Keeping Weight On Old Dogs

[Vickie]

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas to help me put/keep weight on Zeus. He is 13, a heavyset BC, & up until a few years ago, I would watch his diet like any of my other dogs. Lately it doesn't seem to matter how much I feed him, he is still gradually losing weight and I can't quite seem to get him back up to a good weight. He is not that active anymore, certainly nothing compared to what he was, but still enjoys a good romp with the other dogs.

I don't want him fat, but am just worried that as he gets older, he probably needs more reserves than he has.

Out of interest, does anyone know why they just suddenly get to the point where they are hard to keep weight on?

thanks

Vickie

Edited May 20, 2010 by Vickie

[Crisovar]

With some dogs they just use up extra resources keeping the old body parts functioning, things start to wear out and not work properly and the body is trying to keep it all together.

For some there may be an unknown health issue that is creating problems, maybe a a visit to the Vet for a good check up and maybe some blood work to see how his organs are doing.

ETA in winter they do find it harder to regulate their body temperature when old, so he may be burning up lots of energy keep ing warm.

Edited May 20, 2010 by Crisovar

[Vickie]

Thanks Crisovar,

we had full blood work done not long ago & it came back without any red flags. Good point about the cold, thanks, I think I will keep his coat on a bit longer in the mornings & put it on a little earlier in the afternoons.

[Babesmum]

Hi,

we have an 11 yo Cattle dog who wasn't putting on weight, so the vet suggested puppy food as it's more energy dense, and also lamb flaps or lamb off-cuts that I get from my butcher at Woolworths. She has put on a kilo in a week so far! Like you I don't want her to have too much weight on (she has arthritis) but feel a couple of kilos would be good for especially in winter.

All the best.

Cheers!

Lis

[poodlefan]

Smaller meals more often may help Vickie.

Its like they revert to puppies as they become older. They need more meals, the toilet training has to be watched..

[dancinbcs]

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas to help me put/keep weight on Zeus. He is 13, a heavyset BC, & up until a few years ago, I would watch his diet like any of my other dogs. Lately it doesn't seem to matter how much I feed him, he is still gradually losing weight and I can't quite seem to get him back up to a good weight. He is not that active anymore, certainly nothing compared to what he was, but still enjoys a good romp with the other dogs.

I don't want him fat, but am just worried that as he gets older, he probably needs more reserves than he has.

Out of interest, does anyone know why they just suddenly get to the point where they are hard to keep weight on?

thanks

Vickie

I find they usually start to drop weight in their final 6-12 months. It is just the body ceasing to function as efficiently as it used to. Once the weight starts to drop other things often start to go wrong as well. Most BCs are usually really good up until 12 years but some at 13 and most at 14 suddenly become very old dogs. Only a few make it to 15 or 16.

[FHRP]

Has he been to the vet since he's started losing weight? Might be worth a trip if he hasn't. However, as it's coinciding with the change to cooler weather, I think the increase in energy just keeping warm has merit. My old boy now wears a coat nearly all the time, even inside (but he has hardly any of his own coat compared to a bc ;)). For the first time since adulthood, he dropped below 20kg, however he's had a lot of muscle loss which has contributed. I put him back on energy food instead of senior, increased the lamb and kept the coat on and he was nearly 21kg yesterday ;)

Edited May 27, 2010 by FHRP

[Greytmate]

Our old girl Goldie has to eat a kilo of meat a day, and she is still underweight and slowly getting skinnier. She has had cancer for the past three years, and I think maybe the cancer is using up her food. She is still happy and playful, although really lazy.

[TangerineDream]

I found with older dogs, and even when Cadence had cancer, that adding 2 Weetbix to each of his meals helped keep the weight on him.....worth a tgry and they seem to really like the taste.

[piper]

We reverted to 2 meals and using puppy food. So they would get puppy biscuits for breakfast and then a fattier bone of an evening such as a section of lamb flap. Ricky then got to the point he couldn't tolerate bones even in a small amount so he just went to puppy food.

Another friend was told to use nutrigel as well with her old girl and she found that once she added that to the puppy food things stabilised.

[Dagmar]

Is he drinking and urinating more than usual? Can come together with an increased appetite and weight loss. Sometimes one notices a sweet smell to the breath. If so, have him checked out for Keto-acidosis. It is important that this is detected early.

[Stefie]

Don't really want to scare the horses but I had a Red Heeler x a long time ago and she started to loose weight at age 11 in spite of eating more than she ever had in her whole life.

Turned out she had a malignant tumour in her nose and the vet said that all I have been feeding was the tumour which used up all the energy in the food and left nothing for herself.

I'd definitely get Zeus checked out by the vet again!

[Dogsfevr]

nearly all our oldies have done the same & certaianly not dropped dead within 6/12 months or had cancer .

With our guys we do feed puppy but obviously an old dog cant always stomach things but we find puppy,healthy fatty options within moderation & keeping warm & active works a treat.

Like you we just like healthy reserves for the cooler months & my old boy at present is in a similiar boat happy/healthy tad under but has bad arthritis so not fussed but realize that reserve also helps them keep warm.

He is coated all day & taken off at the peak of warmth,get feed mmin of 2 meals puppy plus euk Fish & potato which is his personal preference at present,he gets bits & bobs during the day & often in winter i do cook up a nice warm stew meal which he simply loves with his vegies,rolled oates,mutton

[mita]

As well as all the good advice people have already given, the vet told us that there's also muscle shrinkage in older dogs. Our sheltie girl who'd always enjoyed the best of health. gradually got scrawny flanks & back end in her last couple of years of a long life.

It eventually affected her that she didn't have the strength in those muscles to haul herself up easily from a lying-flat position.

Edited May 29, 2010 by mita

[Cazstaff]

With Tammy,who will be 18 in October, a wise DOLer suggested I use Protexin in her food to help her to digest/metabolise her food a little better. I feel it helps her enormously.

When she first came to me last year she was terribly thin and not interested in eating. Grilled rump steak sliced thinly was all that would tempt her at first.

She is now on a kidney diet but I also give her fatty chicken mince,necks and wings, egg yolk and little bits of cheese in moderation. Typical Nana she loves plain butter cake too ;)

She is now a good weight and her coat is beautiful for such an elderly girl.

She keeps warm sleeping in my bed under the window most of the day. Some mornings she stands beside the bed and barks at me, Im sure she is telling me to get up so she can have my warm patch! :p Yes I oblige

[spottychick]

Yoghurt (or kefir) is also good for digestion. I fed my old girl cottage cheese too and that helped her put/keep weight on. ANd yes, lots of smaller meals.

[JulesP]

Both my old borders dropped a lot of weight at around 15yo and passed at 15 and a half. Old Fern had been quite porky due to a leg problem and dropped weight on no change of diet. I remember the first time I realised was when I went to pick her up for her bath and nearly shot her into the air as she weighed a heap less then I expected. Both still ate well up until the last week, although Fern stopped eating kibble.