Unusual feed advise needed.

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Tizzy01

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I have posted about my elderly dog having colitis, and oesteoporosis. Well, she is a lot better but still struggling to get any food down her and she is still loosing weight.
She has will not eat her usual dry food (bakers complete), I think she might be struggling to eat it as her teeth are not what they used to be due to her age. It has got to the point were I am just giving her anything that she will eat (she had wheatabix this morning). I know this is far from ideal and I need some ideas!
It has to be a feed that is easy to get hold of (not online). I am at my wits end!
She was having her usual dry food with gravy but she is not interested in that either now.
Help!
 
I would take her to the vet to have a check up just in case there's something else going on, especially if she's an oldie. Have you had her teeth checked, as maybe her gums are sore and it is putting her off eating.

Ask your vet about the Hills prescription diets, as they do various different ones for different dietary conditions, it comes in wet and dry food.

You could try boiled chicken and rice with maybe some plain natural yogart, mash it up well so its easier for her to eat. Or another option you could try is adding some warm water with her usual biscuts to sofen them.

Maybe it is the food she is eating that is causing her colitis in the first place? One of my cats developed a runny bum for weeks and she lost a lot of weight. We had no idea what was causing it, even my after blood tests the vet could find nothing wrong. Untill I changed her food! The strangest thing was that all my four cats had this food for years with no problems and she was the only one that had a problem with it!? Since changing her food, she has not had a runny bum and has put on weight and looks well.
 
The vet advised chicken and rice when she had colitis and she ate that without any problems. When we started to introduce her normal food again she just refused to eat and we had to go back to the chicken as she was starving herself.
The vet did say that her teeth need doing again so I will have to book her in for another dental.
She has been back and forwards to the vet and is now on painkillers for her oesteoporosis and tablets for her colitis. I think the vet is just looking to keep her comfortable and try and get some weight back on her, but this is proving difficult.
It has been an ongoing argument between my mum and I. I have been resarching different feed companies but she just won't discuss using anything that she can't by from tesco for a resonable price. I am getting really upset about it. I honestly don't think that she will eat any dry food but really don't want to put her on wet as I don't like whats in it. Plus, I don't think it will help her stomach!
 
Ets, she is defo at the end of her life and it is difficult to know how many investigations to push on and have for her. Realistically, we would not put her through any invasive treatment due to her age. Vet has not found anything sinister so far and she has certainly been at the vets a lot recently....
crazy.gif
 
Without being rude to you, Bakers isn't actually a very good dog feed, it's one that is bulked out with wheat and contains so many colourants and preservatives that cause cancer and allsorts of problems in dogs. I know having coeliacs that one of the long term side effects of consuming wheat is osteoporosis and I'm sceptical as to whether this is the cause of such a rise in athritis and osteoporosis in canines as they cannot actually digest wheat - also the cause of loose and runny stools.

Again, I'd recommend chicken and rice. I imagine it is probably too late on to introduce a raw diet to her. If she's having problems with her teeth then perhaps soak the biscuit if you want her to remain on a biscuit diet. If you do continue with biscuit I really would try and change to a better brand. It may cost more but then it may also even it out if it cuts down on visits to your vet.
 
Ditto Severnmiles, get her a wheat free food, I expect Tesco do their own brand, but they probably also sell JWB which is an okay WG free (there are better, but probably not in the supermarket!) A dollop of live natural yogurt will help too.
 
Well said Severnmiles! - I just wasn't brave enough to say about Bakers.

Tizzy - the wet food the Hills do on prescription does not have any of the rubbish that the usual 'over the counter' food that the supermarket sells. Take a look at the ingredients on one of the Hills Prescription Diet cans. I think from memory you can buy Hills Prescription Diet for sensitive tummys which is made with chicken and rice, so in the long run would be easier for you. I may be wrong but I'm sure its only the vet sells the prescription stuff that the Hills make.



I'm really sorry to hear that shes coming to the end ...., you just have to try and make her as comfortable as possible for as long as you can, without her welfare being compromised.

 
She has been on bakers all her life and I only realised the bad effects after reading it on here. We spoke to the vet about it and he said he wouln't advise changing her food until we got to the bottom of her stomach upset. He said that lots of dogs develop IBS in later life.
I am not sure that it can be proved that her food caused her oesteoporosis though, she is 16 and has be super super fit and healthy until very recently.
Soaking biscuits doesn't work now, she just will not eat them!
Is chicken and rice ok long term though?
 
Chicken and rice will be fine for long term.
How about putting some scrambled egg with it now and again and also give her a small bowl of warm porridge in the morning.
and just monitor how she goes!
 
I gave her some tuna and rice with a few of her biscuits mixed in and she wolfed it down!
I think we are just going to have to keep an eye on her. She is back at the vets again next month anyway and we are weighing her every time she goes.
Defo going to book her in for a dental as I think that is why she is avoiding her hard food. I just feel terrible putting her through more procedures when she has been poked and prodded so much recently-poor old girlie!
 
I would stop the biscuits completely and just give her rice with chicken,tuna,sardines or pilchards (espoecially in tomato sauce) and make small cups of hot bovril and pour it over. The gluten in Bakers and most other dog food will not help her colitis at all. Bovril is really good as it is made from beef extract again (was originally made to give to patients in hospital who couldn't eat) so has got all sorts of nutrients in it and she will eat it and lick the bowl! Big bags of rice and jars of Bovril will also work out cheaper than most dog food.
 
My Retriever was very poorly and went off all food apart from chicken and rice - someone on here suggested natures diet - which we tried...and she LOVED!
 
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