Senior Dog's Diet?

[Chef Munky]

My Dog Hannah is 15. We've known for a while that she has cancer. The mass is in a bad spot, right on her rib cage. We felt it was better to leave it and her alone and let nature take it's course.

Her weight has dropped considerably in the last month. She will eat some kibble but not much. I've taken over making her meals. She can't eat more than 2 to 4 Tablespoons of food at a time. She becomes distressed.

I've been making her Chicken, Rice, Ground Pork, mixed in with Scrambled Eggs. Hamburger, Bacon. She's fed every few hours around the clock.

What else can I feed her to help her gain some weight back? Seriously out of ideas here. Wondering if what I've been doing has been nutritionally enough for her.

Thank you

Munky

 

[CWS4322]

What does your vet say? I know some vets recommend a diet high in veggies for cancer dogs. I have found white fish, sweet potato is something cancer dogs like, as are hard boiled eggs. How is her quality of life? Does she like cottage cheese? Yogurt?

 

[Dawgluver]

Oh, Munky. That is so hard. My elderly dogs had all lost movement in their back legs, with some doggie Alzheimers mixed in. No cancer.

Would some protein mix help? Maybe full-fat Greek yogurt or raw eggs? Will check online.

 

[Chef Munky]

What does your vet say? I know some vets recommend a diet high in veggies for cancer dogs. I have found white fish, sweet potato is something cancer dogs like, as are hard boiled eggs. How is her quality of life? Does she like cottage cheese? Yogurt?

All he said was make her comfy as possible. Not much we can do. If she sees next month it's only because she wants to. Her Breed Australian/ Lab in her. She's not supposed to have dairy. It makes her itch. We used to call her "Dairy Queen" Life was good if she could swipe a butter wrapper from the trash can. I've been giving her eggs anyways. Salmon is her utmost favorite.I do have some canned Pumpkin, she loves that. Never cared much for veggies. Looks like I'll be headed to the store.

Quality of life? She was doing alright until a few weeks ago when we took her in for her Rabies shot. We were all aware that she had Cataracts. After that she took a dive.
She's now blind. Gets around if the lights are kept on. She freaks out if I'm not around where she can smell me. As long as I keep close she remains calm. She will wander until I go to her and bring her back to her bed.

Someone is always with her. If she needs help finding her way the other dogs step in guides her through the doggy door. Naps often. Once she's had a good nap she does still wants to wrassle with the little one.

Thank you for the suggestions.

Munky.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Oh Munky! I would be tempted to give her what ever she wants. Some bacon grease would help calorie wise. Other than that...lots of love.

 

[pacanis]

Mac and cheese is good for adding weight to a dog, but at her age I'd be glad she eats anything. I actually switched from a senior dog food back to a regular adult formula with my eldest a year ago, anticipating that weight drop they all get approaching the end of their time. I don't want to say nutrition is unimportant, but as long as she's eating and happy I'd be satisified.

 

[Dawgluver]

Oh Munky! I would be tempted to give her what ever she wants. Some bacon grease would help calorie wise. Other than that...lots of love.

+1

Bacon and salmon, maybe with eggs and pumpkin.

So sad. Dogs just don't last long enough.

 

[Dawgluver]

Mac and cheese is good for adding weight to a dog, but at her age I'd be glad she eats anything. I actually switched from a senior dog food back to a regular adult formula with my eldest a year ago, anticipating that weight drop they all get approaching the end of their time. I don't want to say nutrition is unimportant, but as long as she's eating and happy I'd be satisified.

Agree, Pac.

 

[gadzooks]

I have a sixteen year old red heeler named Sadie. She is blind with cataract, which I hope to have corrected up at UC Davis. Excellent veterinary school there. She also has a mass on her ribcage, but it seems to all be outside the ribs and gets larger if I give her anything with any kind of sugar in it. That includes corn syrup, so wienie's are taboo. No sugar, the mass shrinks and stabilizes. I've raised her pretty much on Ace Hi premium kibble and some of whatever I eat, supplemented by ground up leftover poultry carcasses, which I reduce in a pressure cooker until the bones soften and grind, mix back in the cooking broth with a handful of fresh flax meal. It sets up in the fridge, and is her primary snack food. She still goes crazy over the squirrels in the oaks, and outdrives her headlights, but she's good in familiar places. I don't re-arrange the furniture. I think if she needed some weight I would add cooked brown rice to her chicken pate. Even now, I occasionally sneak some veggies into it. She also gets Thai grilled salmon occasionally from the local health food store deli. Right now, she and I are splitting a chicken I rolled in OO and cracked pepper and rotisseried. When she was younger I occasionally treated her with a Slim Jim, but stopped when I read the label. Everything in them is OK, I think, except the corn syrup.

 

[CWS4322]

Munky, I'm so sorry. I've been there, done that many times. The thing about dogs that are terminally ill is that they may eat something one day, and you think "good, found the magic food" only to have them not eat it the next day. I would boil chicken liver and make it into a paste...and then make it into a soup...sometimes that was the favorite of the day. Other times it was pasta, other times cottage cheese, other times, hot dogs. Whatever the dog would eat.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Munk, I'm glad you posted this. I am particularly concerned about the part where you said the rabies shot started the downfall. I have been worried about my own dog, almost 15 and suffering from "benign" tumors (benign = it will kill him some day but with luck not any day soon, but surgery would likely kill him today). I wonder if it's possible to get a rabies vaccination waiver for very old dogs.

