How do I tempt my dog on a restricted diet to eat?

[RosalindsAFuckingNightmare]

He's just not interested in his food. There is only one type of food he can eat because of an intolerance to protein and I think he's just bored of it. I've been adding a bit of gravy to make it smell nicer which works for a bit but I'm worried about whether he can tolerate gravy. I've microwaved it thinking that might make it seem more palatable. He wants treats. I give him gravy bones and chicken with his tablets in. But too much meat and it goes straight through him. Will he just eat when he is hungry? He's barely eaten since Tuesday. He is very old and I am worried that this is a sign that he is giving up.

I’d try
mixing with natural yoghurt, mixing with tinned fish (just a small amount), scrambled eggs, peanut butter

Not all at once but one at a time

All those foods contain protein and would likely have a bad effect.

OP, speak to your vet for advice. There's no way for us to know 0 protein foods your dog will like

Is it all proteins he's intolerant to or several specific ones?

It is possible to get dog foods made of unusual proteins that your dog won't have encountered before - I've even seen kangaroo.

Have you tried putting a little boiled water in it then letting it cool?

my dog has a hypo allergic food which she isn’t keen on but a little hot water seems to help

but yes, it could be a sign he has had enough 😢

I think the time has come to let him go. His quality of life is not good at all, and he's got to be in so much discomfort if he's basically starving himself.

We had a friend who swore by buying a tub of cheap vanilla ice cream, letting it melt, and drizzling that over their food - no idea of protein % but my guess was it was mostly sugar! :)

Ours also goes mad for bacon grease drizzled over, which I think is all fat, not much protein - bast of luck.

Sorry, I worded my OP wrong. He is interested in eating, just not what I am giving him.

What is he intolerant to?

Gravy bones and gravy have dodgy ingredients and it will be impossible to work out the protein source from most of them.

Are you sure he can eat chicken?

Having said all of that dogs have an amazing sense of smell but actually do not have many taste buds - less than us. This might explain why they eat disgusting things!

So simple things like using a bain marie pot and standing his usual food above something smelly eg parmesan cheese, banana etc will make the food smell better and different but not affect his digestion.

You say he's very old - how old is he and what's his quality of life like otherwise?

Thanks for your replies. He is intolerant to protein according to the vets, but they didn't do any real testing, just said to try this product and see how he got on. He does get a bad stomach if he has too many treats (usually chicken or sausages as they are his favourite). I do give him a treat every day as he has his pills hidden in it and he is keen for his treats, following me into the kitchen etc. His health is failing and I know we're getting near the end but I don't think we are quite there yet 🙏

Ours cannot tolerate the protein in chicken but is fine with that in other foods. (The special food from the vet was a disaster for him as most 'sensitive' grade food is full of chicken.) Have you found the same result from all proteins?

Keep his special (boring) food close to smelly food (like tinned fish or perhaps fox-poo)

Add melted fat (lard/baconfat/dripping) to the top of his dinner. Our dog likes a coating of this on his pills and they slip down very well indeed.

I used to work with an elderly and poorly mini schnauzer.

He was prescribed Royal Canin special food and hated it. We found an equivalent Trovet one and he loved it.

What is the food he is on? There will be suitable alternatives.

He's on Royal Canin Hypoallergenic. Before that he was on Hills Z/D but he went off that and stopped eating that too.

Keep his special (boring) food close to smelly food (like tinned fish or perhaps fox-poo)

That's a good tip, thanks!

Do you know what the Trovet one is called?

If insured perhaps a nutritionist referal could come up some more suitable appetising diet solutions. I was suggested fenugreek powder or cheesy nutritional yeast flakes sprinkled on food helps.

Has he had blood test recently to check all is functioning well as know with some conditions can have nausea and appetite loss as symptom.

Zooplus/bitiba sells some different prescription brands which some find more tasty than usual hills/RC options

Ok so if he is on a hydrolyzed diet then you should not be giving him gravy bones or any other food at all. Even a small amount of other food will make him feel poorly and upset his stomach.

You can soak the hydrolyzed diet and mix medication into that.

You can also soak and then bake the hydrolyzed food into biscuits apparently that makes it taste different - it smells sweeter

You can also get wet hydrolyzed food which older dogs prefer = Purina and hills do one.

Do get back to your vet though and they will check if any new issues have arisen.

I find a drop of salmon oil helps my dogs appetite if needed. He's not a big foodie- never has been.
Like others have said - I think it's the smell rather than taste- it does the job!
It might be worth a try

Chicken intolerance is quite common. My puppy had dreadful poo and terrible wind. Now he is on a salmon and rice diet all is well. It's the way the chickens are produced, not the way dogs are bred.