Living with old dogs and dealing with the end...

[EasyToEatTiger]

We have 2 oldies, one 13 and one 14. The 13 year old went to the vet for a blood test because he can't keep his weight on. He's always been skinny, and we've fed him Burns since he's lived with us. He's well in himself, but just really boney. I just don't feel ready to start losing a dog or maybe 2. Our 14 year old has slowed down immensely and dh and I have talked about her, but the younger one is, well younger. We also have a 3 yr old, and it's great being a 3 dog family.

The 13 yr old I know has old man liver and kidneys, but it was sub diagnosis.

Does anyone else know how to cope with a skinny dog who can't keep weight on? He is wormed and flead regularly and is getting on a bit.

I had a skinny girl and gave her CSJ - the high carb one. If you google K9 CSJ and email or talk to Ceri then she's really helpful. I used it to supplement the diet she was on at the time.

Found it! Thank you. I'll look into it. Burns is very good at keeping dogs on the lean side and I can't give him more as the protein won't be good for him.

:)

I've emailed Ceri from their website so hope to find out more this week. Old dog got his blood test results back and they can't find anything obvious, so a change in diet may help him.

Burns is lovely, but is very well known for keeping them skinny.

Can you break his meals into three or four smaller, more appetising little meals? Depending on funds, scrambled eggs for breakfast? Plenty of nice cheese for treats?

Thanks Scuttle! We've tried extras, but we find it hard to be consistent. My work is all over the place which makes it harder. I have also noticed that it takes a huge amount of extra rice/pasta to make a difference - about an adult portion. I am concerned about feeding him too much extra protein, but I do give him sunflower oil when I remember.