Appetite stimulants for old dogs UPDATED went to the vet

[Jhein12]

Has anyone used prescription appetite stimulants for their older dog? My dog likes a food one day and won’t touch it the next. I switch to another thing, he eats it good, next day won’t touch it. His appetite seems odd. I looked up meds I could give him and found this:

http://www.1800petmeds.com/Mirtazapine-prod11320.html

Has anyone used something like this? I want to know a little bit before going to a vet. I know most vets I visit around here are going to suggest switching his food… which I won’t do because he just gets tired of new things and does the same annoying cycle. So right now I am trying to rotate between Ziwipeak, Stella & Chewy’s, and Nature’s Variety frozen food. He had similar food behavior when I first adopted him a few years ago when I was feeding canned food so I don’t think this is a health thing, I think it is just his pickiness/ lack of appetite.

[equisusan]

My dog has inflammatory bowel disease and acts like this. He is more likely to turn away from his food in the morning than at night. He turns away when his tummy doesn’t feel good. Sometimes he gets budesonide or baby gas drops to help settle his tummy and then he’ll eat. Bad teeth can be another cause. Make sure you rule out an underlying cause first before deciding he is just picky. I haven’t found many “just picky” dogs.

[Jhein12]

[QUOTE=equisusan;7461846]
My dog has inflammatory bowel disease and acts like this. He is more likely to turn away from his food in the morning than at night. He turns away when his tummy doesn’t feel good. Sometimes he gets budesonide or baby gas drops to help settle his tummy and then he’ll eat. Bad teeth can be another cause. Make sure you rule out an underlying cause first before deciding he is just picky. I haven’t found many “just picky” dogs.[/QUOTE]

Thanks. I know his teeth aren’t the best underneath those gums. I have scraped all tarter off his teeth but of course I can’t go underneath and because of his heart issue he can’t go under anesthesia. Wouldn’t IBD cause diarrhea and other symptoms?

[Posting_Trot]

Depending on how large the dog is, it might make sense just to cook for him, and alternate that with some of the regular dog food. Or you could go with a dog food base made to be mixed with fresh food.

Cook some ground turkey, some (boned) chicken thighs, or ground beef; scramble a couple of eggs or give him hard boiled eggs; mix it with some brown rice and some canned pumpkin or cooked carrots.

I had two dogs that were always picky eaters and only got pickier as they aged. I became very adept at switching foods to try to make meals more appealing. Scrambled eggs were always a favorite, but virtually anything freshly cooked was far more appetizing for them.

Good luck.

[equisusan]

[QUOTE=Jhein12;7461855]
Thanks. I know his teeth aren’t the best underneath those gums. I have scraped all tarter off his teeth but of course I can’t go underneath and because of his heart issue he can’t go under anesthesia. Wouldn’t IBD cause diarrhea and other symptoms?[/QUOTE]

Maybe they can take mouth X-rays to see if he needs any teeth pulled?

IBD can be quite subtle. My boy just burps and seems uncomfortable sometimes. Depends on where in the GI tract the issue is and the pain tolerance of the dog.

Is his heart issue causing him discomfort?

[equisusan]

@Posting Trot;7461857

Cook some ground turkey, some (boned) chicken thighs, or ground beef; scramble a couple of eggs or give him hard boiled eggs; mix it with some brown rice and some canned pumpkin or cooked carrots.

My IBD pup gets a home cooked diet… chicken/duck, pumpkin, yogurt but still has to be coaxed to eat sometimes and other days just turns away completely. I think there is always a physical cause for this behavior. Doesn’t mean we can always find out what that is however.

[Horsegal984]

I’m a big fan of things that “can’t hurt, might help” especially with seniors. I woul start with regular use of an antacid like Pepcid or Zantac and see what that does for his pickiness. I also applaud you for not giving in and feeding a million different things all the time as that can certainly make pickiness worse, as I’m sure you know. One simple thing you can do is add some warm water to the food, since its not really changing the food but makes it a bit softer and more appetizing if his teeth may be an issue and two it never hurts to get a little more water into those seniors.

