My female basenji, Emma, a rescue, now 12 years old and the 7th BRaT rescue that we have had over the years. We currently have 2 additional BRaT rescues, both 12 years old. Have had Emma since she was 14 months old. Lately she has gotten very picky with her food in the am and sometimes refuses to eat at all. She is, and always has been, on the "lite" side coming in on average of 15 pounds. She will eat her evening meal with no problem. Tried to get her to eat about noon, and she picks at it. I would like to put some weight on her, as she is getting rather skinny, but how to do it is the question. Her entire life she has been a good eater, but now the mornings is a refusal. Looking for ideas to gain weight for her.
Has she had a full Vet work up? And for sure a complete blood panel? Need to first make sure there are no medical problems.
I agree you should have her fully checked by the Vet. When mine stopped eating she was around 12. I took her to the Vet and found that she had a Carcinoma in her Small Intestine. She was also having Seizures but never had any problems with Epilepsy. I have come to learn that when older Dogs or Wolves start to Seize Cancer is always the Cause.
After the Carcinoma was removed she went back to her usual bossy self. She was fed a Vegetarian diet as the Animals in the food, be it wet or dry, have by-products that are not good for them. Also, the Raw Diet is one I avoided because the animals are full of Steroids and Grains that have been sprayed with Herbicides.
A full Vet Check is required.
After the vet, if nothing is wrong, I really recommend a good probiotic. It helps them utilize the food they eat by creating a healthy gut. I use Fastrack but there are others out there. At her age adding in more fat could cause more issues (like pancreatitis) than it helps, but there are some high calorie supplements that you can put with her evening meal so she doesn't think she's eating much more, but getting more calories. Ask your vet. But first, make sure there are no teeth/gum or other issues making her not want to eat.
Shredded cheese mixed into her kibble perhaps.
I have always used DYNE for extra calories with my seniors if they stopped eating or if they just needed more weight. It tastes good to them and they will mostly just lick it up or you can add it to there water.
@antigone carcinoma seems to be more prevalent these days, how long has it been since diagnosed, my girl had 11 inches of small intestine removed and she responded very well
I have a girl that is almost 15, no apparent problems. She has become 'picky' in her old age, and too skinny for my liking. 6 months ago she had a dental, and I always do an 'old dog' workup before anesthesia, so I know she is medically healthy. (plus, she just acts healthy)
I started cooking chicken breasts in the crock pot, let it cool to skim off the little fat there, and chop the breast really small.
Promise gets a tablespoon of this on her food at each meal (well stirred because if not, she picks out the chicken)
She's not getting much at each meal, she eats her dog food because of it, and like I've told her, she is my oldest dog - she has seniority! I put a spoonful in a muffin tin, freeze it, and put the frozen chunks in a bag - makes it easy to grab in the am for the day.
It's working, she's not so skinny.
@bigbill22 They are an ancient Breed and they are exposed to new things all the time. The food they are fed now is a big contributor the Carcinomas. It has all kind of by-products and the grain is GMO and sprayed with an Herbicide. If Monsanto's chemicals are not dangerous to the health of every single species on the Planet, then why do they need that Monsanto Protection Act?!
B's are most closely related to Wolves. I had both at the same time. They are OMNIVORES and will eat roots, grasses, etc. The Wolves main diet is Field Mice or the bones of an already dead animal. After my B had her Carcinoma removed she was right as rain. Because she ate everything I bought her Vegetarian Dog Food from Pet Guard. The special diets from the vets were full of bad things so I passed on that.
I am glad that your girl did well. They are too stubborn to give in to anything. That is my favorite part of the Breed's personality!
Antigone
@antigone said in Eating Issues:
@bigbill22 The food they are fed now is a big contributor the Carcinomas.
It has all kind of by-products and the grain is GMO and sprayed with an Herbicide. If Monsanto's chemicals are not dangerous to the health of every single species on the Planet, then why do they need that Monsanto Protection Act?!They are OMNIVORES and will eat roots, grasses, etc. The Wolves main diet is Field Mice or the bones of an already dead animal. ....
I bought her Vegetarian Dog Food from Pet Guard. The special diets from the vets were full of bad things so I passed on that.
The "Monsanto Protection Act".. the original, was in effect only in 2013. While I hate Monsanto, the bill had some logistics to it. It simply allowed crops that had been found "safe" to continue to be grown if someone challenged their safety for 6 mos while the challenge was evaluated. If you stop crops, unlike other things, you don't get to flip a switch and start where you left off. So it made some sense. The "new" Monsanto Protection Acts are an insult to everyone... refusing not only to require companies to put if GMO, but attempts to make voluntary labeling illegal. All that said, there is yet to be one validated research that shows GMOs are in any way dangerous. I just think proof or not, I don't want to be a guinea pig, and we have a right to know what is in our food and our animals food and make a choice.
