Getting an Older Dog to Start Eating Right

My fifteen-year old shepherd/rottweiler mix has begun exhibiting telltale signs of old age. Even though she was a very enthusiastic eater who lived on a raw food diet for over ten years, since then, her appetite has decreased significantly. This has made it harder to maintain her normal routine as far as taking her medications go, which is set aside from the nutritional aspect of her daily life.

I have learned some very invaluable lessons along the way:

Keeping Your Dog Fed:

#1. There is a fluctuating variance in my dog's appetite throughout the day, and the morning hours are when she avoids food. I don't allow myself to get all worked up over it if she won't eat her food in the mornings. Sheba is usually pretty hungry at dinner time on days like those.

#2. Avoid incorporating medication into your dog's food. Today, I make it a point to give my dog her medication and food separately instead of mixing them together like I used to. My dog's holistic medicine has been far more effective in the upkeep of her health, and the food's flavor isn't so bad, either. The last thing I'd want to do is ruin the way her food tastes or make her less interested in it since I am already worried about her appetite.

#3. Every now and then, you should refrain from the typical diet. There are instances in which my dog is more interested in having a "lighter" food regime instead of her normal raw meat diet; some of the foods I feed her on these occasions include chicken broth, brown rice or cottage cheese.

Medicine:

#1. I have been hiding my dog's medication in her cream cheese so that she is willing to eat it. My dog never realizes that she is swallowing a pill since it goes down the throat so smoothly. Peanut butter is another food I have used in a similar way.

#2. The bitter herbal powders are more difficult to administer, however. Mixing them into chicken broth and baking them into biscuits is not always a success. There are instances in which I have tried incorporating them into capsules, but there is a high amount required that would be impossible to fulfill.

#3. It was my veterinarian's professional recommendation that I take a turkey baster, dilute my herbs with water and then squeeze the mixture down my dog's throat. It sounds like it would be a difficult task to carry out since Sheba would probably fight back, but it might be necessary.

If anyone else who has experience with their own dog is able to provide a method that genuinely works, I would love to hear it. What are the techniques you utilize in order to get your dog to take his medicine and eat properly?

Jamie is a pet health expert who strongly believes that the raw dog food diet is the healthiest and most responsible decision a pet owner can make for their pet.