Pet Lovers

[CJC]

Tiny 6 pound girl nearly 14 years old.  Not many teeth left; has always been a picky eater.  Vet suggests Royal Canin x-small for aging dogs.  Friend's vet suggested mixing in Gerber chicken baby food with kibble because baby food is easy to digest.  Anyone use Royal Canin?  I'd love suggestions on how to get my tiny furbaby to take in more calories.

[tends2dogs]

Does it come in canned?  I would never feed kibble.  Too much chance for being rancid.  I would choose the best quality, least amount of ingredients canned food that I could afford.

Does your girl like yogurt or cottage cheese?  I would offer these, too, in a separate bowl.

All the best to you, @CJC, and your girl.

[nougat]

@CJC

i have a tiny 6 pound senior girl too. First, did she ever have a dental done by a vet?

my girls teeth were so bad when she had hers a few year ago that most were pulled but I noticed the biggest difference in her after her dental.

she ate better and seemed better and just was the best thing to do for a dog.

people don't want to put money into a dental on a dog but is so worth it for their well being. 

My girl loves canned food but also some dry. I get the smallest sized kibble for tiny dogs.

never tried royal canin. You could try mixing in shredded chicken or hamburger. 

The baby food idea is a good one, had to do that for a senior cat before.

one thing my dogs love is if I put some drops of the juice from canned cat food on their food, they gobble like no tomorrow ! I have cats too so always opening a can.

those drops of cat food juice do wonders to get them to eat! They would prefer ALL the cats food if they could!  

[mwmc]

I had a very old cat. He had all his teeth, but I would add water to his wet food. I called it soup. He loved it! It was easy for him to lap up. It might be a way to get alot of food in her and keep her hydrated too. If you decide to give it a try let me know if it works for her. God bless the little sweetie.

[Kachina624]

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@tends2dogs wrote:

Does it come in canned?  I would never feed kibble.  Too much chance for being rancid.  I would choose the best quality, least amount of ingredients canned food that I could afford.

Does your girl like yogurt or cottage cheese?  I would offer these, too, in a separate bowl.

All the best to you, @CJC, and your girl.

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@tends2dogs.  Are you serious?  I bet I've bought over 1,000 bags of dog food kibble in my lifetime and never had one rancid nor do know anybody with such a complaint......and I run with dog people.  Kibble is the best for healthy teeth.  Dogs fed a soft diet tend to have NO teeth in old age.

[summerwind]

I give my 2-year-old Royal Canin Mini for puppies. I don't like the ingredients, first is chicken meal, down the list is corn gluten meal, but she's doing well on it, was weaned on a similar version that is apparently only available to breeders, and when I try to switch her to a LID food I prefer, she picks out the new food and drops it on the floor.

When she was 3 months old she became very ill, not diet related, and couldn't chew kibble. I fed her canned food, but she was so small, probably only 2 lbs at the time, was afraid it'd go bad as she only a small amount each day, so I started grinding the LID food in my Ninja, added organic yogurt, baby food, low-salt broth, and honey. She just lapped it up!  I still give her the ground food with broth and honey for breakfast, and sometimes add green beans or broccoli.

The U. of Ill.  vet hospital suggested the honey. Energy plus calories.

Just my opinion. I would much prefer to give my girl a non-GMO, Limited Ingredient food all the time, not just b'fast.

Just my experience.

[qualitygal]

We would add warm water, enough to moisten each piece.  It's still good food for them and smells good to them.  But little is little and only a tiny tummy to hold so much.  Do it a small bit, but maybe more times. 

[CJC]

Thanks for all your good suggestions. I will try them out with her. Yes, she has always had a yearly dental. The bad teeth is genetic, the way some dogs have bad hips. I do moisten her kibble. Some days she eats nothing at all; other days she’s a member of the clean plate club. Go figure. 

[BornToShop]

@CJC, I have two senior Chi’s & one hardly has any teeth at all.  They both love the Royal Canin mixed with the Biljac Small Breed Easy To Chew Bites that I somewhat grind up & put in and mix with the canned food.  They love it & the kibble helps keep their stools firm & consistent.  Maybe I should try some, lol!  

[Another new name Sue]

There's a dehydrated food called Honest Kitchen which you mix with water into a slurry.  I think you can order samples on their website.  Or moisten the kibble a while before pup eats so it will be soft.  No harm in baby food gravy either.

edited to add-

Years ago I did get rancid kibble. It was Avoderm.  Bags of kibble are dated now but sometimes the dates are tricky to find. As for kibble smell, lamb is the worst.