The whippet wont eat!

[schoolnurse]

More advise please. My DM's (she's currently in hospital) whippet wont eat. For years she completely over indulged it and fed it endless portions of organic roast chicken (no bones) and organic ham these are left out all the time for it and it eats when its "hungary" and as soon as the bowl is -half full empty she fills it up again. I just want to add this is contrary to all the advise given to my DM by her vet and the dog is over weight. But I hope you will forgive her because my DM lives alone and the dog is her life.
Anyway the whippet is currently residing with me. I have two boisterous dogs who eat twice a day (tinned dog food) and eat it as soon as its put on the floor. I am feeding the whippet the same regime in the bedroom where my mother was staying which is where she is hiding from the rest of us. But she is just picking at it through the day/night eating at best half a standard can a day and because she doesn't eat the food immediately I have to keep the door to this room shut otherwise my dogs will go in and eat it.
Any tips?
Just want to add I'm sorry but am not prepared to feed it anything but already prepared open a can/tip it out of a bag/box dog food.

[mistlethrush]

I was going to suggest a bit of scrambled eggs or makerell in tomato sauce on a little rice.. but that's clearly not going to go down well with you

If she's picking at the food, she's eating something - and if she's overweight she's got some stores.

The dog's gone through quite a bit, it is understandable for it not to be eating properly even if it was eating the food it was used to.

Based on what her weight (should be) how much of a can should she be eating?

[Lilcamper]

I don't wish to offend but you sound really harsh on this dog. It? Surely the dog has a gender?

He/she is feeling lost and lonely without your DM. Maybe you don't need to feed him/her Waitrose organic chicken but a little bit of understanding and TLC might help?

[tabulahrasa]

I'd feed her, give her ten minutes then take it away and give her nothing else until the next feeding time...she might eat very little for a few days until she works out that that is the way it works, but if she's overweight anyway that won't do her any harm.

Then you can leave the door open as well and she can get more used to your household being about.

[Lilcamper]

Apologies, just seen the dog is a she, she still needs a bit of human kindness though.

[D0oinMeCleanin]

My tiny whippet x loves nature diet chicken and rice trays, this might be closer to what your mum feeds her.

Is the dog needing rescue space? She and you don't sound very happy with the current arrangements.

[tabulahrasa]

Ah I can understand a bit of ambivalence towards the dog...from what I remember the OP's mother is in hospital and not likely to be coming home, which is hard going anyway and then the OP also has been left holding the dog which doesn't particularly fit into her family and isn't massively happy about having to live with them either.

While I'm sure the dog is missing her owner and upset - I don't think pandering to her about food will help that any and it's creating a situation where she's always going to be kept isolated because of the food.

[schoolnurse]

I'm the first to admit to not being a whippet fan (sorry whippet lovers) the dog like my DM is exceedingly reclusive any effort on my part to give TLC are very obviously rejected; she gets up and walks away and tries to go into a room where there are no people/dogs/cats noise, any effort by my two dogs is very obviously and understandably rejected they mean well but I think their approach is a little brash for her taste; play with me/play with my toy/would you like to share my bed you look lonely and my bed might be more comfortable /shall I share your bed with you; you look lonely. as you don't want you food i help you with it. I'm not a completely insensitive clod this dog leads a very quiet life normally, she's been dumped in a house with lively dogs teenagers cats busy adults and no owner whose she's devoted too. The only positive is she likes to go for a walk which she's not done for a long time. must add that she's never liked us when ever we visit my mum she goes into another room and would shut the door if she knew how.
My gut feeling is to go with tabulahs advise.
She should weight 10KG (its a small whippet) she currently weighs 13 kg I think a standard 400g can a day should be sufficient.

