Older Dog and Eating

I have an elderly dog who is slowly going downhill. The vet said she is in okay health for her advanced age, but to expect to start seeing more and more issues and that there really isn’t a lot he can do for her for most of it. Anyway, since the weather grew very warm, even though she is inside except for potty breaks, she is not eating like she was. I have to get down on the floor and hand feed her to get her to eat.

She keeps it down okay once I hand feed her, but just is not interested. Has anyone else gone through this? Do you think I should take her back to the vet? I don’t care if he thinks I’m paranoid. I just want her to have quality of life until the end. She’s been one of the best dogs I’ve ever had and she deserves to feel well as long as possible.

Oh Lori, I’m so sorry to hear that. It is kind of common for a senior pet to loose their appetite when this happens. Have you tried offering some table food to spark her appetite a bit. Maybe some boiled chicken could tempt her, and it’s also easy to chew.

I do think you should keep in touch with your vet and keep him up to date as things progress. I’m sure he wouldn’t think you’re paranoid, just concerned about helping your old friend feel the best she can for as long as she can.

I’ll try boiling her some chicken tomorrow and see if she’ll take it. She will eat, I just have to really coax her to get her to and then it isn’t as much as before. I’m sure there are times when she is achy from arthritis and such and just doesn’t feel like eating. I will go ahead and call the vet tomorrow and update him just to be on the safe side. He may want to go ahead and see her again. Road trips are so hard on her now that I almost hate to put her through a trip to the vet unless it’s absolutely necessary. The last time I took her to the groomer, she seemed to be really drained and feel bad the rest of the day. I definitely don’t want her to suffer, but she still has quality of life at the moment as far as I can tell. She is happy to see us, wags her tail, etc.

Lori that’s so sad. :( Poor baby. You mentioned that she is achy from arthritis. Have you tried any supplements to help with the aches? A glucosamine/chondroitin supplement, along with a fish oil supplement may help ease her discomfort. If she isn’t hurting as much it may motivate her to eat better.

On the rare occasion that my dogs don’t eat (I have an older dog too), I add raw egg to their food. They LOVE raw eggs.

Lori, I’m really sorry to hear that, but it is common.  My older dog usually doesn’t like to eat very much when it’s hot outside, and she does lose her appetite.  The first thing I do is I sing “chicken, chicken, chicken” (I home cook her food for her- Rachel Ray style :-)  That usually works because if the girls see I’m excited, they get excited.

If she won’t take the bait then I do what Kelly said, I take a few table scraps, hold it up to her and whisper in a conspiratorial tone “what this?”  She usually fixes her eyes on it like a laser and licks her chops.  Then I know I’ve got her!  So I go to her food bowl (while she’s watching), I sing (I know it sounds silly, but it really works!) and I mix it with her regular food.  She knows that the good stuff’s in there, so she gobbles it up.  It works like a charm every time.

Another trick I use (probably because I was a teacher) is I tell her it’s time to “work on her words”.  Its a fun game where I say to her “Pharrah, would you like some roast beef?” From there she howls, then I work through all of her food words (chicken, ice cream, cheese- the works) and she “talks” after each question. It gets her excited to eat, and then I say “Kidding!” and she howls at me because she knows I’m teasing her.  It’s a great game we’ve been playing together since she was a pup.

Lori, please keep us posted on what happens and if she starts to eat with vigor again.

And finally :-) Kathleen, I didn’t know that about raw eggs- is that for real?  I’d never heard of it, but I’m scared to try it. What do you usually do and do you just use one egg?

I just crack an egg and put it on top of the food in the bowl. Sometimes I’ll beat it first, but it isn’t really necessary. They chow it down.

When I lived out in the boonies we used to have a bunch of free-range chickens. They would lay eggs in the strangest places, all over the property in the woods. We would hear them cackle and we knew one had laid an egg and then we’d have to go find it. Well, I had a dog who grew wise to that cackle too. He would go find the egg and carefully pick it up.

If we saw him, he would bring it to us and gently drop it in my hand. If we weren’t around, he would go off some place private and chow it down. :D It was really funny to watch. Should be interesting to see how these dogs do with the chickens once I get them.

Hi Kathleen, that is such a funny story- I love it!  I can just picture him sneaking off to enjoy his “treat”.  I love the part about the chickens too, I reminds of I Love Lucy and her whole “let’s raise chickens” episode- so funny!

