Food suggestions for my old girl

[SarasMum]

Sari is 14.5 years old we think, we were told she was about 12 months old when we adopted her so that's been 13.5 years.  She has been eating Royal Canin dry food for years now, we just changed the type as she got older.  She is currently eating 10+ years medium.  She has days when she looks like she's not so fussed and I have discovered tonight that she has somehow lost most of her front teeth!  This is only really recent as we had a vet check just before I went away in May.  Poor old chook probably has sore gums and is trying to chomp on this dry food.  She still eats it and loves it but it has got to be uncomfortable for her.  I have never fed her wet food, it has only been dry and chicken carcasses/necks or sardines.  

 

I need suggestions for a not too expensive soft food that isn't going to change her bowel habits too much and make her all farty.  She is so good at being inside with her toileting I don't want to throw that out.  She goes at 6.30am and then doesn't go again til someone gets home which could be 4pm or up to 6.30.  Sometimes we still have to push her out the door to go!

 

TIA

[mackiemad]

Maybe it is worth trying her on the k9 naturals freeze dried food? It's designed to be rehydrated so it will be a bit softer by it's nature. If you're worried it's a bit meat heavy I'd chuck in some cooked brown rice and some veg, as well as a bit extra green lip mussel powder if you're worried about her joints (though I think it does have some green lip mussel in it anyway). I'd feel like I was getting more bang for my buck with the rehydratable rather than canned food - most canned food is mostly water anyway and at least this was you're not paying for the water?

[Dogsfevr]

Soak her dry food to soften it 

[SarasMum]

She is on Rose Hip Vital and also takes cartrophen for her dodgy elbows and legs.  She's been on that for 3 years now and I am happy we have been able to get this far with no known side effects especially with her kidneys and bladder.  She has always been really healthy, only vet visits were for cuts and scrapes until she did her ACL the day we lost Maddison just over 3 years ago.  She still has her stupid zoomies every couple of days which I love but it knocks it out of her for a bit afterwards.  She is a happy little thing and is still doing well, she just sleeps a lot more and doesn't walk too far nowadays.

 

I had a look at the Barf patties.  She is fed twice a day normally, how long does one pack usually last you Snook because I think Justice would be about the same size as Sari?

[SarasMum]

3 minutes ago, Snook said:

Justice is normally 23kg or just over. There are 12 patties in a box and he gets half of one for breakfast and the other half for dinner, combined with a spoon of plain yoghurt plus either an egg or a tin of sardines to pad the evening meal out a bit. If he gets a meaty bone for dinner instead, he only has half a pattie in the morning. 

Thanks. The feeding guide was saying she would need 3 to 4 per day, that would just about be gold plated food.

[SarasMum]

Tried to put a pic in but it won't work so ignore.

Edited July 29, 2019 by SarasMum

[juice]

Just in case you are near a Costco, they now have their own raw patties which are a bit cheaper and they are made by the same people who make the big dog patties.

[Rebanne]

can you buy minced chicken carcasses? Add a tiny bit of water and you have soft wet food for her. Same as she is used to just presented differently. Also if you don't want to give her soaked dry food, extra water = extra wee?, how about buying a toy dog size food. Smaller pieces and as long as Sari doesn't scoff it she should be able to eat it without too much chewing.

[sandgrubber]

15 hours ago, SarasMum said:

 

  She still eats it and loves it but it has got to be uncomfortable for her.  

I wouldn't make that assumption.  Dogs do OK gumming it.  Plus the front teeth are choppers while the back teeth are grinders.  So she's still equipped to crunch the stuff.  At 14+ years, there are a lot of things that can depress appetite, not all of them sicknesses. If she still seems to enjoy her food, I would not change it, and I'd try soaking before changing in any case.  

[Loving my Oldies]

As sandgrubber says, dogs can “gum” as well as chew with teeth.  My Mezza (tiny Pom) doesn’t have any teeth and he gets Satiety kibble and a bit of home made mix (cooked mince, rice and vegetables).  He is fed in a slow feeder he eats so quickly.  I have five elderly dogs and, apart from some GI cans and the Satiety kibble, I make their food.  I have a big cook up every couple of weeks.   With one dog this would be the easiest thing in the world to do probably only once a month.   

[Tassie]

4 hours ago, Snook said:

That's a lot of food if our dogs are similar sizes! Justice would be as big as a house in no time! 

Agree, @Snook .  My BC boy is just under 21 kg, and he gets about 1/4- 1/3 of a patty morning and night.  I changed him over to Big Dog raw BARF patties at Christmas when they had Turdukken  .  I'd been happy with his kibble (as was he) for years, but my young BC was on Big Dog.  I liked the way his coat looked on the raw, and he seems happy with it.    The do both have a fair amount of training treats during the day.

 

@SarasMum   Another happy Rose Hip Canine Vital customer here .. I know it's hard to prove a negative, but I think it's worth continuing with it, and it's certainly not harmful to kidneys.

 

 

[teddybeans]

My boy recently had almost ten teeth removed including the molars at the back.  He previously had other teeth out too so there isn’t many left.  He is still eating fine, I was also assured that they managed to eat even with no teeth.

 

Even with so many out, I still need to slow him down with a slow feeder bowl.

 

Probably avoid bones since they can’t chew and break it down.  Sardines I think is fine, soft and mushy enough.

