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Post by littlemiss on Jan 28, 2009 14:37:11 GMT -5
My Greyhound is 13 and normally shes a good weight and doesn't look skinny but over the last few weeks shes started losing alot of weight due to not really eating, i have tried changing her food to see if that helps but shes having none of it and not gaining weight!
I have stopped taking her for a walk as i don't want people to think i don't feed her, the only time she goes for a walk now is when i put her coat on her as then no one can she how skinny she looks.
I have even taken her to the vets to make sure that she didn't have something wrong with her and all the blood work came back clear! the vet said shes rather healthy apart from the weight lose!
I have tried using dried and wet food i have even tried using a special type of food just for old/resting greyhounds but that hasn't helped.
I'm now at a dead end and don't know what to do!
Can anyone suggest anything?? I'm all ears!!!
Do you think a rice meal a day will help??
Or is she like this due to being so old??
Please help!!!
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Post by Princess C on Jan 28, 2009 15:34:29 GMT -5
How are her teeth? If she's stopped eating recently, perhaps that's a problem? I find that it is better to feed the oldies little and often, my Matilda is now having four meals a day and seems keener to eat as a result. Pasta, potatoes or porridge might help to put weight back on. Hope you have some success  |
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Post by littlemiss on Jan 28, 2009 18:03:59 GMT -5
her teeth arent the best and i do my most the keep them healthy, when she went to the vets he had a look at her teeth but didnt say anything about them, so i took that as they were ok!
Im gunna try little and often meals of rice and see how that works out, my staffie might benefit from that aswell altho she eats well!
As im at a lose, your advise is a great help!
Many thanks!
will let you know how it works out!! ( i hope it does )
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Post by vickyb on Jan 28, 2009 18:19:05 GMT -5
Do you put cooked mince etc on her dried food? I use cooked beef or lamb mince to tempt them, the cheap fatty stuffs ok as long as it agrees with her. Sardines are worth a try too. You could try something like heart or liver, not that good for adding weight but is smelly and might tempt her. Have you tried scrambled egg or good old roast chicken? Add any of these to rice, pasta or even porridge as suggested before. Will she have cheese? might go down better if grated if her teeth aren't good, a bit added to some pasta would add calories. Good luck, let us know if anything works. Just a thought, if her teeth aren't good warm food might be better than straight out of the fridge, my old lad likes his 'aired' or lightly microwaved  . They all seem to like mashed potato too. |
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Post by cadbury on Jan 28, 2009 18:48:41 GMT -5
Have you recently swopped to a senoir food, greys don't tend to do well on it, my gilrs weight dropped like a ton of bricks, keep the protien levels at 20-22% for dry complete food.
Actimal pro biotic is good for kick staring appite I and others have had good results with it. One bottle split over a day in how ever many meals you feed.
Go steady on the cheese, tempting as it is most dogs although they will sell there soles for a bit too much can result in runny poop. so go for a light sprinkling.
Let us know how you get on.
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Post by mtbbuxton on Jan 28, 2009 18:58:27 GMT -5
Although rice might tempt her to eat, it's not very good for putting or keeping weight on. I can only give advice based on our personal experience. When our lurcher Mayo was on a bland diet for 9 months due to digestive problems, we found that potatoes were much better for maintaining his weight. He had these with oily fish - we used fresh sardines cooked in the microwave and the bones removed just to be safe. Tinned sardines in either oil or tomato should be fine, but we had to keep the amount of oil down due to aforementioned digestive troubles. He also had 4 meals a day as this allows the gut to digest more efficiently. If there is any question about her kidney health, then I would suggest pasta be used instead as potatoes are higher in potassium. Just to illustrate, whilst on fish and rice, Mayo went from 26kg to 22.5kg in 4 months and that was without any exercise. Once we changed to potatoes his weight went back up to 26kg and he could have an hours walking every day. Thankfully he's now under contol, eats Burns complete food and hoons around the woods for 2 hours each day with a big grin on his face I do hope you find the reason for her lack of appetite and that she picks up soon - I know what a worry it is when you see their weight dropping.  Moira x |
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Post by Jane and Sara on Jan 29, 2009 4:35:05 GMT -5
Do get the vet to check her teeth again really carefully. Brown bread soaked in diluted soya milk might is quite appetizing in the short term. good luck. I agree about the senior food - my vet always suggests it but it's not ideal for greyhounds because it is usually geared for dogs who get fat in old age.
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Post by littlemiss on Jan 30, 2009 15:36:42 GMT -5
Thank you all of you for your replys and advise.
Ive taken to feeding her dry food but adding a bit of warm water to it and mashing in some potatoes, the first few meals didnt go down so well she had a few bites then left it so i tempt her with a bit of beard as this is her most fave thing to eat.
At the moment Suzie weighs in at 24.0kg
Gunna keep going and weigh her once a week, i will keep you posted on how we get on.
Once again many thanks for the tips! they were much needed!
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Post by andywillow on Jan 30, 2009 15:50:49 GMT -5
Have you tried her with tripe? You can buy it from the freezer section in PAH. I always cook it for mine although many feed it raw (dont mix raw with kibble in the same meal though)
It stinks vile but mine all love it and its supposed to be good for weight gain.
Sue
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Post by vickyb on Jan 30, 2009 17:59:18 GMT -5
Have you tried a bit of gravy granules mixed up instead of water?
I get the low salt ones and they like it, especially with mash.
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