I got an old dog that is losing weight pretty fast. She is 16 and for the last 15 years she has been about 25-28 pounds, and she is currently sitting at like 12 pounds.
I have been alternating between hot dogs and bologna as she likes to eat them and doesn’t fuss about it. Most wet dog foods will work for about a week, then she turns her nose up at it.
I’ve soaked her dry food to get the volume up for her, which worked for a bit but now she pretty much refuses to eat dry food for about two days then nibbles.
I get that older dogs tend to lose their appetite as they get close to the end, but I’d prefer she not pass away from starvation over old age. I do still tend to hold off from straight up sugar/carbs, but a random peanut butter sandwich scrap or three has been passed over to her more than once.
So I am looking for ideas for high calorie food which can be purchased easily and preferably on the cheap.
Low sodium broth could make the dry food mpre appealing.
Good call, not sure why I didn’t think about soup over water for soaking.
Make certain its low sodium. Very important. Don’t expect this to gain a bunch if weight. But it will retain fluids and actually add bulk which means less calories. This more to keep interest in the foods for them and or fluid retention.
Also, as I learned from having a wife who needs to watch her sodium intake, less sodium doesn’t necessarily mean low sodium, which I believe has a legal definition. You may need to shop the higher end brands that come in cartons, not the store brand cans. But I think a little splash should help pretty well and last a while
I landed on white rice, chicken breast and black beans with a tablespoon or two of just vegetable oil for a fat. Figured it was a fairly balanced carb/protein/lipid mixture in addition to whatever dry food I mix into it. Zero salt added, she is munching away currently. Next time I get to the store I will get some low sodium broth to mix into the rice and beans while they cook to soak it up.