Difficult to get senior dog to eat in the morning

AulWan

AulWan wrote: »

Just spoke to my vet.

poor thing. Hope your dog (and you) aren't feeling too awful.

Gael23

I don’t believe in taking away the food after 15 minutes.
With you putting in the treats she knows there’s something nicer coming. Leave the food out and she will eat it when she’s hungry.

tk123

AulWan wrote: »

Just spoke to my vet - my dog's blood test showed her kidneys and now liver have deteriorated and I've to put her on a prescription support diet. Without a CT its possible it could be a tumour, so we've to retest after a few weeks on prescription diet.

I guess the moral of the story is, never assume a dog is refusing food just because they're fussy, always get the vet to check them if it goes on for more then a day or so.

Ah so sorry and yes - I shudder at the starve them comments/they'll eat when they're hungry - they might actually be sick and in most cases it's quite advanced when it's diagnosed.

One of my biggest regrets with Lucy was not giving her all the treats and chews etc that had been banned when she was diagnosed

AulWan

Thanks all, and didn't mean to derail the thread from the OPs issue.

I guess our instincts will tell us when something is really wrong, my gut is telling me my girl hasn't been feeling the best for a while now.

OP, you don't have your dog very long, I wouldn't worry too much, you'll figure it out as you go along and get to know her better! Best of luck.

eviltimeban

I'm keeping an eye on her now as this morning she did a little puke, greeny liquid and a small turd looking thing. Very out of the ordinary. It might have been a case of too much oil in the food, it's the only thing that is different.

She ate all her food this morning anyway, as I had some gravy and beef to mix around, and she seemed fine after. However I'm really hoping I don't come home to pools of green on the floor!

DBB

I'm also of the opinion that when a dog is picking at food, just get them checked out.
For the record, from a medical viewpoint, dogs over the age of 7/8 are categorised as "geriatric", although there is some variation depending on breed/size. It is best practise for owners of dogs within this medical category to get their dogs' blood tested at least once per year, so that age-related health conditions can be picked up on hopefully before they become a major issue.
In addition, cod liver oil must be given very sparingly to dogs, as it is very high in Vit A, which the dog might already be getting enough of through his normal diet. You might be surprised at how small the recommended amount of cod liver oil is for dogs. Too much Vitamin A can cause a condition called Vitamin A Toxicity.
As it is, too much oil in the diet (for that individual dog) can cause intestinal upset, and dry flaky skin. Other oils might be a better choice, or at least vary the type of oil you give him so that you're not feeding cod liver oil every day.
You can use other oils on days you're not giving cod liver oil.
Dogs can, and often do vomit up yellow froth when they're hungry. I'm not a fan of only feeding dogs once a day, I don't feel there's any good evidence to support doing so, and I don't feel it's particularly good for the wellbeing of most dogs.

eviltimeban

DBB wrote: »

You can use other oils on days you're not giving cod liver oil.
Dogs can, and often do vomit up yellow froth when they're hungry. I'm not a fan of only feeding dogs once a day, I don't feel there's any good evidence to support doing so, and I don't feel it's particularly good for the wellbeing of most dogs.

Yeah I have salmon oil which I can try as well. I think once I get her off the treats in the food I can just go back to giving her plain kibble.

Indeed, it was a yellowy green liquid.

Panic Stations

Same as my Dog who's six months old.

Rarely eats all his food in the morning but comes back to it at lunch time to finish it off. He'll demolish everything else throughout the day.