Snr Picky Puppy

dashoonage

So were back again with the duskie. About a week ago she just went off her nuts, she would eat a bit , but not too bothered about them. She didnt go off food. She would eat buckets of everything else.

Vet seems to see nothing obvious causing it, she's on a proboitic for a week and we can go back then. Shes 100% fine otherwise and maintaining weight, energy levels fine, sleep fine but no more than normal.

So I need her to eat. Tried the wet version of her nuts ( S7even) and ya twas ok like but she still wasnt too bothered with it.

Ideally id like to keep her eating the nuts has she has done so well on them. Shes been on them 6-8 years id say. So i tried adding tuna to the nuts and she ate them all.

I cant really add tuna every day can i ? any suggestions on what else i could add?

She is 13.5 now so I really just want to keep her eating. If she was a pupper id stick it out until she ate the nuts.

em_cat

If she’s fine for the most part I reckon she’s just picky, we’ve a Pom that’s like that, she’ll eat her normal food, Nature Diet, as long as smoosh some of my own food on her bowl, plate kong, licky mat…etc I never give her things that dogs shouldn’t have but I find if I smoosh some roasted carrot or mash on the bottom then put her food on top she’ll eat hers to get to the bottom…

it also could be that she might be a little tender in her mouth, not something a vet my find unless obvious swollen gums or loose teeth, maybe give her a little less tuna each day to wean her off, then you could try something like a meaty powder you can get to sprinkle on top of the nuts.

DBB

Try sardines instead of tuna,just from the point of view that they're further down the food chain and less likely to contain heavy metals that predators, such as tuna, are apparently more liable to.

They're also quite a lot cheaper!

As it happens, oily fish are an excellent addition to any ageing dog's diet. They contain all sorts of goodies that maintain brain health, and joint health... maybe she's just trying to tell you this 😁

dashoonage

Thanks Em, the vet is of the same opinion thats she is just been picky, we had a similar episode years ago and i changed her nuts and it was fine.

Ive had a good poke around her mouth and everything seems fine. She ate her " Friday night" big treat with no issues as well and its fairly hard and requires a good bit of chewing. She also eats her denta stick every take in 4.7 seconds.

Whats meaty powder?

dashoonage

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119988895#Comment_119988895

Thanks DBB, this is the advice i was looking for. would they be ok every day ?

P.S yourself and em haven been first in on a few of my recent threads on my ageing lady and the advice is very very much appreciated.

DBB

I don't see what harm, though I thunk I'd mix up the stuff they're preserved in a bit... so sardines in oil, in tomato sauce, in mineral water... mix 'em around.

You can of course throw in tinned mackerel, tuna, or salmon any time you like, but either way, oily fish is inclined to go a long way. See how little you can get away with that she'll still eat her grub!

dashoonage

Thanks DBB! to the shops at lunch time tomorrow with me!

dashoonage

So the struggle continues, 6am this morning the nose was turned up at her old nuts mixed with tuna. I didn't have time as I was in the office today so she got cans of wet food which was devoured in about 20 seconds.

I picked up a small bag of gain elite in maxi zoo at lunch and she ate 220g of that this evening. No problems at all. Munched and crunched with no issues. Left about six nuts in the bowl.

It all points to her just been sick of the older nuts. Hopefully she keeps eating the new nuts now

Must do some research on gain elite to see if they are any good. They were all I could get today.

cocker5

Personally Id get a full check up with the vet - given her age .. I’d request full bloods / urine (not just the vet looking her over) to make sure nothing else is going on..

try scrambled eggs .. also some plain Greek yoghurt and see if she eats that .,

best of luck

em_cat

I think the sprinkle stuff is called Meat Snax, I’ve not needed it in a while & the advice from DBB is great too, once we gave our ageing yorkie some sardines and boy did he stink for weeks I mean and that’s how I found out about the meat snax.

But if anything changes with her definitely get a full work up or at least bloods.

dashoonage

Thanks for the replies folks. Business as normal this morning, ate 3/4 of the bowl , did the round of the garden to ensure her garden is secure , returned and ate the rest of the nuts. This has been her routine always. i wont say its solved until we have a few days of this :)

muddypaws

I'm giving all of my dogs bone broth regularly, Karnlea can be bought online direct or from various pet shops, great stuff and all my dogs love it on their kibble.

I mix wet food in for 3 of my oldies, funnily enough it used to just be one but 2 others seemed to work out they could get it if they stopped eating!!

dashoonage

Thanks muddy paws

So she turned her nose up at the new nuts this morning so off to the vets we went. Vet checked out everything , she pooped while inside which was handy as he was able to check that as well :P . He reckons she is just being picky as well. There is no change in anything else except her not eating nuts. At 13.5 he said he is ok with me spoiling her now a little with her food so she is eating. I'm going to try Karnlea muddypaws. Its going to be trial and error to see what works

Threw her nuts in the bin when i got home from the vets and gave her wet food and it was gone in 2 minutes. If she was a pupper id be letting her hungry till she ate the nuts.

tk123

Has she had a senior checkup / bloods done recently to make sure everything is actually ok? Just from my own experience I’m always a bit nervous for people to assume the dog is just being picky when there could be something else going on.

Also it’s ok to NOT feed kibble. There’s plenty of other alternatives. Both have that tummy bug that’s going around so they’re on bland food to avoid another puke/poo marathon session like we had yesterday 😫😫

dashoonage

Just to update this , Duskie dog is eating everything in sight bar her nuts :P , I've moved her onto wet food fully which ill mix with something as a treat and she is back into her routine of devouring breakfast and dinner.

She will probably need to be sedated to get bloods done as since the TPLO she is a very bad patient. So I think we will get a snr checkup / wart removal in the new year , i really don't want to sedate her at her age though. We will see what the vet says..

But the main thing is she is back into a normal eating routine , just not on her nuts. Its funny , ill leave a few nuts on the floor every now and then thinking she might eat them and she will sniff them and just give me side eye 🤣

Anawilliam850

If he stays hydrated and eats even a little, I think he'll be fine, until you find some food that really likes

dashoonage

Thanks Ana

She's back to normal now eating her nuts and looking for her breakfast and dinner at the usual times.