Picky senior

"What's a good senior dog food?"  Well, it sound like your older palm is loosing it's sense of smell.  Dogs decide if somethings tasty with their noses.  You also said he/she has a sensitive tummy.  I would recommend Eagle Pack Lamb and Oatmeal.  Most easy to digest dog foods are bland, they don't smell good, but Eagle Pack Holisitc Lamb and Oatmeal smells great and I've seen dogs with horrible tummy problems do great on this food.  Plus this food is great for seniors with the glucosamine/chondroitin, which is great for the joints,  and a good amount of yogurt cultures, which will help your dog digest nutrients easier.  My dog is a little fussy and loves Eagle Pack Holistic Lamb.  You may also want to try a high quality canned food.  California Natural, Sensible Choice, Nutro Natural Choice canned foods are all easy to digest, but their hard foods are very bland.

"What kind of eating regimen should she be on?" Is she fat?  If she is follow the feeding instructions on the food.  One way to get a fussy dog to eat is to leave the food down for 15 minutes, if she doesn't eat it then pick it up and give it back a couple hours later.  If after 2 day she doesn't eat.  Definatly take her to the vet.

"Will a dog starve itself to death?"  If it's sick it will, but if she is healthy she won't.

"What did I do when my dog wouldn't eat?"  That's when I started following the feeding instructions on the bag.  That helped tremendously.  If he's hungry he'll eat.  I also cheated and would buy a food I knew he would eat and mix it with the food he wouldn't.

Thanks for the quick reply. We'll try her on the Eagle Pack and the 15 minute eating thing. Thanks again for the great ideas. []

Just make sure it it Eagle Pack Holistic Lamb and Oatmeal.  Some of Eagle Packs other formulas aren't as easy to digest.  Eagle Pack Holisitc Lam and Oatmeal is in a Purple and light green flowered bag.

if your pom. is losing the sense of smell, I would recommend EP Holistic Sardine and Oatmeal. Yucky smell for us, but the dogs go nuts for the fishy smell. Are you free feeding? If so put your pup on a set schedule. 

I would NOT recommend eaglepack if you have a fussy pooch.I have Bullmastiff's which are not fussy,they however wouldnt eat any of the EP formula's.My friend has an extremely picky peke,she wouldnt eat EP either.Like i said,not a food if you have a fussy eater!124OU dont waste your money.

Some good foods that also smell good are-

Timberwolforganics,particularly the wild n natural formula. [linkhttp://www.timberwolforganics.com]http://www.timberwolforganics.com[/link]

Natural balance-
Mix their dry formula with their meat rolls,i dare any dog to resist this combination. Sorry dont know their addy.

Evangers-Their canned foods smell delicious and my dogs go nuts for them,another great product to mix with dry food. [linkhttp://www.evangersdogfood.com]http://www.evangersdogfood.com[/link]

Natures variety,raw instinct kibble.Another smelly one. [linkhttp://www.naturesvariety.com]http://www.naturesvariety.com[/link]

Wysong,particularly "archetype",their 'dream treats' are also excellent! [linkhttp://www.wysong.net%C2%A0]http://www.wysong.net [/link]
It takes a bit of clicking to get to the dog food page,but you'll get there in the end,just scroll down to the bottom of the page for the clickable links.

EVO- [linkhttp://www.naturapet.com]http://www.naturapet.com[/link]  Their canned formula's are also good.

There are many more,but the above mentioned are the ones that have stuck out to me for the appetising smell. The pekes favourites are Timberwolf and natures variety.
I also rotate all of the above,plus many more in my dogs feeding regime.

Stick to set meal times and do not leave the food sitting out for your dog to pick at,at her leisure.Free feeding fussy dogs just makes them worse and the food loses it's value if it's there at their disposal.Meal times also lose their excitement if food is constantly available. Put her food down in the morning,if she refuses,try again at lunch time,and then again at dinner time,and continue on from there.

What commercial foods have you tried recently?

Good luck and let us know how you go.

124OU what breed is she?

The things I've been adding to Willow's meals are--

Wysong Turkey Au Jus, Innova Evo canned Beef, Evanger's Hunk of Beef

Willow has been extremely fussy for the past three years and recently has begun never missing a meal.  AND, she has a very sensitive GI system and is OK with these.

At 12 years you are not going to harm anything by adding a little canned food or something - it's not like you'll be making her fussy or anything.

Also try green tripe - you can get a can to try it out and see whether that will work. 

Or, you can fry up a little beef liver, whirl it in the food processor with a bit of water, and stir that in to her food - YUM!

Try Glenda's homeade recipe.

Try one of the premade raw diets - thaw a medallion and mix it with half of her normal food.

Add half a raw or lightly scrambled egg to her kibble.  Great for her coat!

Don't try all these changes at once - and always make any change very gradually, especially on a dog her age.

Everyone's suggestions are good but I would also like to suggest that you have a senior blood panel done if you haven't already to rule out the possibility that her declining appetite is due to a health problem. Willowchow and brookcove's suggestion about trying canned dog food is definitely worth considering; canned food is easier to digest so it should help her sensitive digestive system and the smell should appeal to her. Good luck.

Wonderful ideas.
Edie, she's a pomeranian.
To anyone wondering, she's not overweight.
Anyway, I think you guys are dead on with the losing her smell. It makes a lot of sense. She always "examines" a piece of food for a long time with her nose then decides not to eat it.

Thanks everyone, I'll pass all these ideas onto my mom.