Please show me any scientific proof that dogs' diets are the cause for increased carcinomas. I can save you time looking... there is none. Yes, there are indications, but there are so many other factors. In fact, there is a serious debate about whether there actually is an increase, or if it is simply that dogs live longer and that we get them to the vets for dx instead of just letting them die. What we do know is that some breeds carry genetic predisposition to cancers. Yes, a lot is genetic. Hence you have breeds with high bone cancer, breeds with stomach cancer, etc. Also, smoking around your dogs is bad and other environmental factors.
a. There is evidence supporting an association between exposure to ETS and lymphoma and nasal tumors in dogs and lymphoma in cats
b. Exposure to pesticides containing dichlorophenocyacetic acid (2,4-D) is associated with increased risk of lymphoma in dogs, however data is conflicting
c. Dogs living in urban areas are at increased risk for developing lymphoma<<
Female dogs are less likely to develop mammary tumors when they are spayed early in life, presumably due to lack of exposure of mammary tissue to ovarian derived reproductive hormones. However, neutering may actually cause an increased risk of developing prostate cancer in male dogs, indicating a possible protective effect of hormones in such cases. Neutering may also increase risk of developing osteosarcoma and transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder in dogs, regardless of gender.<<
What I am curious about is why you chose Vegetarian food?
Debra
I gave her Vegetarian Food after she had the Carcinoma removed. It was a 'Cleaner' food choice and she ate everything so changing her food did not matter to her. She LOVED vegetables, Broccoli, Carrots, Turnips and even Lettuce. She refused the foods she was not supposed to eat like Raisons, Prunes, Milk Chocolate. She was able to enjoy the occasional York Peppermint Patty because DARK Chocolate does not have the Caffeine in the amount that would make the Dogs' Hearts race.
She was a typical Basenji but since she was raised with a Cat and a Wolf she had zero use for other Dogs. She considered herself to be a Lupine and she would Den in the Bed at the bottom. The Wolf would Den on his big mattress that was under my Grand Piano.
@debradownsouth I also fed her Vegetarian food because Animal Flesh encourages Cancer cells to grow. My Brother had Skin Cancer and after it was excised from his right Bi-cep his Oncologist put him on a Vegetarian Diet.
I knew this when I was researching Cancer and things that encourage it and I learned that Animal flesh is highly inflammatory and that contributes to many diseases such as Auto-Immune Diseases like MS, Parkinsons, Lupus, etc.
I lost my 25 year old Quarterhorse due to EPM. That is a Parasite passed by Racoons and Opossums. It comes out in their scat and the Horses eat the grass. Before a Horse, or any other Equidae, grabs grass they breathe IN and the Parasite gets into the nose. Had the Vet informed me that EPM was in the area I would have managed my Horse very differently.
I sued him for Malpractice because he failed to inform. I prevailed but that did not bring my Horse back who I rescued at the age of 4. I am still devasted but now my Mares are getting MSM daily, they are lunged in the Indoor arena every day and they are kept cool in Summer and very warm in Winter. Rapid Changes in Temperature can trigger an attack. I know how to manage this and I get emails and phone calls all the time about how to manage an Equidae with EPM.
Animals are pumped full of steroids to make them grow bigger and fatter. We eat that and we are eating the Steroids. They are also given antibiotics to prevent illness from having them in close quarters. The FDA issued a Rule several years ago to stop feeding Antibiotics to Animals and Birds but they made it VOLUNTARY! I do not trust the FDA. They pander to Big Beef and Big Pharm. They are an awful Agency because they don't work for the Health and Welfare of the entire American Citizenry. Start over!
The FDA can only do what the laws allow and if the govt is controlled by lobbyist, well.... But this isn't the place for politics so I'll leave it at that.
I am very sorry about your horse. 
With meat.. it's particularly red meat that research is linking to cancer... early research shows amount is a big factor (recommendations from 4 oz a day to max 18 oz a week), but who knows. Processed meat is the worse, and I saw some headline (didn't bother to read since I like my beef shortly after it stops mooing) that well done steaks more carcinogenic. For the world, reducing red meat is good for the environment and health.
I was reading a study last week on red meat and joint inflammation. Studies the last 15 years actually only have general connection, but that most do is a pretty good indicator. I had a doctor tell me to stop all red meat and milk when I was a teen and experiencing joint pain. It helped, but back then, no internet and not much access to current research. Here we are 45+ years later, and still no strong proof and some show that reducing carbs with increased LEAN red meat actually decreased inflammation.
However, we then get this
Science Catch-up. Red Meat And Gut Inflammation: Harvard Study ...
https://thehealthsciencesacademy.org/science-catch-up/science-catch-up-28/
Jan 18, 2017 - Red meat and gut inflammation: Harvard study. According this new Harvard study involving 46,500 participants, eating high amounts of red meat daily might be a risk factor for gut inflammation and the development of diverticulitis. <<
So no one has absolute proof, but my money is on reducing red meat is more likely to be healthier than not. I just don't rule out all meat (ie fish and fowl) as getting enough protein is pretty hard and we don't have enough hard research for ME to go vegetarian. But I'm open to it and glad you are having success.