Do your dogs get along with the chickens?  And if yes, did it come natural, or do you have to use any special training technique?  Did you ever have a dog that actually tried to chase the chickens?

The dogs we had at the time were fine with the chickens. We had lots of dogs because, being out in the boonies, people would dump them and they’d show up at our house. They all got along and they all tolerated the chickens for the most part.

Once in a while they would chase them for fun. They seemed to know that catching wasn’t allowed. The only incidences we had was occasionally the chickens would annoy our Rottie at the time.

Ceasar was a city dog and not too thrilled with country life. He was terrified of horses and would bark his head off. Funny since he thought he was pretty big and bad.  The horses thought he was nuts.

When the chickens would go toward his food, he would jump up and pin down the first one he could catch with his big paw. The offending chicken would squawk up a storm and Ceasar would give her a look that said, “I know you’re not going to eat my food!” Then he’d let her go.

I could tell you lots of funny stories with our chickens and other critters, but this is a dog forum. Once we get settled at the new place, I should start a blog. Chickens are very entertaining.

I can only image! It sounds like there’s never a dull moment at your place, what with the dogs and the other animals- that’s very cool, very Life Among the Savages (Shirley Jackson).  In the book, the author, also from the city, regales us with tales about the transition of moving to the country from the city.

I’m glad that the Rottie didn’t kill the chickens! That’s very bright of him. Not to get off topic (and mention Cesar again!), but did you see the episode when he went to the farm to help a dog not to kill chickens?  He did this whole thing where he put the chicken next to the dog, and the dog had to lie there with the chicken over him (dominance).  Apparently it helped, (told via the follow up story) but not completely.

No I never saw that one. Is it a newer one? Wonder how I missed it. I thought I had seen them all.

It is always an adventure at our house. I’ll be much happier out in the boonies again. I hate, hate, HATE living in town. We will be getting pigs. A first for us; I’ve had about everything else including baby goats in the house (the stories I could tell). Should be interesting to see how Tango deals with pigs. And chickens too for that matter. He is very smart so I don’t think it will take long for him to learn that chicken is not to eat unless it is in his bowl.

Another thing that may help your dog to eat better Lori—Have you ever given Omega-3 fish oil to your dog?  I started giving it to mine again. They LOVE it. Tango was licking it off my fingers. Practically licked to the bone.

It will also help your dog’s joints, heart, skin, eyes and brain. Really good stuff. You can get capsules, which are a pain to use, or as a liquid that you just pour over the food.

My dogs inhaled their breakfast and were disappointed to not have more for lunch. Guess I’ll have to divide it up into both meals instead of one at a time.

Kathleen, when are you moving?  I’m not sure if you saw my other post (topic: dogs and moving), but I had left a post over there for you.

Goats! Pigs! Get outta here :-)  That is something else! I’m just kidding, that is going to be a real adventure, and to be honest, it sounds like so much fun!

I’m really happy that you’re going to be moving back to a place that you like (out of town).  Are you going to have a farm or just a super big place?

Moving day is Friday. Woohoo!! Can’t wait for it to be over with. My husband and I are both basket cases. lol It will be worth it though.

Eventually we will have a decent homestead. Not a farm in a commercial sense but a place where we can provide for ourselves and maybe make a little money on the side. We just have to get there gradually because there is no telling how much I can handle now with my health issues. So we’ll add a little at a time and see how far we can take it.

I didn’t see your other post. I’ll have to head over there and check it out.

Wow, Kathleen. Friday! How long will the journey take? Are you moving everything by yourselves or did you hire a company to move your household items? Honestly, I can’t imagine trying to move my entire crew to another state. I would be a stress out wreck. I never minded traveling to dog shows, but that only involved a fraction of the work. You’ll have to keep us posted on how it goes. Maybe we need a new thread for this topic. 

Yes Kelly, I’m a wreck. It will be worth it though. I’ll keep everyone posted on the Moving with Dogs thread.

Kathleen, that’s coming up so soon- I know you probably can’t wait until it’s over! And you really will feel a lot better once you get there. Try not to stress too much, after all whether you move far or around the block, it’s always a pain, so you might as well try to enjoy it! :-)

I’m sure your dogs are going to be fine. If they see that you (and your husband) are relaxed and enjoying yourselves, I’m sure they will be too. And yes, please keep us posted- I’ll be wishing you lots of luck!