....ideas please!

My old boy (small gundog) is not eating enough to keep a sparrow alive. I'm trying everything but nothing seems to tempt him - I have to be careful what he has as he suffers with colitus that aside I am now just desperate for him to eat! Hes drinking well, exercising etc everything else just as normal. We've tried sausage, chicken, tripe, liver, virtually all the tinned foods from the pet shop, rice, pasta, fish, rice pudding, farleys rusk...the list goes on. Any ideas what else to try??

When my girl was ill with a protein losing condition (which we lost her to) I was desperate for her to eat. I was told to try Romaine lettuce (must be Romaine) simmer the lettuce, strain and cool the juice and then syringe it into them. It worked quite a few times.

The other thing that our breeder advised if they wouldn't eat was to boil up some pearl barley and then discard but use the juice (took several hours of boiling) not sure how this grain mught affect your boys colitus.

Good luck it's very frustrating isn't it?  

What about a little scrambled egg it worked for us once with an old girl, she had it mixed with cottage cheese!

Good luck

Has the vet checked him over, especially his teeth? If he is drinking would he drink chicken complan?

Do you think he feels sick because he's not eating enough? My old boy sometimes goes for 2 days without eating anything at all. If he skips one meal I give him a ranitidine tablet or he starts bringing up bile, then he feels ill and won't eat. If he's already feeling ill and won't take a piece of cheese with a tablet hidden in it, then he has to have milk of magnesia syringed down his throat. My boy is now about 2/3rds of his previous healthy weight but still full of fun and life. When he decides not to eat there is nothing that we can tempt him with -  marks and spencers pate, steak, chicken, mackerel, tripe...iced donuts...nothing.

Vit B12

It encourages appetite.
Some vets can give an injection if you think that he's not going to tolerate
tablets etc due to digestive upset. Might be worth checking out?

It possibly soounds like his sense of smell has gone if you've tried all of those.
Perhaps you need to try a really 'stinky' smelling food that he might just about
be able to smell?
What about putting a water soluble vit/mineral supplement in his water if he's drinking well?
Bit like complan - but without the milk.
There is a doggy soup called Liquivite he might lap that up? Not sure how expensive it is.
http://www.liquivite.co.uk/

Hope you find the magic solution soon.

My old boy lost interest in food , I know it was probably the worst thing to do, but I hand fed him.. It worked and I felt better for it..

My old girl stopped eating and drinking never did find out why even after many tests,try plain sponge cake this also stimulates the apretite and yes hand feeding is also good a neighbours elderly lab stopped eating and he went on enjoying life for another couple of years he was very thin but appeared happy.

Sheila

Teeth in oldies are a problem and really need investigated when they go off their food.
My friend's really old Cavalier has digestive biscuits bashed up, which he loves but he only has a couple of teeth now.
Royal Canin do a very palatable convalecence diet which usually perks them up, especially if warmed to release the smell.

I cant help but I hope that he eats something I think the complan idea is a goody or tinned soup?

Have you had him checked by a vet i had the same problem with my dog recently and unfortunately it was a kidney problem and i had to let him go