 

 

 

[SarasMum]

Thanks everyone.  I bought the Big Dog Barf patties and gave her half of one last night.  She turned her nose up at it until I put a handful of her dry food with it, then she scoffed it.  She ate it for breakfast fine this morning.  I think I will alternate between soaking her dry food and giving her Barf patties.  I have a whole 15kg bag of food that I only bought last week so don't want to waste it.  I also invested in a cheap off the ground bowl from the Reject Shop.  She looked like she was not totally comfortable stretching her head to the ground due to her dodgy legs.  She was fine with that.  She is getting so attached to me in her old age.  I have never been the one to feed her it was always the kids jobs but she is at the stage now that she won't eat if I am not in the house.  Doesn't go down well when I go on holidays!  Kids had to hand feed her when I was away in May.  She went 2 days with no food.  I don't think she will starve herself but she certainly makes it difficult to go anywhere.

 

Thanks for all your suggestions, really appreciated.

[SarasMum]

On 30/07/2019 at 2:36 PM, Tassie said:

Agree, @Snook .  My BC boy is just under 21 kg, and he gets about 1/4- 1/3 of a patty morning and night.  I changed him over to Big Dog raw BARF patties at Christmas when they had Turdukken  .  I'd been happy with his kibble (as was he) for years, but my young BC was on Big Dog.  I liked the way his coat looked on the raw, and he seems happy with it.    The do both have a fair amount of training treats during the day.

 

@SarasMum   Another happy Rose Hip Canine Vital customer here .. I know it's hard to prove a negative, but I think it's worth continuing with it, and it's certainly not harmful to kidneys.

 

 

Not sure if it was misread but it's the Cartrophen I was worried about, definitely not the Rose Hip Vital.  Thanks for your reply.

[Tassie]

2 hours ago, SarasMum said:

Not sure if it was misread but it's the Cartrophen I was worried about, definitely not the Rose Hip Vital.  Thanks for your reply.

Thought that might have been the case.   So check with your vet and if the vet isn't sure get him/her to do some follow up research .. but a quick look at the Cartrophen site suggests that there is not a problem.  (I suspect part of the concern comes from the confusion with the NSAID Rimadyl - also known as carprofen .. which is problematic for kidneys.  Cartrophen has been around and widely used for 20 years, so there should be plenty of literature especially if it's problematic.

[SarasMum]

Sari has bee on Big Dog Barf patties for a couple of weeks now and recently has started to have small cough ups with a small amount of vomit.  She has never vomited in her life.  This morning she had a little cough up on her bed and as I was cleaning it I noticed a long nail.  She had coughed up a chook claw.  It must have been stuck in her throat.   I might just go back to giving her dry food and soaking it to see how she goes, she loves the Barf but she can't digest the nails in it.  Something like this never even crossed my mind, I knew it would contain bone but not whole nails.

[SarasMum]

On 03/08/2019 at 6:17 PM, Tassie said:

Thought that might have been the case.   So check with your vet and if the vet isn't sure get him/her to do some follow up research .. but a quick look at the Cartrophen site suggests that there is not a problem.  (I suspect part of the concern comes from the confusion with the NSAID Rimadyl - also known as carprofen .. which is problematic for kidneys.  Cartrophen has been around and widely used for 20 years, so there should be plenty of literature especially if it's problematic.

My mistake, it's not Cartrophen it is Carprieve she is on.

[Tassie]

5 hours ago, SarasMum said:

My mistake, it's not Cartrophen it is Carprieve she is on.

Thought it might have been.   It's  a pain that the two names are so similar.    And yes .. Carprieve is something I would use short term but I'd be looking for something else for long term.  The Rose Hip Canine Vital is apparently kidney sparing, but like a lot of arthritis supplements and meds, it works for some and not others.  

 

That was weird about the long nail in the Big Dog patty.   I'd definitely contact the company and ask about it.  What 'Flavour' were you using?  I usually use the COmbo, or Sensitive SKin if I can[t get the Combo .. and of course, Turdukken at Christmas.  I have see smaller than pinky fingernail slices of bone, but nothing bigger than that.  I ususally mash a knife or something in the meat they're getting in their bowl  . but mainly to spread it out a bit so they think they're getting more  … that might be worth doing.

[Loving my Oldies]

6 hours ago, SarasMum said:

Sari has bee on Big Dog Barf patties for a couple of weeks now and recently has started to have small cough ups with a small amount of vomit.  She has never vomited in her life.  This morning she had a little cough up on her bed and as I was cleaning it I noticed a long nail.  She had coughed up a chook claw.  It must have been stuck in her throat.   I might just go back to giving her dry food and soaking it to see how she goes, she loves the Barf but she can't digest the nails in it.  Something like this never even crossed my mind, I knew it would contain bone but not whole nails.

Report this immediately!!!

[SarasMum]

Thanks everyone.  I contacted them via facebook this morning and they have been excellent.  I sent them photos of the talon and the batch details on the box.  I'm not sure what flavour it was as it was the Combo box, middle layer if that helps?  They said the direction to the manufacturer was to never use feet or beaks so they're not sure how it got in there and are researching.

 

I mentioned to them that she has been having small vomits since starting on it and they suggested I switch her from the Combo to the Wellbeing, they are giving me a box for free.  They are also sending me some probiotic powder they have.

 

All in all I am happy with their customer service.  I understand that when you are relying on a third party things happen but at least this has brought it to their attention and in the long run it's probably lucky old fatty had a vomit.