Soft food for elder grey

[greysrus]

My 11 year old grey is a picky eater. She always eats her breakfast (softened cereal) so I've upped that quantity, has stopped eating all of her tea (dried food). She has got poor teeth as most have so I think eating softer foods is easier for her. Can anyone recommend soft foods for tea? I switched her dry food to puppy food which is smaller bits, that worked for a while but she has started leaving some now.

[gazer]

Have you tried tinned dog food, Butchers, Chappie, Winalot, I've tried several at one time or another and they all went down really well.  There's also Wainrights wet food, which comes in trays, several flavours to choose from, Nature Diet, which is the same sort of thing.  Pasta, sardines in oil or tomato sauce.
You could put hot water with the kibble and let it soak until it was quite mushy, leave a bit of time for it, as it takes a while to go soft.   The list of softish foods is endless really.

How bad are her teeth, have you considered a dental, she may be in a bit of discomfort or there may be an infection lurking in her mouth.  I know dentals are not cheap but you could give it some thought.

[vickyb]

Can't anything can be done to help her teeth?

My Gracie can't tolerate kibble and she is currently really enjoying Forthglade trays of wet food. Some are designed to add to kibble but others are a complete food. I get them from VetUk but obviously other places sell it. I'd second Naturediet too and also Greenwoods trays only from Zooplus and Naturo trays from Tesco, If she liked them they sell them online which works out a bit cheaper ours especially love the Duck one.

Pets at home sell Fishmongers kibble for small dogs which is the tiniest kibble I've ever seen but would probably work out expensive for a grey as it only comes in small bags, my whippet x loves it. Angellpetco (online only) do a small small bite kibble and if you rang them they are really helpful and will send a sample assuming she likes fishy food. Puppy food isn't ideal for older dogs but if it's all she will eat then you do what you have to don't you.

[lurcherlot]

In the tinned and trays, many, if not all, are complete food so you know it is a balanced meal - you could also try Natures Menu.
I have had dentals done for several 13 y.o. dogs, with no problems - it would seem more important to get her teeth done, so there's no risk of blood poisoning or infection, rather than changing the food.

[ragsysmum]

I'd definitely see if she can have a dental which will probably make all the difference. We have had several dogs over the years with few or no teeth at all, who have actually eaten much better, include kibble and small hard treats once their mouths had healed from extractions. Gums soon harden up and then cause less pain than bad teeth to stop them eating.

[Ted]

I feed my four Hounds on ForthGlade Chicken and Tripe which is a soft cooked food. Menta had all her teeth except the four front side canines removed in 2013 so has difficultly eating kibble although she will have a small amount of kibble as a snack. I find none of mine will eat kibble as their main meals. If I was able to give it to them they much prefer human food like Turkey, Ham or Chicken freshly cooked.

[greysrus]

Thanks all. Yes I think a trip to sort teeth maybe necessary. In the meantime I bough some tinned wet food and there's no stopping her appetite - maybe she is picky too!