I personally like mirtazapine as it seems to be quite effective with less side effects than our old “go to” cyproheptadine. However many times if pups go off their food their is an underlying reason so just make sure you’ve covered your bases and aren’t masking a bigger issue. (You mentioned heart issues, sometimes that can be all it takes to decrease appetite)

[jetsmom]

Warming up the usual food can make them eat. Often, the warm food smells better to them, so they eat.

[Jhein12]

[QUOTE=Posting Trot;7461857]
Depending on how large the dog is, it might make sense just to cook for him, and alternate that with some of the regular dog food. Or you could go with a dog food base made to be mixed with fresh food.

Cook some ground turkey, some (boned) chicken thighs, or ground beef; scramble a couple of eggs or give him hard boiled eggs; mix it with some brown rice and some canned pumpkin or cooked carrots.

I had two dogs that were always picky eaters and only got pickier as they aged. I became very adept at switching foods to try to make meals more appealing. Scrambled eggs were always a favorite, but virtually anything freshly cooked was far more appetizing for them.

Good luck.[/QUOTE]

I’m not much for cooked food for dogs and cats. I do prey model raw for my cats. But alas, I did try this for him, and he did the same crap. So I won’t do it again, so if I’m going to home prepare his food it will be raw food so that the taurine isn’t all cooked out. But he even does the same thing with the raw food.

[Jhein12]

[QUOTE=Horsegal984;7461929]
I’m a big fan of things that “can’t hurt, might help” especially with seniors. I woul start with regular use of an antacid like Pepcid or Zantac and see what that does for his pickiness. I also applaud you for not giving in and feeding a million different things all the time as that can certainly make pickiness worse, as I’m sure you know. One simple thing you can do is add some warm water to the food, since its not really changing the food but makes it a bit softer and more appetizing if his teeth may be an issue and two it never hurts to get a little more water into those seniors.

I personally like mirtazapine as it seems to be quite effective with less side effects than our old “go to” cyproheptadine. However many times if pups go off their food their is an underlying reason so just make sure you’ve covered your bases and aren’t masking a bigger issue. (You mentioned heart issues, sometimes that can be all it takes to decrease appetite)[/QUOTE]

Thanks. I have started adding warm water, and that helps on some days. If I take him in for a regular checkup at the vet do you think they would find out what is wrong (if it is not just pickiness/ appetite loss)? Or would it take extra tests (money ) to figure it out?

[Jhein12]

[QUOTE=equisusan;7461863]
Maybe they can take mouth X-rays to see if he needs any teeth pulled?

IBD can be quite subtle. My boy just burps and seems uncomfortable sometimes. Depends on where in the GI tract the issue is and the pain tolerance of the dog.

Is his heart issue causing him discomfort?[/QUOTE]

He cannot undergo anesthesia. Maybe his heart issue is causing discomfort, but last time I was at the vet they told me that there was nothing to do for a heart murmur. He doesn’t burp or have gas thankfully

[wendy]

have they run a simple blood panel? liver or kidney problems can cause loss of appetite and nausea.
For sick/old animals that need calories above all, I’d just feed whatever he’ll eat. Discard all thoughts about “balanced” and “healthy” and “avoiding pickiness” and just focus on “eat something, anything.”

If you can get it, stinky green tripe is both very appetizing for sick dogs and very healthy for sick dogs. It’s good for dogs with kidney problems, too, provides the high-quality low-phosphorus protein they need.

[Nezzy]

[QUOTE=equisusan;7461846]
My dog has inflammatory bowel disease and acts like this. He is more likely to turn away from his food in the morning than at night. He turns away when his tummy doesn’t feel good. Sometimes he gets budesonide or baby gas drops to help settle his tummy and then he’ll eat. Bad teeth can be another cause. Make sure you rule out an underlying cause first before deciding he is just picky. I haven’t found many “just picky” dogs.[/QUOTE]

my dog also had this. IBD is a common problem and i would see the vet. Picky dogs can be ill. YES IBD can cause diarhhea or vomiting. my JRT had a bad case of it and had to go on Prednisone for the rest of her life and she also had to change her diet. Please see the vet.

