Senior dog - what to feed her next?

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anon1997

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I put a post up a few weeks ago to say our senior dog was off her food and asking for suggestions.

She then massively perked up at some new different foods from the pet shop - despite turning down all home cooked food including fillet steak!! She loved JR Pate and Devini tins, however we are again starting to find them a bit boring and when she stops eating so well she generally looks a bit more lack lustre so I am keen to get her going again, although I do think heat may be a factor in why she isn’t so keen. She is looking for food however, just turns her nose up and takes some convincing to eat.

What food makes your dog go wild please? She is 16 so only soft food, must smell very appetising. Thank you in advance for any suggestions.
 
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Salmon oil on her normal food is making my fussy one gobble her meals. I started doing it a few days ago and am astonished at how keen to eat she is suddenly.
 
Liver paste from the pet shop, mainly for pills but I water it down to pre-soak the whippets dry food which he prefers (he’s 15, I mange his teeth as best I can, heart issues mean dentals aren’t appropriate). We had one of his turns where the dry food got refused and tried Wolfworthy and The Innocent Hound as they are both quite squishy kibble. He loved both and I would use Wolfworthy again but Innocent Hound was unbelievably expensive.
 
I’ve recently gone through similar with my elderly dog and I understand how difficult and upsetting it is. I also had the same situation in that he was terrified of vets, he had bad teeth but wasn’t suitable for treatment due to other medical conditions. Our vet was also in agreement that we would just manage as best we could with as little intervention as possible.

We had a very long period of extremely fussy eating, and what he seemed to love for a couple of days, he’d then refuse to eat.

I found he was better eating at the same time we were, and I’d usually start him off on scraps from us (if suitable) and then once he’d started eating he’d often go and eat his own dinner once ours was all gone. So I’d suggest varying meal times to see if that makes a difference, and see if you can find something that whets his appetite to get him going. (I know it wouldn’t be recommended, but a little bit of ice cream or cat licks also seemed to get him more interested in food!)

Strangely our dog also wanted to eat dry kibble off the carpet towards the end, even though he’d not had dry food in years. I’m not sure if it was the food or the surface it was on. Have you tried feeding off different surfaces? We bought a lick mat and he seemed happier eating off that than out of a bowl, although it got very messy! We also had a few successful days of soaking kibble in hot water once we realised he was liking the kibble.

Also maybe speak to your vet (if you haven’t already) to see if they can give an appetite stimulant and/or long lasting pain relief.

I’m so sorry, I really feel for you. It’s heartbreaking to see them searching for food but then refuse it. I now have a cupboard full of dog food which I was planning to take to a rescue when I’m ready to face that. But if you live anywhere near me and would like to take anything to try, please send me a message. (I’m in Kent, close to the M25).
 
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