[schoolnurse]

Doin the dog may need a rescue space Im waiting to see if my mother will make any significant improvement in her mental state we will know over the next few weeks, If she needs to live in a residential home then unless we can find one which will take the dog which I suspect is unlikely then she will need permanent rehoming.
"nature diet chicken and rice trays,"
where do I buy this obviously not Waitrose!! Can I buy a sampler couple of packet to ascertain if she will eat it

[tabulahrasa]

Pets at home have nature diet which they sell individually...Waitrose has Webbox natural, which doesn't look to be too different in ingredients to nature diet.

[schoolnurse]

Thanks off to Pets at Home to buy some. A friend suggested slightly warming it (Im not normally squeamish as you can guess from my nick name but dog food makes my skin crawl) any thoughts?

[tabulahrasa]

Warming it makes it smellier, and so more appealing...you can stick the nature diet trays in the microwave - about 30 seconds does it, you're not after hot, just more like body temperature.

Not that I have a fussy dog that I've had to do things like this with at all, lol.

Warming it might not make much difference though, I suspect she's just after chicken and missing your mum tbh.

[Scuttlebutter]

Schoolnurse, I am so sorry you are going through this. You are having a very hard time.

Firstly, it's natural for dogs to lose their appetite a bit when they are stressed out (like whippy obviously is at the moment). It's also very natural for them to eat less when the weather is very hot as it is at the moment. You've also previously said that this whippet is very elderly and is used to a routine of little treats all day from your elderly DM.

Putting all these factors together, I'd say it's completely understandable that she is not eating much at the moment. Many elderly dogs have poor appetites and can't cope with one or two big meals a day. If I was fostering her, I'd be presenting her with very small, tasty snack meals three or even four times a day. Just little plates that she can finish and enjoy. Nature Diet is available from Pets at Home.

The other thing I'd suggest is a very small tin of sardines or my other go-to for an elderly prima donna is to buy a cheap packet of frozen chicken breast fillets and bung them in the slow cooker with some water. Cooked and cooled, they can be shredded, with a little dry biscuit, and the broth dribbled over to soften the biscuits and smell appetising.

I honestly don't think this is "pandering" - elderly dogs (like elderly people) undergo physiological changes as they age, and in addition she has built up a routine for feeding with your DM that she was used to. While she's with you, I think feeding separately is an excellent idea, with the understanding you are currently working on a longer term solution for her. If you are finding it too difficult and stressful to cope with her needs at the moment, which would be very understandable, please, please do contact Cinnamon Trust and discuss with them an emergency foster placement - the current situation is sounding very stressful for all of you.

Wishing you all the best, and so sorry again you are going through this.

[mistlethrush]

I agree with Scuttle - you certainly don't want to impose a 'give food for 10 mins then lift, she'll get used to it' regime for a dog of her age - particularly I think a whippet.

The lurcher I grew up with had whippet in her. She used to only really eat in the middle of the night. One time she was put in kennels and they were told to leave her food, but didn't and took it away every evening - so she didn't eat for 2 weeks. She never went in (any) kennels again.

My current lurcher started off by wolfing her food down. Now she knows that its there, and that it will not disappear if she doesn't eat it, so she will potter in and have a snack when she feels like it. As its complete, dry dog food, this doesn't cause any problems, it seems to suit her and it certainly means we're not concerned about her potentially getting bloat which can affect sight hounds.

If she's eating something I don't think you should be too worried.

However, nature diet is much less disgusting smelling that normal dog food - even when it is warmed, so this might well be the way to go - and do try small amounts regularly rather than expect her to swap to 2 meals like your two dogs (who admittedly sound more like 'normal' dogs but I can't see the whippet getting like this).

[tabulahrasa]

But of course it's pandering to be trying different foods and thinking of doing things like warming them up to coax a dog to eat...I did also say I've done it myself.

What I actually meant though, was that I doubt it's the food itself that's the issue - just the situation.

I'm not a whippet owner, so maybe trying to get her used to two meals a day won't work, but if the alternative is to leave her shut in a room alone all day to stop the other dogs snaffling her food I'd give it a shot.