[Jhein12]

[QUOTE=wendy;7462487]
have they run a simple blood panel? liver or kidney problems can cause loss of appetite and nausea.
For sick/old animals that need calories above all, I’d just feed whatever he’ll eat. Discard all thoughts about “balanced” and “healthy” and “avoiding pickiness” and just focus on “eat something, anything.”

If you can get it, stinky green tripe is both very appetizing for sick dogs and very healthy for sick dogs. It’s good for dogs with kidney problems, too, provides the high-quality low-phosphorus protein they need.[/QUOTE]

I’ve tried tripe, he doesn’t like it surprisingly. He did eat his food this morning so its not like is isn’t eating at all, he just snubs his nose a lot and isn’t the voracious litter eater he was when I first started him on the Nature’s Variety raw. He went wild for it. Shook his behind literally for it :lol: and now he snubs his nose at it, eats other stuff for awhile, snubs nose. Maybe he gets bored more easily? Who knows. But if there is not underlying health issue (I want to get that checked out as soon as possible) then if there is a pill I can give so that he doesn’t snub his nose as often, then I will get that pill.

[Brookes]

We just went through this with a setter of ours. We put her on the Mit drugs and they helped for a time. However this bitch was dying of cancer and that caused her to have an upset stomach which caused her to turn up her nose at the food. Overall just not feeling well made her not want to eat. She had good days where she would eat everything I offered and days she would just walk away.

I think you need to determine if your dog is ill before changing feeding options. Get some panels done, you owe it to your dog to find out why they aren’t eating. Something is probably wrong. Dogs gets hungry they eat, they aren’t like picky little kids. I would suggest your dog has a health problem that needs to be resolved.

[pinkpony321]

[QUOTE=wendy;7462487]
have they run a simple blood panel? liver or kidney problems can cause loss of appetite and nausea.
For sick/old animals that need calories above all, I’d just feed whatever he’ll eat. Discard all thoughts about “balanced” and “healthy” and “avoiding pickiness” and just focus on “eat something, anything.”

If you can get it, stinky green tripe is both very appetizing for sick dogs and very healthy for sick dogs. It’s good for dogs with kidney problems, too, provides the high-quality low-phosphorus protein they need.[/QUOTE]

My old old OLD JRT who we lost last year had an appetite much like the OPs dog. Turns out she was in kidney failure, and the decreased appetite was the result. A trip to the vet is definitely in order.

[SquishTheBunny]

Dogs don’t lose their appetite generally unless they aren’t feeling too great. I would start with a full exam and if everything checks out on a physical exam - bloodwork and abdominal/thoracic radiographs. This is generally a good start and can tell us a lot about vital organ functions and physical conditions (ie. cancers, masses). Tartar on the teeth will not cause a picky eater, but abscessed or infected teeth can. Dental problems are easiest to rule out with a simple oral exam. I’d get your dog checked out for sure - if he isn’t normally a super picky eater then something ain’t right Jingles that its nothing serious.

[Jhein12]

He has a vet appointment on Monday for a regular checkup with a new vet- Main Street Vet with Dr. Molesworth. He is supposed to be a very good veterinarian. Any advice for the visit? Things I should ask, mention ect?

[Horsegal984]

Haha OP I had to look up that vet, as we have a new clinic here that just opened up called Main Street.
-I would discuss the murmur with him again, as some murmurs have medications that can help prevent disease from progressing and others are just leaky valves that really cause no problems.

• talk to him about doing bloodwork, full panel if you can afford it, basic if cost is a concern. Looking at things like thyroid and kidney and liver values.
• have him listen well for crackles or rales in the lungs as that can be suggestive that heart disease has progressed into congestive heart failure.

[Jhein12]

I don’t think I can afford a full panel right now, I’m sure the vet visit alone will be pricey. What should I expect for price with a basic blood test? Also, I take him in every 3 weeks for grooming at the salon where I work. Should he have the kennel cough shot for prevention or is that a waste of money/ would cause bad side effects?