Elderly Lab not eating

rmdial · 10-05-2009, 10:45 PM

Pearl, our 13 yr old Yellow Lab has always eaten like a Lab. She has had the usual ailments associated with Labs. Bad hips and general arthritis along with recent kidney problems. She is on pain and kidney meds and has had intravenous fluids given to her to flush what her kidneys are not filtering.
Now my question. Recently she had started to turn down food she would normally devour in seconds. Roasted chicken, burger, eggs, cheese, and sausage she will sniff and then turn her head away as if it smells bad. Complete inconsistency with eating. What she will eat today, she turns down tonight or tomorrow. What she turns down now she may come back and eat five minutes later. She act hungry. She comes to me in the kitchen and gives me "the look" of what's for dinner? Otherwise she acts and looks like she feels pretty good since she still wants to go swimming or hang out in the yard. Has a bounce in her step with her tail up and wagging.

Sorry for the long post but I want to give the whole picture.

Thanks in advance.

Rick

spotted nikes · 10-05-2009, 11:08 PM

Sausage is pretty hard on their system, as well as hamburger if it is not boiled.

Try fasting her for a day, then start feeding small amounts of boiled, skinless, boneless chicken and boiled rice, several times a day. Gradually add in small amounts of her regular dog food.

If you are feeding roasted chicken, sausage, and cooked hamburger, you may have caused an upset stomach, so she just doesn't feel like eating right now.

Dog_Shrink · 10-05-2009, 11:38 PM

13 is old as I'm sure you know for a dog that size. There are several reasons that a dog would go off food. Meds side effects, how she's feeling that day physically etc. Something else our dogs can suffer from is Dimensia... similar to what happens to humans. This sounds more a befitting explanation as to why one day she'll gobble something and then the next not (or according to you this can change from minute to minute). Also something to consider is that maybe the last time she had it she got an upset stomach or had bowel issues (all that could have been totally not related to the food she ate but in her mind since the occurances were so close together she might have related one to the other). I would recommend a regular schedule of probiotics which is as simple as getting some plain yogert and putting 1-2 tablespoons every other day in her food. This restores her natural gut flora and helps aide in digestion, absorbtion, and the prevention of parasitic worms (since they usually are more prone to become active in a gut with deficits and not in optimum health). A diet that includes prebiotics and probiotics is always a good idea for older dogs that have kidney issues and are on a regular regimin of daily meds.

Also with senior dogs you should not let them free feed (leave their food down and full all day). Having owned a few labs in my lifetime I know this is unlikely that you do it (because they're pigs and will eat EVERYTHING), but more so an FYI. It makes it difficult to determine how much they eat in a day and is truly the ultimate way to tell if a dog is off feed, plus it gives you the opportunity to mix the yogert with her food to make sure she eats her kibble. What are you feeding her for her kibble anyway? that might also have something to do with it. As dogs are their systems tend to change much like ours. One day you may not be reactive to something, the next your allergic or it irritates the hell outta ya. It might be time to think abut a kibble change to accomodate her body's changing needs.

The diet recommendations that spotted nikes recommended are usually warranted in a dog with active GI issues such as vomiting and diareah but if you're not seeing those there should really be no need to fast your dog exp. since she's on meds that are better off taken with food in the stomach. Limiting the amounts of spicy foods such as sausage yeah I agree that could aggrivate a senior's system, but every muscle group in a dog's body is designed to absorb and utilize proteins derived from fats, whereas only specific muscle groups are designed to absorb proteins derived from meat sources so a diet higher in fats is actually recommended for senior dogs (compare the food labels and you'll see lower protein and higher fats).

Hope this helps.

rmdial · 10-06-2009, 01:30 AM

Thanks for the replies. Pearl has not eaten any dog food for months. She rejected both kibble and canned so that is why we went to her old favorites like eggs, chicken, and burger. We are at the point where we will try anything to get something in her. It is vital since we need to get meds into her system.
We use to use the r/d and j/d from the vet but she turned her nose to that months ago.

We have tried the rice with chicken (roasted) but will try boiling meats to see if that works. I have given her some probiotics recently and will continue.

Thanks again for the help.

Rick

spotted nikes · 10-06-2009, 02:00 AM

Baby food also might work, if you try to get the ones with low salt/onion powder. Warming it can sometimes help.

Kathyy · 10-06-2009, 12:51 PM

Please go to http://www.dogaware.com/kidney.html This page has so much great information. 16 year old with kidney disease for 2.5 years Sassy is still eating really well but I expect she will lose her appetite at some point too.

Does the vet have her on an antacid and/or anti nausea drug? Kidney dogs are acidic and get upset stomachs and ulcers very easily. Then they reject the food that made them feel ill. I have only had this issue with all the bazillon supplements given at night so far. She has stopped eating green tripe and is dubious about peanut butter, her lifelong favorite treat. Her main problem seems to be fish oil, tastes nasty now apparently even in sealed gel caps.

If she is ill enough to need IV flushes ask the vet about doing daily subcutaneous fluids. Without those fluids Sassy would not still be with us nearly a year after starting them. She was chronically dehydrated and drinking alone or with food couldn't get enough fluids into her. Dehydration makes one feel very ill. If her creatinine level is around 3 then please try it. It was scary at first but the difference was amazing in just a day or so.

If you are home feeding her then I suggest joining K9KidneyDiet, a yahoo group. The moderators are very knowlegeable and can guide you through vet visits, nutrition and outsmarting this disease for a while anyway. The files have a lot of ways to get low phosphorus egg whites and glutinous rice into nauseated dogs. Get hard copies of all the blood work your dog has ever had so you can make up a chart for your required introductory post.

Dog_Shrink · 10-06-2009, 07:22 PM

Insted of drugs to help a senior dog with med side effects like upset tummy I give cinnamon (usually a pinch for dogs under 5 lbs. and as much as 1/8 tsp. for dogs 25-45 and 1/4 tsp for anything 50 and above) since it's an all natural stomach soother. Or a little pepperment leaf. I invested in a witche's cookbook simply because a lot of the herbal remedies they use can also apply to your dog BUT YOU MUST MAKE SURE THAT ANY PLANTS USED ARE NOT ON THE HSUS TOXIC PLANT LIST! www.hsus.org and enter toxic plants in the search bar.

Whenever I can go all natural insted of pharmacuticals on the little stuff, and as long as you have your vets support then why not.

Kathyy · 10-06-2009, 07:56 PM

Cinnamon helps with upset stomach? I didn't know that! I give Sassy banana or pumpkin cookies with cinnamon every day. She loves them and I make sure they fit into her strict diet. 1/2 tsp per 8 cookies, one cookie a day, guess I can increase the amount a little bit - she is about 44 pounds.

The meds don't upset the stomach. The disease upsets the stomach. The higher the creatinine and phosphorus in the blood the worse the dog feels and harder time eating. Often the first sign a dog owner has is the dog is moping about and won't eat. Dilute urine and accidents in the house come first but not eating is huge and accidents might just be due to age.

Sassy gets a liver pill that consists of SAM-e and milk thistle extract and that pepcid. The rest of her pills are simply nutritional supports like extra fish oil, B vitamins and the like. Possibly pain meds upset the stomach but Sassy achy joints only get glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM.

Herbs are just amazing. I will have to look into this more. Thanks.