get a real appetite up.
If that happens to be the case...you could try just putting breakfast down (and see what happens) then nothing until dinner (again, see what happens)

I don't know if you can get hold of venison steaks. They are not terrifically expensive, if you are feeding a small dog, and they are perfect lean meat healthy for dogs indeed! Stewed slowly with some veggies -yum! (not cooked too quickly or the meat will go tough)

[meg321]

Great ideas !!

The vet checked her for any pain and no sign of it...her Vet knows her well, her, he is her only Vet she hs had since her birth.

will bake a yam...and i thought about beans, but was  not sure if it would be good for her.  also someone mentioned eggs, i will try that.

thanks, meg

[Misfits4Me]

Hi Meg....Did your Vet ever consider that your girl may be in pain from Arthritis? Maybe that's why she's sleeping too much and not eating.....You said that she has no health problems, so I'd go with Pain.....

Ask your Vet for a low dose Anti-Inflammatory to see if this would help....

Will she eat a scrambled egg? Great Protein....
My dogs love Lentil Beans....Excellent Protein Source....I make a stew with veggies all cooked together....
How bout sweet potatoes (Cooked) with lean ground beef? Sweet potatoes are great for digestion...
Cottage cheese is another excellent protein source...
Chicken, rice, & veggies is wonderful....
The combinations are endless.....

Good luck and I hope she gets to feeling better.........Karla




Since none of this is balanced, you can give her 1/4 of an Adult Vitamin....

[meg321]

Thanks , she will eat what she wants, like doggy treats or carrots,,

I talked to the vets office today and they suggested to just give her what she will eat as long as its not too rich.

She has very good teeth, mostly because she has never had people food.  I did fix hwer some chicken, cooked carrots,rice and broth and mixed it up and warmed it up,,,she ate all of it.

She seems healthy and still seems happy...when she is not sleeping, she will run around some..LOL

we will see how it goes...

meg

[lindapalm]

Since she was to the vet, what did he say about the condition of her teeth?

[Margot49]

Ah, that's too bad. It's tough to watch them getting old.
Did the Vet happen to do blood work to rule out maybe kidney problems? We seem to be dealing with a lot of that lately.
Since you just want to get her to eat, you might try adding a little jarred gravy to her food, chicken or beef.  Maybe a little low sodium chicken stock.  
You might try cooking up some chicken or calf liver and adding that cut in small pieces.
You can try to add tripe (we can buy it canned here at PetCo) to her food. Stinks but is healthy.  
Hope she will start eating.