1) Dogs (and cats too if you'd like) can wear clothing! A lot of pet owners (especially those that own larger dogs) would never even consider this, but there is a very good reason (besides the cuteness of it all) for your pets to wear clothing! Unless your pet has a very thick coat (such as huskies, malamutes, saint bernards, chow chows, and golden retrievers, to name a few) or a lot of extra body mass, (no, I am not talking about fat! I'll get to that in a minute) chances are your pets will feel the effects from the cold more, especially if they are not breeds that are meant to be able to withstand colder weather (think greyhound). So in order to add that extra bit of warmth for your seniors while they are outdoors, a coat and maybe some boots would help give that added layer. There is a lot to choose from out there, and this time of year is perfect for finding dog coats and sweaters (and they come in all sizes!)
2) Nail trimming - pure and simple. I thought about this yesterday as I was trimming the nails of a 100 pound senior Rottweiler who looked like he hadn't had them trimmed since he was a puppy. The nails were long talons that had curled and bent sideways. Luckily I was able to get them trimmed a lot shorter. But I have also seen nails so long that they had begun growing into to the paw pads, causing an infection, and nails that were so long that the quick (the blood vessel in the toenail that if cut, hurts and bleeds) had also grown equally as long, which then prevents us from being able to cut the nails short. The concept of nail trimming goes along with providing traction for your senior pets - if their nails are that long, chances are it is affecting their ability to walk correctly. So this stems back to puppy and kitten hood - Begin getting your pets used to having their nails trimmed when they are young so that they will tolerate having it done regularly.
3) Keeping your pets at a healthy weight is THE most important thing that you can do for them, especially for our seniors who have arthritis. If your pets (just like with people) are carrying extra weight, it puts a lot more stress on their joints, not to mention increasing their chances for diseases such as diabetes, liver and kidney disease, and heart disease (again, just like with people). So instead of giving Rover that tasty bacon off of your plate every morning, offer him some carrots, apples, green beans, or bananas. Just about any fruit and veggie that WE can eat, your pets can eat. There are a few exceptions to this - NEVER feed grapes, raisins, or onions. These can cause kidney disease and anemia. Also try cutting back on the amount of food you are feeding, or try switching to a lower calorie diet to help take the weight off (again, just like with people). By keeping your pets thin their entire lives (and getting used to feeding them healthier at a young age) you are helping to lengthen their lives more than you can imagine. Not only do they look good and have more energy, but they are healthier overall. (again, just like with people - see a pattern here?)
Let's all follow these simple tips to help ensure happy and healthy senior pets!
10 comments:
Alli is so CUTE in her clothes and bows!
HOW DO I GET DOG TO EAT?
Hi! Your mom told me to write to you here and see if you could help me with a 12-year-old Dobie who is eating off and on.
She has always been a picky eater, especially in the summer (we live in Florida and thought maybe it was due to heat), but now she has just gotten to the point where it is a battle to try to get her to eat.
We used to have a Lab who would get her to eat, because she was afraid he was going to eat her food and she loved barking and growling at him while she ate. Unfortunately our Lab passed away in February.
She then attached herself to one of our cats and we lost her in May due to a stone lodged in her urethra. (We haven't had the best of luck this year).
Since then she has been very, very picky with food and will eat for a couple of days and then stop. Her daddy started switching foods and putting wet food in, which she thought was pretty cool. Then she learned if she stopped eating he would change the food and she would get something new and exciting.
I told him he needed to stop doing this. Not only was it making her a picky eater, but it was also causing all kinds of tummy problems, i.e., vomiting and diarrhea.
We just about got her to the point where she was eating one food and we had to leave town. While she was at the vets she started playing the same games and they were feeding her whatever she would eat. While there she lost 4.5pounds!
We thought she might start eating agan once home, but she didn't. We took her in and had blood work, an ultrsaound and x-rays taken and everything was fine. The vet was at a loss as to what was going on with her. We put her on antidepressants, which didn't work. We then tried Prilosec and a med to coat her throat (in case she had difficulty swallowing for some reason) and that at first seemed to help, but now she is back to not eating anything. She is on day 2 of no food.
Do you have any suggestions on what we can do to get our little furbaby to eat? We love her so much and just can't bear the thought of losing another "child" in 2008.
Thanks so much for all of your help!
First of all I have to say that I am very sorry for your difficulties this year with the loss of your pets... That is never easy, and is so hard to have to say goodbye. I hope that your hearts are slowly able to heal after all of that.
