Adopted 17 yr old toy poodle

[faithguy917]

She’s only 4 pounds and you can feel every bone.

She has only eaten human food her entire life, whatever her people ate. She refuses to touch any kind of dog food (stew, mashed paste, kibble…).

She only has two teeth and has anal gland leaking issues as well. I adopted her Saturday and so far she will eat only unsalted rotisserie chicken, cottage cheese (LOVES), smoked deli ham and cheddar cheese.

Are any of the “fresh” foods any good, or very human - food like? I really don’t have the time or budget to figure out a healthy homemade food plan. And she’s so skinny I’m afraid to try the “starve her til she eats what’s given” method.

It’s also rough because my 4 year old bichon who we adopted a few months ago is now very jealous of the chicken and cottage cheese- always tries to steal it, and won’t eat her own!!

 

[jonahua]

@faithguy917 I think JustFoodForDogs is the most vet-recommended fresh food for dogs

 

[faithguy917]

@jonahua Thanks, I’ll try it! I’m hoping it is human-food like enough that she will eat it . She can’t survive on cottage cheese lol!

 

[sgraves76]

@faithguy917 Try play-acting like you’re preparing it. Serve it warm. And bless you for taking in a special girl.

 

[faithguy917]

@sgraves76 Yessss she was at the EV over the weekend and so she’s in a bland diet right now. I learned that she likes ground turkey AND it must be warm for her lol!

 

[sgraves76]

@faithguy917 What a diva!

 

[jamad]

@jonahua I cook JFFD for my pack of poodles

 

[jello123]

@faithguy917 If you can, try some baby food chicken and rice formula mixed with some softened kibble. I had this issue once and I used to buy I think the “honest company” baby food chicken and rice. Then soak kibble in hot unsalted chicken broth until really soft and mix it in her food. Royal canin makes baby food for pups that are designed for them to gain weight too. All else fails, keep her on her diet as is. She’s 17, give her what she loves!

 

[whatotherpeoplecallme]

@jello123 But make sure the baby food has no onion or onion derivatives. Some do.

 

[faithguy917]

@jello123 Great idea thanks!

 

[salea]

@faithguy917 I think at 17 it might just be more worth it to keep her comfy! But these are great ideas to try. My senior dog would only eat boiled chicken, broth and rice for a while and eventually got him to eat some kibble soaked in it.

 

[jlmetcalf]

@faithguy917 You need to taken her to a veterinarian and have her checked out including senior blood work and a urinalysis to see if she has a health condition or conditions that need to be treated. In the case of something like kidney disease a special diet will be needed.

 

[faithguy917]

@jlmetcalf She’s been to the vet already

 

[jlmetcalf]

@faithguy917 And did she have all the testing I recommended?

 

[faithguy917]

@jlmetcalf Yes we’re still waiting on results though

 

[ernestcop]

@faithguy917 Vet visit first! Eating such an improper diet for so long could have brought out health issues. Unfortunately, none of the fresh food diets available are really safe or well formulated, but if that’s all that a geriatric dog is going to eat, it’s better than starving.

 

[faithguy917]

@ernestcop She’s been to the vet. Just waiting for bloodwork etc. results.

 

[canadianchristianwife]

@faithguy917 Why don't you try Fresh Pet for seniors?

 

[greenmart123]

@faithguy917 My vet has recommended an additive to human food, check with yours. Please don't continue this without tge vet OK. My vet is also OK with doing the following:

Carrots and/or pumpkin to get some fiber to help with the anal gland issues. Start with very small amounts before slowly increasing. I feed my dogs semi-soft (not cooked to mush) and raw, chopped up very small so they can swallow withput chewing. Ours are also older now with few teeth. Sometimes I chop up & cook green beans, or pieces of celery.

Stop the rotisserie chicken, it's got sodium injected in to it. I boil chicken wings & thighs, with a stalk of celery & some carrot, to make homemade chicken broth. Or put a whole chicken in a crockpot or the oven & roast, give that meat softened with the broth. When it's down to the carcass, pull it apart & cook done more to make bone broth. Mine also get cottage cheese as their protein on occasion.

I cook rice with a small amount of safflower oil. This is part of the meal along with chicken & veg.

My vet approved this & the dogs like it. See what yours says.

FWIW my dogs like kibble if it's softened in chicken/bone broth. I heat the broth almost to boiling then add to kibble, stir after 1/2 hour. Can also rehydrate in the fridge overnight.

 

[faithguy917]

@greenmart123 Thank you for the suggestions! We’re actually at the emergency vet right now because she’s been vomiting brown mucus-y stuff, 4 times in an hour I plan on cooking some chicken myself like you suggested instead of the rotisserie chicken, but we do get the no salt added kind.