Need ideas please - cost effective freeze dried food or other food easy for senior to pick up

[tbenedetto]

Hoping for some suggestions to help a desperate mama out. My 70 lb, senior Korean Village Dog / Jindo mix has no top or bottom front teeth. He severely struggles to pick up food because of this. Soaked kibble, canned food, fresh cooked chicken/rice are all next to impossible for him to get into his mouth. Dried kibble is a little easier for him to pick up but difficult for him to eat. He essentially laps up the food with his tongue piece by piece.

I think freeze dried patties or freeze dried kibble would be the best option for him. I am still trying to find an option that’s not cost prohibitive though, as all of the freeze dried options look like they would cost me $40+ every 2-3 days for a dog his size.

He has intestinal disease so he is on a low fat prescription diet currently, but at this point it’s about quality of life rather than longevity so I am willing to move away from the low fat food if it means he can more easily eat it.

Would appreciate any ideas you might have for my boy. He is the crown jewel of my life, he’s been through the best days and worst days of my life, military trauma, etc. and so I am both desperate to maintain his quality of life and selfishly desperate to keep him here for my sake. His name is Swayze.

I’ve cross posted this in r/seniordogs as well.

 

[mufudzi]

@tbenedetto I feel soaking the prescription kibble could be useful. You could always soak it in hot water for an hour or so and mush it up or form it into easy to grab balls and the texture would be soft.

I soak my guys kibble to put in topples and they often keep their shape but are soft. Hand feeding or using soft silicone bowls may be another option so the dog can really dig into the bowl without hitting metal.

 

[mufudzi]

Do you know why he struggles? Is it grabbing things or keeping them in his mouth? Potentially a narrow bowl to kind of dig the muzzle in and grab food could be useful

 

[tbenedetto]

@mufudzi It’s a grabbing issue. He has no top or bottom front teeth. Yesterday I found an angled bowl that seems to be helping.

 

[tbenedetto]

@mufudzi Soaking makes it impossible for him to pick up. Same with canned food. But I haven’t tried forming it into balls.
I did find that he can eat fresh Vital by Fresh Pet well as well as the clusters by Honest Kitchen, so I may give those a go. The Honest Kitchen is higher in fat than his RX diet, but I do like the shape of the kibble as well as the fact that they are easily crumbled when he chews.