How to get your dog to eat..... Generally dogs do not starve themselves, and will eat in due time. This means not offering treats, different kinds of food, etc. If your dog truly is losing excessive amounts of weight because of this, that usually indicates that something medical is going on, and there are foods that your vet can recommend to you for weight loss or GI problems (which he could have, despite all of his tests coming back normal) that are bland and easy on the GI tract - in this case, canned food would be the choice.
However, let's have you try a few things first to break him of his pickiness (to a tolerable level). I always recommend switching food around every month or so, so that dogs do not become bored with the food they are currently eating. This also allows a different variety of proteins to make their way into your dog's diet (again, to alleviate any boredom with the same food, but to also eliminate the possibility of allergies to occur to one protein source). Having said that, it is not a good idea to offer canned food or other tasty morsels just to get your dog to eat, because he will then learn that it is okay to hold out for the good stuff. Instead, try soaking his food with water or low sodium chicken/beef broth (it is a good idea to add extra moisture to dry food anyway).
My clinic sells a homemade, completely balanced diet called Furishnikovs that essentially ends up being a hot dish for dogs. It comes complete with the mix that contains all of the nutrients and vitamins your dog needs, and all you have to do is cook chicken and rice, and add the mixture to this. If you have the time, it actually is a really good, well balanced diet for dogs, and works well for those picky eaters.
My suggestion would be to start over from scratch. Buy a food that is high quality, whether it is dry food or a homemade diet, (no meat by-products) and begin a feeding regime that will ensure your dog will eat. This may take some getting used to for both you and your dog, but be firm. Once he figures out that you are not going to cave and feed the canned diet instead, he will begin eating. I would suggest purchasing small bags (a different kind of food each time he runs out of a diet) that you can return for a refund if he won't eat it. Most pet stores guarantee the foods they sell, but be sure to check with them first.
Put his food down, and leave it for 20 minutes. If he does not eat, the food goes up and he does not get it again until later in the day, say around lunch time. Do the same thing - place the food down for 20 minutes and whatever he does not finish in that amount of time goes away. And then the same thing again at dinner. If he learns to expect YOU to provide the meals (instead of the food just being left out) then he will learn quickly that this is his only chance to eat at this time, and he gets THIS food and this food ONLY. He will begin eating for you, but it may take some time. There truly are picky eaters out there... but healthy dogs do not starve themselves. It is not their instinct to do so.
Make note of the foods that he eats well. Once you can find a few foods that he likes, keep those in your back pocket for when he decides he wants to be picky or to alternate around for variety. You may need to switch to one of the back up foods, should he decide that he is tired of the current one (and as mentioned above, it is a good idea to switch foods around every so often anyway).
It is good that you had the complete work up done on him... and it is good that everything was normal. We know that he probably is just a truly picky eater.
Make sure that you stay in charge of his food all of the time.... His pickiness should resolve by simply changing some of the feeding habits. It may seem mean at first, but HE should not be the one dictating what he gets to eat - YOU have to be the one to control this, and the canned food has to stop right here. It's a different story if he truly was sick and losing weight because of it - then I would say, feed him whatever he will eat (or, as mentioned above, a special diet that your vet recommends). But he is a healthy dog with a picky eating habit, and you will be able train him to break that cycle by following these few simple tips.
If it comes down to it, and you are more than frustrated at getting him to eat, I would suggest a behaviorist to consult this over with. I can recommend a GREAT behaviorist in Madison if you are interested.
I hope that this has been helpful advice..... Please let me know if you have any other questions! I really think that things will get better for you and him! You just need a lot of patience! Good luck to you and to your picky eater!
Hi vettech!
Thanks so much for getting back to me so quickly! I really appreciate all of your advice.
Tiobla's daddy was getting ready to open up a can of food last night and I was even ready to scramble up an egg, but then I had to stop myself and say "NO". She ate about 2 cups last night and that's a start. Only bad thing was I had to pretend I was putting cat food in it for her to eat. I know, I have to stop that as well.
She is eating a really good food (Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul) so she should love it. The cats love their variety of it. From what she has eaten in just the past 5 days her coat looks beautiful. We just need her to get the 4 cups in a day that she needs. Maybe she is just the type of dog that doesn't eat much. Could that be? I've always heard of older people not eating much, maybe Tiobla, now that she is older, just doesn't want that much anymore. I don't know. All I know is if I ask her if she is hungry her ears perk up.
She is eating most of her food at night. I think that is why she may not be able to get all of it in, because she is stuffing herself. I don't know how to get her to start eating twice a day like she used to.
