I Surrender

I'm dealing with a senior doxie right now - I think he is senile... but for a dog who eats basically everything, when you have a bad day, you feed whatever you can. I was feeding him a senior food but he dropped an insane amount of weight. We are dealing with kidney issues as well, but to be honest, we are on the last leg with him so my main concern right now is just getting him through for a bit. Our daughter is home for a week in August, we want him past that date for sure. The kids are so uber attached to him.... I feed him anything he eats - that could be Brodie's normal food or on bad days Deacon's puppy formula. I know it is bad for his kidneys, but he eats it. I buy Costco chicken broth (it's a really good broth!) and also their bone broth and add it to his foods days he is reluctant. I admit to even feeding him canned cat food sometimes. It's basically just whatever you can get into them because the weight loss is so scary! So forget what the reviews say, if Penny and Loki will eat it - it's a 10 in my book!

 

The legacy of Sca still holds in my house. A bowl with something in it belonged to the owner only while they stood there. Otherwise all food belonged to Sca and was eliminated. After he passed Spitfire was so used to that he always finished (and in true Spitfire style tried to steal Angus's while he was still there before I put a stop to that). Now Angus eats faster than Spitfire but once done Spitfire goes and checks Angus's bowl just in case. I think I could fill their bowls with sawdust.

 

Chris, one of the things that kept my Dante eating well as his condition declined during his final couple of months was the little jars of Gerber baby meats...esp the turkey or beef. Maybe mixing a little of those Gerber baby meats into their food would make a difference?
Trini

 

Don't feel bad at all. If someone can prove to me that the top rated foods help make dogs live longer and stay healthier, I'd switch, but there's no evidence of it. The only reason I don't feed the pro plan varieties with corn in it is because Sandstorm gets constipated on it, so I feed the pro p!an without the corn. Purina makes much crappier foods than Purina one, it's not kibble and bits, and their quality controll is very good, and Minnie's breeder feeds Purina one!

 

My parents fed our sheltie pedigree dog food pretty much her entire life and she lived to be 15.5. And it wasn't that long ago. You feed what you can afford and what your dog likes. Don't stretch your budget just to feed what you think is the best of the best. I try not to judge people on what they feed their dogs unless it's dangerous. You just don't know their situation, why they're feeding it.