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12 y/o Bichon, finicky eater, resent stomach upset

Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
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  • June 28, 2013 at 5:15 pm #20431 Report Abuse
    TheyCallMeBT
    Participant

    Hi all. I’m having a hard time with my Bichon Frise. She’s 12 years old, 15 to 18 pounds. We’ve had her on Beneful original food for a while. At one point, her vet put her on a certain food (I forgot what it was) because it was the second time she had gotten surgery for bladder/ kidney stones and this had something in it to help with that. They were really bad stones, especially considering her size, with huge spikes.

    So we tried that food for a couple of weeks. She hated it so much and was hungry to the point that she went kind of wild eyed. It was pretty bad. After dealing with that, we talked to the vet again and he agreed that it was better for her to go back to what she liked rather than be hungry and have a horrible quality of life due to that.

    Fortunately, she hasn’t had trouble with the stones since then, which has been 2 or 3 years. We also switched her to bottled water only. So hopefully the tap water was the cause.

    In the past month, she started having pretty bad upset stomach problems. She also likes to have treats, or else she very finicky. Even with the Beneful– which she would pick out certain pieces that she liked. The treats we have given her are Pupperoni and something that looks like bacon strips.

    So a couple of weeks ago, we asked for advice and decided to try Royal Canin – Indoor Adult. We also completely cut out treats. She acted like she loved it at first. But I think she was just that hungry. Since then, she won’t eat it (without something in it) unless she gets really hungry by late in the day and knows that she’s not getting anything else. I have gone back to giving her a little piece of a treat and then she might eat the food with it. Or putting chicken in with it.

    So at 12, I know she’s at a point in her life where she might only have a year left– or could still live eight or more years. That depends a lot on her food being healthy AND her liking the food and actually eating. So I’ve got to find something that she will actually eat that tastes good to her.

    I appreciate any help you folks can give me. It’s frustrating when I know that she’s miserable and I can’t do anything to help.

    June 28, 2013 at 6:31 pm #20441 Report Abuse
    theBCnut
    Member

    If canned food is an option for you that is what I would do. Even Purina’s canned foods are better than Beneful and usually dogs find canned foods more palatable. Plus getting more liquid into her is better for her kidneys and bladder.

    June 28, 2013 at 7:51 pm #20444 Report Abuse
    TheyCallMeBT
    Participant

    Ok, I’ll look into that. I really don’t even know much about canned dog food. Is it just one meal per can?

    After writing my post, I tried putting water in the Royal Canin for the first time. She ate it right up, every bite. So it may have just been too hard for her. And I guess since it might add a little more flavor to it since it soaks. There’s a little more left, so if she keeps liking this, I might give another bag of it a try.

    Thanks, Patty!

    • This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by TheyCallMeBT.
    • This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by TheyCallMeBT.
    July 6, 2013 at 2:36 pm #20794 Report Abuse
    TheyCallMeBT
    Participant

    She’s still not loving it. And she’s almost through another bag.. so that’s probably like 1.5 weeks for a bag.

    Does anyone have any other suggestions on a kibble to try? I just can’t do wet dog food.

    I’ve seen the Iams Savory Sauce.. and when looking in up found Vita Gravy. That might be something to try. I’d still like to find her a better kibble, though.

    July 6, 2013 at 2:50 pm #20796 Report Abuse
    theBCnut
    Member

    For mine, just adding a couple spoonfuls of canned to each meal really perked them up. A can would last me 3 days.

    For a new kibble, try going to a pet food store and asking if they have some free samples. That should give you an idea if she would even like the food before you have to buy a bag of it. Or buy a few different small bags of food to try.

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