Feeding An Oldie. What's Suitable?

[Gayle.]

I have an elderly Lhasa Apso, she's coming up for 15 and she's starting to show her age. She's still in good health for her age but she's become increasingly fussy about her food lately.

She was brought up on supermarket kibble and stuff like those packets of My Dog. Later on she got better quality kibble (RC, EP etc) and Natures Gift tinned food, but as I've switched the big dogs totally to raw, I've been giving her the same when I can.

She gets their mince mixture, and small chunks of red meat and chicken but she doesn't get the bones as she doesn't have many teeth left.

Now she won't eat kibble at all, even if I soften it in water and add something tasty to it like sardines. Because the big dogs only get what's suitable for her about 3-4 times a week, I have to come up with something she'll eat when they have their bones.

Tonight I bought 4Legs fresh mince meatballs and she quite liked them. I've also got a bag of Chunkers to try. She's so old that I'm quite happy to give her whatever she wants (she's lived long enough to deserve it!) as long as it's reasonably nutritious.

What do others feed their oldies that might be suitable for my dear old love?

[piper]

What about getting carcass mince, I know lenards do it and then just mix in some veggie slops?

With my oldies when they were here I also did things like tinned sardines or tuna with an egg and some veg and a bit of pasta or rice. I found they got t9 the point they didn't really tolerate bones, sometimes even the carcass mine would either go through them or bind them up.

Can you get the Barf Patties from anywere local? Would work out fiarly cheap for a Lhasa I would imagine as they wouldn't really need a large quantity.

1 of the other things my vet said was to go back to treating them like puppies and feed more smalled meals a day and even use puppy food for them.

[Gayle.]

What about getting carcass mince, I know lenards do it and then just mix in some veggie slops?

No, the chicken shop here doesn't do a pet mince, I already asked. And no ready made Barf here either, the pet shops just sell normal dog food.

I think next time I make a mince mix (I usually make about 5 kgs at a time), I might make some smaller packs up just for her but in the meantime, I'll see if she likes the stuff I already bought. Didn't think of eggs.....I could scramble one and mix it with some cheese and pasta or rice for her.

I'm quite happy to pander to her old tastebuds, we probably won't have her for much longer so I'd like to make her last years comfortable and happy for her. And the Aussies are always happy to keep her dog bowl empty if she doesn't eat her dinner!

[piper]

I know what you mean, I got told it was more important to keep condition on them than what I actually fed.

Natural yoghurt is another good additive and maybe she would eat her dry with that or am egg mixed through. I used 4 legs quite a bit too or stuffed kongs when the others had a bone.

[Gayle.]

I know what you mean, I got told it was more important to keep condition on them than what I actually fed.

She lost condition at the start of winter and was looking very thin and old, so I upped her food intake to about double and within a week she was looking good again. I've never had a dog as old as this before (my last one died at 14) and it didn't dawn on me that when the weather is cold, she uses much more energy keeping herself warm than the younger dogs do, and so she needs more food than in summer.

She used to wear a coat in winter, but this year she won't keep it on. I suspect a couple of Australian Shepherds might have something to do with that. But I've had her inside as much as possible and some days she goes out to pee in the morning, my daughter lets her back in before she goes to school, and she stays in the house in her bed til someone comes home in the afternoon. She just sleeps the day away, cos that's what she does when I'm home and she's inside.

I might try her with some yoghurt too.

[Dogsfevr]

Our oldies in that bracket basically get what there happy to eat.

Our oldies always enjoyed there warm farex & goats milk as a snack but basically what ever they wanted they got whether it be tin,packets & they still enjoyed there normal diet

[Jed]

I have come to the conclusion that old dogs mostly have a problem with kibble. Hardly any of them fancy it. It's as hard as a bone, fed dry, and doesn't have a good consistency when soaked - some brands are worse than others.

Mince etc is good. I have used those little tins of My Dog or Dine - costs a fortune, fancy casserole stuff with gravy and veges, I don't suppose it is the best food, but all my oldies loved it.

Scrambled eggs are good too - one or two eggs with a bit of milk (unless she is lactose intolerant, and I'll bet she isn't) beat them with a fork and microwave them. Add a bit of grated cheese too. Eggs are a complete meal and high in protein, and they are very good for keeping weight on.

Add a few sardines and some oil to a couple of meals a week, good for bowels and coats.

Lamb flaps are a hit with some, and the addition of a little liver or kidney, or heart is appreciated and seems easy for them to eat - and rich in protein. Not too often though - liver/kidney once a week, heart, once or twice. A lamb's heart a week would be enough for a Lhasa, I think.

Yoghurt is good, but not a meal.

Puppy Pal (the tinned stuff) was also a hit with some of them. Not ideal, but who cares? Some dogs live their whole lives on Pal, and I think the Puppy Pal is not too bad.

As showdog says, Farex and milk, or rolled oats (cooked) and milk.

Often, if you partly cook meat or mince (microwave again) they like it much better. Put it in a bit of water, and it will make a nice doggy stew. Add a bit of grated potato and 1/4 spoon of Vegemite to the water, and it should be very acceptable. High in salt, so not too often.

Lenards used to do minced chicken carcasses with skin etc for about $1 kg if there is a Lenards shop near you.

Need to be careful that bone in chicken mince does not cause constipation. Old bowels don't work as well, and I wouldn't feed bone in anything to an old dog more than once a week.

