To start off my dog has anal cancer. He is 13/14 years old and I’m trying find food he will eat and will be easy on his digestive system. He weighs about 40 lbs and is a cocker mix. He eats twice a day, but he’s getting tired of the purina one grain free dog food (and yes I know about all the issues with grain free food, but he’s only been on it for the past 6 months). I want to get him a softer chewier food. I don’t want to give him canned wet food every day because it doesn’t always agree with his stomach and it makes him gassy. I am looking for a brand that has softer food. I can budget 30 - 40 dollars. Hopefully it’s something that can last two weeks. I thought about fresh pet, but I’m not sure about the nutritional value in that. Any advice is welcome.
EDIT: I want to add something that I didn’t really make clear. My dog has cancer and it’s terminal. When I took him 4 months ago to the vet they told me he only had 4 months to live, but he’s here eating (when he feels like it) and drinking water. He barks at the people walking by. He still likes the dog park. He goes to the bathroom on his own. He runs when there is something interesting. He likes to roll on his back still. If you look at my post history you will see a pic of him. I just want to find a food that he can eat twice a day and not go ugh.
@samsonrise Have you tried to just moisten dry kibble? Putting hot/warm water until it can be made into a softer food? If he’s losing interest in the taste of the current Purina you can switch to a different flavor and see if that improves any. If his appetite continues to decrease then I’d be concerned that it’s more of the health concern than it is how he is liking the food.
Edit to mention vet clinics normally have palatable dry food as well that is prescription so easier on their GI. Or an appetite stimulant may be worth discussing with your vet if this trend continues.
@imagebeastmarkbeast I tried the bone broth with a different brand. He liked it at first and then he was meh to it. I thought about the idea that something else was going on, but he will eat his treats and people food fine. He will also eat wet food, which I give to him once a week without issue. Basically he walks over to the bowl sniffs it and then walks away. Eventually he’ll get hungry enough and eat it, but he doesn’t like it I suppose.
@samsonrise A healthy dog won’t starve itself. And if it wasn’t for the cancer then I’d say to wait it out. But this may be worth calling and just leaving an update with your vet on just to be on the safe side. They may advise just waiting and not giving him things to entice (or else he’ll just hold out for those things). But again, cancer kind of changes recommendations that you would make for a healthy dog.
@samsonrise You might look at fresh pet. It is refrigerated cooked type food. Or you can get with a vet nutritionalist on a balanced homemade diet for your dogs specific dietary needs.
@samsonrise You could soak the dry food in warm water or broth. Once soaked, break it up to create a slurry. It might be more interesting for him. You could get a soft food - food roll, canned food, etc - just to add a little at a time to add flavor (to make wet food last longer you can freeze it in small amounts - using an ice cube tray works - and add one ice cube to the kibble with the warm water/broth).
I hope I'm not making a big assumption, but between your dog's age and his medical issues, I would assume that at this point you're just trying to find something he'll eat and enjoy. I know plenty of dogs that were put on bland diets - rice and boiled chicken or lean ground beef - because it was the only thing they could keep down. While not good for a long-term diet, at that point in the dog's life it was about finding anything that worked. That said, this would be more for a discussion with your vet.
@samsonrise I'm sorry you're at that point. I wish you both as many wonderful days as possible.
This is definitely a discussion you could have with your vet, but, as I mentioned, it's not uncommon to just feed what they enjoy (and doesn't give them GI distress) vs feeding a totally balanced diet.
@samsonrise What did he eat before the current grain free food? Maybe he would like to try his old formula again?
You could always mix in a little wet with mostly dry for extra flavor without changing the nutritional makeup too much.
If the canned food you have tried upsets his stomach, how about trying a different brand that's higher quality or less rich?
Aside from dry kibble and wet canned foods, there are freeze dried or dehydrated options. Ziwipeak is dehydrated and has a chewy jerky-like consistency. The Honest Kitchen or Dr. Harvey's both have freeze dried mixes you add water to and end up with a porridge-like consistency. Some of the mixes are complete foods, and others are pre-mixes you have to add your own fresh meat to.
It really depends what his needs are for the cancer though. What did your vet recommend? e.g. does he need more moisture, lower starches & sugars, higher fiber...?
@samsonrise I just had to have my dog put down. Complications from processed dog food. I will never feed my next dog commercial dog food. Home made meals and a balanced with supplements. If you can find a holistic veterinarian that promotes this, you can have them taylor a balanced diet that is good for your cat or dog. Feeding your pet is not a one size fits all as the dog food companies would lead you to believe. Do your own research. It’s a real eye opener. My god most dog food comes from China has diseased animal carcasses in it and much more. Research the recall lists on dog food brands. Hills Science diet is what my vet prescribed. It topped the list or dog food recalls last year. There is a SKU # on each kind and brand. Take a look and see for yourself if your food has been recalled. So much to learn about the new raw food diet balanced with supplements is the way to go in my opinion. But have your-vet taylor a plan. Also check out Dr. Judy Morgan on YouTube. She is a fantastic vet.
@samsonrise please look at r/rawpetfood . my 11 year old boxer stopped eating his regular food. I tried atleast 6 different brands. He would not eat anything. I tried raw and he started eating again! He lost so much weight while I tried the different brands. On raw he gained his weight back in 2 weeks.
@eaglescout88 They should check with their Veterinarian and possibly a Veterinary Oncology Specialist before feeding an immunocompromised dog a raw diet.
@servadac Maybe check with the dog too? The poor thing has terminal cancer. You would deny him delicious natural food for the last few months of his life?
@servadac One could argue that the bacteria will boost the dog's immune system. All I posted was to look into it. You don't need to be a genius to see if a dog is getting better or worse from the food he's eating!
That's an incredibly dangerous method to go about picking a dog food - especially since it's possible that by the time you notice signs of issues it could be too late, especially for a dog that is already dealing with cancer.
