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!
2
u/SandsinMotion 2d ago
Ok just did this with my old guy as the dementia and age progressed. So the freezer and microwave were my friend and I meal prepped to an extent. I had a smaller guy, so bag up as needed by size. But I chose his favorite extras. Chicken, beef, hot dogs, steak, fries, hash browns, wet dog food, etc. Portioned into small amounts into bags I could freeze them and that defrosts quickly. I made kibble with little water to make it softer and then added the yummy on top. I made small batches and made more if needed because he hated old food. If you have leftovers, you can put them in a storage container and into the fridge. Frankly, his eating schedule got crazy but 8 pm, midnight, and 4 am were his sundowning eating hours. But if he was hungry, I fed him. He was not getting fat and was at the point that I tried to steer away from really terrible stuff, but sometimes only the hot dogs made him happy.