If it is a stew or casserole for our dinner, without too much onion, or spices, I cook a bit more and the oldies get some of that now and again, or the gravy over their mince.

One of mine like tinned spaghetti, so she had that once a week.

Soft, easy to eat and digest food seems to suit them. Twice daily feeds are often better too.

Hope some of this helps

Who cares if it is not balanced? I don't think it does them any harm, and they might as well have what they like when they are old.

[Staff'n'Toller]

My Stafford girl was also off her food for a few days but turns out it was a bit of gastro. I did immediately think "here we go" as she was picking up the dry then spitting it out, then eating it rather slowly.

4 Legs is not too bad really, I'm happy to feed mine Tucker Time roll if she goes off the dry, I'm actually happy to cook her food later down the track if that's what she'll eat. I know it's much better if it's all raw but I'm sure cooked mince and vegies is much easier for the oldies to digest.

[Mim]

Yup yoghurt is good to entice my old girl to eat if she's being picky. I also use lactose free milk or dissolve a stock cube in warm water and use that. I recommend fish oil if you don't already give it to her, it has done wonders for my girl. Her coat is great, her eyes look clear and alert and she just seems healthier overall Some dogs loves the smelly fish oil so could entice her to eat (I prefer to use capsules though).

You can try gently heating food, it will release the aromas and be more appealing.

We looked after a friends old dog a few years ago and for 2 days she refused to eat anything except cat food (took her to the vet just in case but she was given the all clear). Fussy bitch of a dog she was

Edited October 2, 2009 by Mim

[corvus]

Penny came to even dislike the chicken minces with bone in them. She would spit out all the bone. I fed her beef mince with vegies, yoghurt or cottage cheese, and she got liver and heart once a week, which she loved. One thing I found was that it was difficult to give her the right amount of food. Because she was so inactive, she only needed a tiny amount to get her through or she'd put on weight. I ended up adding more pumpkin and sweet potato.

[corvus]

Double post

Edited October 2, 2009 by corvus

[Sheridan]

Grumpy will try anything once to see if it's edible (including everything that isn't). I only worry about him if he's off his food.

[westiemum]

Jed you should write a book... it'd be a best seller!

Cheers,

Westiemum

I have come to the conclusion that old dogs mostly have a problem with kibble. Hardly any of them fancy it. It's as hard as a bone, fed dry, and doesn't have a good consistency when soaked - some brands are worse than others.

Mince etc is good. I have used those little tins of My Dog or Dine - costs a fortune, fancy casserole stuff with gravy and veges, I don't suppose it is the best food, but all my oldies loved it.

Scrambled eggs are good too - one or two eggs with a bit of milk (unless she is lactose intolerant, and I'll bet she isn't) beat them with a fork and microwave them. Add a bit of grated cheese too. Eggs are a complete meal and high in protein, and they are very good for keeping weight on.

Add a few sardines and some oil to a couple of meals a week, good for bowels and coats.

Lamb flaps are a hit with some, and the addition of a little liver or kidney, or heart is appreciated and seems easy for them to eat - and rich in protein. Not too often though - liver/kidney once a week, heart, once or twice. A lamb's heart a week would be enough for a Lhasa, I think.

Yoghurt is good, but not a meal.

Puppy Pal (the tinned stuff) was also a hit with some of them. Not ideal, but who cares? Some dogs live their whole lives on Pal, and I think the Puppy Pal is not too bad.

As showdog says, Farex and milk, or rolled oats (cooked) and milk.

Often, if you partly cook meat or mince (microwave again) they like it much better. Put it in a bit of water, and it will make a nice doggy stew. Add a bit of grated potato and 1/4 spoon of Vegemite to the water, and it should be very acceptable. High in salt, so not too often.

Lenards used to do minced chicken carcasses with skin etc for about $1 kg if there is a Lenards shop near you.

Need to be careful that bone in chicken mince does not cause constipation. Old bowels don't work as well, and I wouldn't feed bone in anything to an old dog more than once a week.

If it is a stew or casserole for our dinner, without too much onion, or spices, I cook a bit more and the oldies get some of that now and again, or the gravy over their mince.

One of mine like tinned spaghetti, so she had that once a week.

Soft, easy to eat and digest food seems to suit them. Twice daily feeds are often better too.

Hope some of this helps

Who cares if it is not balanced? I don't think it does them any harm, and they might as well have what they like when they are old.

[Stitch]

I wet all dry food down with boiled chicken and it seems to make it very acceptable.

I get chicken legs, boil them up in just water then strip all the meat off the bone, cut it up then put it back in the remaining juices, then freeze it in little containers.

I can then microwave it when required, maybe add a little extra water depending on if it needs it - then pour it over the dry food.

Normally I feed BARF but I have to feed dry to one of my older girls - it makes the dry food disappear very quickly.

[Rysup]

My 14 year old Lhasa still has dry at the moment and has no trouble, but he still has all his teeth.

I quite like the 4 Paws, esp the Turkey one with gravy. That is great for mixing in crushed tablets The Chunkers go down a treat here too. Mine also love boiled rice with a bit of tinned food mixed through - they will scoff that down like there is no tomorrow.

Basically I would just give her what she likes. A lot of trial and error, but Im sure the other dogs will eat the stuff she wont!