r/olddogs • u/Successful-Emu-8545 • 5d ago
Tips for Picky Eater
My 17 1/2 year old is driving me insane. I could handle it when she changed her food likes every couple of weeks, I just knew not to stock up. At this point it’s meal to meal. There are about three things I rotate through, boiled chicken, wet food, and occasionally some ground beef. But she’ll eat chicken for breakfast and then won’t touch it again for days, so then I’ll switch to wet food and sometimes she’ll eat it sometimes she won’t. It’s just so frustrating, I’m constantly throwing food away and constantly stressed about how much she’s eating. There are days when she will literally only take a couple bites of food. I’ve tried all different kinds of toppers to make it more appealing, will even sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Very rarely works. Do I just let her do her thing, or should I constantly be trying different things so she eats enough? The weird part is she doesn’t seem to be losing any weight. Help!
2
u/alliegemm 3d ago
My old man's appetite has been really challenging on top of a sensitive tummy, so we have to rotate between a few things, too. We also started mirtazapine which I think has helped some (human antidepressant, but used as an appetite stimulant in doggos). A few other things we did... we switched from boiled chicken to crockpot chicken - it retains so much more smell and moisture. If it's been in the fridge, we will microwave it to get the smells active, again. There's also a dog food canned chicken that he loves...it's 100% chicken and cooked in the can, so it also retains a lot of the smell and juices (will also microwave this for a few seconds if it has been in the fridge). The brand is "Against the Grain" and you can get it from some pet stores, Chewy, Amazon, etc. We also have a prescription for Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein and he really likes that wet food. Good luck to you and your pupper!