I recall my friends and their dog "Sr. Pepe" (a chihuahua as you might guess) who they fed nothing but cooked chicken wings for the last few years of his life (blind, limited mobility, but they still took him camping often). I don't know how they cooked the chicken. My dog was just a youth at 5-8 years old then.

 

[DaveSoMD]

Puppy food is high in calories and fats so it might add some weight. When our lab got to that stage with her liver problems we fed her baby food or a home made dish of ground meat, mixed veggies, rice or small pasta, and some low sodium broth.

 

[Chef Munky]

Munk, I'm glad you posted this. I am particularly concerned about the part where you said the rabies shot started the downfall. I have been worried about my own dog, almost 15 and suffering from "benign" tumors (benign = it will kill him some day but with luck not any day soon, but surgery would likely kill him today). I wonder if it's possible to get a rabies vaccination waiver for very old dogs.

I recall my friends and their dog "Sr. Pepe" (a chihuahua as you might guess) who they fed nothing but cooked chicken wings for the last few years of his life (blind, limited mobility, but they still took him camping often). I don't know how they cooked the chicken. My dog was just a youth at 5-8 years old then.

It would be great if Animal Control would issue waiver's to the Senior's. What I got was a notice the rabies were due now. To avoid a penalty please send proof that it's been done. But hey, The Department Of Health has to have their money. Regardless of the costs to the pets lives and owners. I've yet to recieve any of the dogs tags. They are still illegal, can and will be picked up by Animal Control without them. Oh, and were stuck with the late fees and fines.

It would be nice if the waiver starts when your dog turns 10. @10 some do start having health issues that a rabies shot wouldn't help anyways. It's all just fluff.

This time around all 3 of my dogs had the same shots, same day. Hannah is the only one that's taken it this way. It was a week for her to fully go blind. She was happy, more playful then she is today. Now we can't even get her to walk out the front door have a smell around.

Munky.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Well I paid the fees and he had the shots for about 13 years. I don't currently have any official residence so my dog isn't registered or shot, and he has my phone number on his collar (not that I expect him to be anywhere without me). I guess if he gets loose and gets snagged then I'll have to face Animal Control, and maybe get him shot to get him out. He has gotten loose exactly once in the last 13 years, and a neighbor a block away phoned me from the info on his tag.

I'd rather leave my car keys on the hood in a public parking lot than take any chance my beloved dog could get out without me on the other end of his leash.

(Actually I've kept up his other shots. Rabies is every 3 years. I think end of this year he is due.)

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Have you reported this to the vet? Maybe that lot of rabies shots are causing problems with other dogs. I'm so sorry...

 

[Chef Munky]

Have you reported this to the vet? Maybe that lot of rabies shots are causing problems with other dogs. I'm so sorry...

No I haven't reported it yet.

 

[CWS4322]

It would be great if Animal Control would issue waiver's to the Senior's. What I got was a notice the rabies were due now. To avoid a penalty please send proof that it's been done. But hey, The Department Of Health has to have their money. Regardless of the costs to the pets lives and owners. I've yet to recieve any of the dogs tags. They are still illegal, can and will be picked up by Animal Control without them. Oh, and were stuck with the late fees and fines.

It would be nice if the waiver starts when your dog turns 10. @10 some do start having health issues that a rabies shot wouldn't help anyways. It's all just fluff.

This time around all 3 of my dogs had the same shots, same day. Hannah is the only one that's taken it this way. It was a week for her to fully go blind. She was happy, more playful then she is today. Now we can't even get her to walk out the front door have a smell around.

Munky.

I am so sorry to hear that. In Canada, veterinarians can issue waivers if a dog's health is such it would be compromised. I quit vaccinating my dogs around the age of 9-10. My Newfoundland had autoimmune issues and was only given a rabies vac at 4 mo and again at 12 mo. At 16 mo. is when we discovered his a/i issue. Some folks have the titers done and only boost when the titer shows it is needed. My own vet's rabies titer remained unchanged for more than 11 years (rabies vax, for humans, hurts by the way and requires 3 shots). Here, if a dog bites s/one and doesn't have a current rabies vaccine, the dog can be put under home quarantine. All of you with sr. dogs, I'd ask my vet if a waiver could be issued instead of vaccinating sr. dogs (or cats).

 

[Dawgluver]

No I haven't reported it yet.
:

This may or may not be of help:


http://www.dogs4dogs.com/blog/2009/10/08/protecting-dogs-from-vaccine-reactions/

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

All of you with sr. dogs, I'd ask my vet if a waiver could be issued instead of vaccinating sr. dogs (or cats).

I'll do that. My beloved will be 15 by the time it becomes an issue. Isn't that like 105 years old in human terms? (assuming 1 human year = 7 dog years)

 

[Dawgluver]

I'll do that. My beloved will be 15 by the time it becomes an issue. Isn't that like 105 years old in human terms? (assuming 1 human year = 7 dog years)

There's actually a different formula. For the first few years, 1 year =7 dog years. After that, it pretty much levels out, and your dog is not as old as was previously thought. Little dogs are old at 12, big dogs at 8, or around there. Our neighbor's big hound is 15 1/2, and still going strong! Beagle is 7, and doing well. My mom's nasty cocker lived almost 20 years, her Setter made it to 17.