We did try the warm water or chicken broth and she didn't go for that. She just let it get all soggy and we would have to throw it away. I thought she would love the chicken broth! We also tried roasting up chicken and mixing it with rice, but she would just try to pick out the chicken and throw the rice all over the place.
I will put my food down now and be the mean mommy. It's going to be tough, but that's what I'm going to do. Since she likes the cat food she should like the dog food since it has basically the same stuff in it as far as ingredients. I know its formulated differently for their bodies, but has the same meats in it.
Right now David has the Chicken soup food mixed with another one. Should we take the other food out and just give her the one choice?
Again, thanks for getting back to me so soon. Also, thank you for your sympathetic thoughts regarding Bailey and Grizabella. We miss them terribly and the way we lost them was horrific. We tried doing surgery on Grizzy (the cat with the stone lodged in her ureter), but she had leakage, the kidney had to come out, then she wouldn't eat and a feeding tube was placed. We brought her home for a few days, but then found out her other kidney was failing as well. We knew we had to do the humane thing and let her go. She was only 8.
We never even knew Bailey was sick. He acted like his happy old self until one day he just acted like he had the flu and wasn't quite right. I was keeping an eye on him and at the end of the day I found him lying out on the lanai not responding and eyes glazed over. The vet came and got him. They did an ultrasound and found a tumor on his kidney that had ruptured. He was bleeding to death internally. We had to let him go. He was 14.
We miss them both greatly. Sorry if I'm rambling, it just helps to go over what happened.
Again, thanks for all your help. I'll keep you up to date on what is going on with Miss Tiobla.
I am glad that my advice has helped.... Like I mentioned earlier, it will take time and patience with Tiobla. She needs to get used to the new feeding routine. I think once she realizes that she is only allowed certain times to eat, she will begin finishing her full amount. If she does not, then closely monitor her weight. It could be that her body just does not need 4 cups per day.
But it is very important for you to only allow her the 20 minutes per feeding to eat what she has in front of her, then whatever she does not finish goes away until the next time. It will feel mean at first, but it will help her to understand that you are in control of the food and that she needs to eat at certain times. I am proud of you both for not caving in and giving her extra goodies in her food. This will pay off in the end, trust me.... and you won't have to worry about Tiobla not eating.
I would suggest not mixing different types of food. Try sticking with one for now so that you can really be sure of what she likes. If one of the foods in her dish does not appeal to her, she may turn her nose up to it even if she likes the other food. It is important to figure out what her favorites are during this food trial period.
It sounds like she likes the Chicken Soup food, so feed her that for a week or two, limiting her feedings (20 minutes each time) and keep track each day of how much she is eating per meal. I think you will start to see progress with her.
Keep me updated with how Tiobla is doing with her new feeding schedule. I have never seen a healthy dog starve itself, and I know that you will see results from Tiobla as well. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Again, good luck to you AND Tiobla!
Hi Vettech!
Well, just when I thought everything was getting better all the poo had to hit the fan....literally. LOL LOL LOL!
I was finally getting Tiobla to eat at least once at day at 8 p.m. all 3 to 3-1/2 cups of food as long as I sat with her and a cat had to be near by to make her think it was going to eat her food (I know, we probably should be doing that either).
Then she woke up Sunday morning with diarrhea. She has been eating that food for a while now, so I just don't think it's the food. So, her daddy started mixing in canned w/d in with 2 cups of food twice a day. He gives 1/4 of a can. I know you said don't give her canned at all, but we didn't know what to do. She had stopped eating again Saturday and by Sunday afternoon we new she had to get something in her.
Well, she loves the food now. Of course, it's something different (her usual routine). I sure after a week she would be bored and stop eating this.
Okay, after her stools get back to normal, do we start all over again with the dry? I swear, this dog is going to send us to an early grave. LOL LOL LOL
I hear your mom's dogs eat green beans, PB and string cheese. Can I just start feeding that to Tiobla? LOL
We are at our witts end and don't know what to do with little miss Tiobla. I was so excited when she started to eat once a day and now feel so frustrated again.
When you get a chance, let me know what to do next. That Chicken Soup dry dog food also makes a canned for senior dogs, should we put a tablespoon or so in the dry just to make her think she is getting something cool?
Thanks so much!
