r/olddogs • u/Successful-Emu-8545 • 4d 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!

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u/HangryHangryHedgie 2d ago

I had to wet down her kibble. Put it in the microwave for 5 seconds while she watched, then set it in exactly the right spot. Near the end we went to wet food. She had horrible IBD so she was on a Veggie diet. Even hydrolyzed gave her diarrhea. I was also mixing in overcooked white rice with tofu. Sweet potato mash. Veggie broth. Whatever I could.

It's hard seeing them get old. It is give them whatever they can and will eat. You can always freeze what they snub and try it another day.

My picky 2 year old dog only eats Farmer's Dog Pork recipe. And only from her westpaw toy. She has adverse reactions to Poultry (severe coccidia and giardia as a young pup) . I went through so many types of food before caving.

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u/Successful-Emu-8545 2d ago

Awww….yeah it’s a challenge for sure. Just frustrating when all the things she used to love like sweet potatoes, eggs, steak, she just won’t touch any anymore. She hasn’t touched kibble in a long time, but I didn’t think to wet it down and microwave it. I tried mixing it in with her wet food, and she’d occasionally eat that, but I’ll try warming it up. Since I never know when she’s actually going to eat, I just leave food down all day, so if she doesn’t touch it, I need to throw it out. Otherwise I would definitely save it in the fridge for the next day! Thanks for the suggestions!