Doggie Geriatrics Question

[tonini3059]

I have a 90 pound malamute mix and he only eats about 3-4 cups a day. He always has some food sitting in his bowl.

 

[Wifezilla]

No corn or wheat, or glutens that I saw listed on the label.

I just looked on the Friskies site. They have wheat gluten, corn starch and soy flour....one of the reasons my cats NEVER get Friskies.​

 

[Lunachick]

What do you feed your cats Wifey?

 

[Wifezilla]

Blue Buffalo Wilderness dry and canned varieties with no grains. There are a few flavors of fancy feast with no grains (you have to read the labels).

Here is a grat site with food lists and cat diet info in general...
http://www.catinfo.org/felinediabetes.htm

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Quote:
DANG!!! My 50lb Aussie only gets a half cup twice a day plus a fork full of can each time. She gets about 5-6 homemade dog biscuits a day too.

 

[chickiebaby]

Personally before I paid for a vet visit for a prob like this I'd try some food changes, as wifezilla and others say. Vets are awesome for things like tragic car accidents but I dont know that I'd take a ninety five year old lady in for lots of invasive testing if she wasn't eating well. I'd change what she was eating first.

Maybe try her on just a mix of lean meat, rice and sweet potato. Very nonallergenic foods that should go well on an old girl's gut. No dairy, no wheat or corn, no fillers you don't know the name of.

You can always try the vet if a week or two of whole, nonallergenic foods doesnt help the honorable old girl.

Here's hoping all our dogs get to be old dogs. And us too.

 

[tiki244]

Sounds like she is throwing up bile... try a little pepto bismol,,,,dont feed her too much for a day,,,,then gradually give her a little cooked white rice with cooked hamburger and then ..I would gradually switch her over to Wellness Senior formula .

This is exactly what my vet would tell me. He is a good guy and knows I dont have bunches of money to spend on vet bills. And I love my dog dearly.


Then if she is still having problems I would take her to the vet.

The vet will recomend a lot of expensive blood tests.

 

[tiki244]

Another easy food for her system would be California Natural. Both of these dog foods I would recomend. And not much else.

 

[mamabird]

Could be food, but it could also be other things. The stomach growling could just be a coincidence. Lots of stuff can cause vomiting...licking picky glands, ingesting hair (from licking or chewing), or liver/kidney issues. At her age, I would take her to a vet. Worst case - it's renal failure and is caught early and you get it under control. This requires a blood test, and you should have results quickly. I'd be afraid of waiting too long to get it checked and having something that could be managed become a real problem.

Hopefully it is something as simple as food issues, but I'd still check. Good luck - hope she gets to feeling better!

 

[chickiebaby]

Mamabird is certainly right that it's good to catch serious things early BUT - and this is a big consideration - only if you think you would pay to do what the vet will doubtless advise. Lotsa testing, and possibly expensive treatments of one kind or another.

Most vets, like most human docs, learn to give advice to do the most possible stuff for the worst case scenario. That's the job we have made them do.

So if you would fork ot hundreds or thousands in renal treatments - doggie dialysis? - and a few hundred up front for testing- trying diet first might be smart. Again, as a nurse, I tend to err on the side of "less invasive is better" especially for older patients, whether my human relatives, or my dog.

I think of docs and tests as a great resource, to be used after trying other sensible ideas liek those people have listed above.