There is nothing wrong with feeding a canned diet, but using it to bribe her to eat the dry food is not going to work... She will end up holding out for the canned food each time. It is okay to have the cat nearby - a little competition never hurt anyone, and as long as she is not attacking the cat, I don't see why that should be a problem. You CAN sit next to her and watch her eat (in fact it probably is not a bad idea for you to monitor closely her food intake since she has been so picky lately) but refrain from hand feeding her. Again, she will get used to that, and only ever want to be hand fed. The goal is to get her to eat on her own.
If she is eating the canned food and likes it well enough, switch her over to the canned equivalent of her dry food and forget about the dry food. Just don't use other things to bribe her to eat. She can have veggies mixed in with the canned food - veggies are VERY good for dogs and I encourage all of my clients to feed those as treats. It certainly is not a bad idea to mix in frozen or canned green beans, carrots, peas, etc into the food. The only things you MUST avoid feeding are onions, grapes, and raisins. I would recommend making sure that she is not having any GI problems in the meantime.
The fact that you mentioned she had diarrhea sparks some thoughts with me.... Have you had a stool sample checked on her lately? If not, I would highly recommend you have your vet check a stool sample for intestinal parasites AND additional tests to look for "bad" bacteria or Giardia. It could be that if she has an upset GI tract, she could be refusing food because of that. Sometimes dogs will be asymptomatic but still feel icky. That would be the next thing I would talk to your vet about. Unfortunately, some intestinal parasites can be very hard to find (like Giardia and WHIPWORMS, for example). It might be something that can be treated quite simply with a deworming medication, and sometimes with GI sensitivities, using a beneficial bacteria supplement can make dogs feel so much better (if Tiobla has a GI sensitivity). It wouldn't hurt to call and talk to your vet about these things.... Bear in mind that not all vets agree on the same things. Your vet may not agree with what I am saying, but we routinely check stool samples at the clinic I work at, and you would not believe the number of parasites that we diagnose on asymptomatic animals. If it ends up truly not being a parasite problem, many pets are put on the beneficial bacteria and do really well with that. We also usually recommend for pets with GI sensitivities that owners try feeding a specific intestinal diet, and this is something that you could also try with Tiobla to see if she eats that better. Remember, I am not diagnosing anything here, simply offering advice, so please discuss all of this with your vet (although putting Tiobla on a intestinal diet will not hurt her in the least, even if she does not have an intestinal problem.)
I hope this has all been helpful to you. Keep me updated on how everything is going! Good luck to you and Tiobla!
Hi Vettech!
I just wanted to let you know that she has been tested for worms and Giardia already. That was one of the tests they did while she was there for the day getting all of her other tests done.
What's interesting is my husband said while he was there a lady and her husband was talking to him and said they have three dogs who have been going through this on and off since May! They bring them in and they can't find anything wrong. I beginning to wonder if its the reclaimed water they use here in Florida!
Tiobla is back on the w/d and is supposed to get 1/2 packet of a probiotic mixed in with it, but she hates the powdered probiotic. Any suggestions on how to get that down her. Can I just open her mouth and pour it down? LOL
Don't worry about the kitty. She's safe. That's why I sit there. Tiobla just likes to give dirty looks if she thinks someone else is going to eat her food.
I would never feed her by hand. NO WAY! They were doing that at the vets when she was boarding and I think she got a little used to that. I love her lots, but I am not going to get her into that habit.
I'll keep you up to date. You're the best!
The powdered probiotic can be tough, especially if she is already picky about her food. The best way to mask the flavor of that would be to mix the w/d (is it canned?) with peas, carrots, potatoes, green beans, etc. and heat all of that together, then add in the probiotic and mix it well. Hopefully this will interest her enough to eat that and not realize that there is anything in there. There are probiotic gels or pastes available for dogs which might be easier for you to get Tiobla to eat, and I would ask your vet about that if she still refuses to eat the powder on her food (is it Fortiflora?) It might not hurt to find out more information about the water in your area, but I am doubtful that would be the cause, otherwise many more dogs, along with cats, people, etc. would be having problems. You can always switch Tiobla to filtered tap water or bottled water just to be on the safe side.
I hope that this all helps, and I am here if you have any more questions about this or anything else! :)
I forgot to mention - If you decide to mix the w/d with the veggies when offering the powdered probiotic to her, that might have to be her new diet (w/d and veggies) because she may not like the w/d without the veggies. The only reason I suggested using veggies (rather than some other food to mix in) is because they are really good for dogs to eat on a regular basis. It would not be a bad idea to feed Tiobla veggies daily. I just wanted to mention that so that I wasn't confusing you (because I mentioned earlier not to offer other types of food or treats just to get her to eat).... Good luck with everything, and keep me updated!
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