Geriatric Wasting - Supplements?

I've had to tighten Angel's harness again. I can feel her backbone, and her shoulders just stick out. Definite geriatric wasting going on here, and coupled with the CHF.

Her appetite is great, she eats Natural Balance Venison & Sweet Potato formula. We give her peanut butter and cheese too. She's allergic to wheat & poultry.

She's gassy as all heck...so whatever I give to her has to be gentle on the digestive system.

She's on furosemide and temaril P, 1/2 tablet of each twice a day. (and the temaril irritates her digestive track, but keeps her breathing easy)

Is there anything I should be doing to slow the wasting? A supplement? A higher calorie food (recommendations, please??)

I just hate watching this. She's not in as good of spirits these days - her tail is down more often than not, it's harder for her to settle down, and she's more stiff getting around.

Any ideas are much appreciated!

TxAllieGrl wrote:I've had to tighten Angel's harness again. I can feel her backbone, and her shoulders just stick out. Definite geriatric wasting going on here, and coupled with the CHF.

Her appetite is great, she eats Natural Balance Venison & Sweet Potato formula. We give her peanut butter and cheese too. She's allergic to wheat & poultry.

She's gassy as all heck...so whatever I give to her has to be gentle on the digestive system.

She's on furosemide and temaril P, 1/2 tablet of each twice a day. (and the temaril irritates her digestive track, but keeps her breathing easy)

Is there anything I should be doing to slow the wasting? A supplement? A higher calorie food (recommendations, please??)

I just hate watching this. She's not in as good of spirits these days - her tail is down more often than not, it's harder for her to settle down, and she's more stiff getting around.

Any ideas are much appreciated!

Allie- Have you had her thyroid checked? After a year of barely getting weight on Peachy, once we got the thyroid regulated, she quickly filled out to a normal weight.

Could that fail as a result of old age?

We did a full blood panel when we did the original work up, and it was normal. That was last April. It's probably time to do another one though, as well as the cardiac test to get a read on where she is.

thanks for the idea Rebecca!

TxAllieGrl wrote:Could that fail as a result of old age?

We did a full blood panel when we did the original work up, and it was normal. That was last April. It's probably time to do another one though, as well as the cardiac test to get a read on where she is.

thanks for the idea Rebecca!

My vet and vet tech said it is common in females as they get older. I didn't know either. It was actually the animal communicator at our PugOWeen that told me to have it checked out, and sure enough.... hypothyroid. Her hormone levels were thrown off after her emergency spay. We have a couple of pugs in Pugsavers that are hypothyroid. Peachy takes .1 mg of Soloxine twice a day and it has brought her thyroid to normal levels. The vet did a recheck after one month, and will be rechecked in 3 months.
Good luck.

Is she allergic to eggs? I would possibly try feeding her more often if that is possible. It might be hard for her to eat more food with just two feedings but if you feed her 3-4 times a day, maybe you can get more calories in her and see if she starts to gain any weight.

leslyeb wrote:Is she allergic to eggs? I would possibly try feeding her more often if that is possible. It might be hard for her to eat more food with just two feedings but if you feed her 3-4 times a day, maybe you can get more calories in her and see if she starts to gain any weight.

I almost forgot about the more frequent feedings. Peachy was also on Nutrical to get more calories. The vet tech said that I could also use blackstrap molassas to get more calories for her, and that it was cheaper than Nutrical.

duh...there's a simple idea - feed her more often. I'll give her some lunch, and see if that helps.

The trick is the others will be PISSED when Angel gets a bowl and they don't LOL Maybe I'll give them some green beans or pumpkin or yogurt at that time.

Lesley - I haven't tried eggs. I was thinking that since poultry doesn't set well with her, eggs probably wouldn't either?

What about probiotics so she gets the most from her meals? Maybe Fish Oil caps?

DappleDoxieStaff wrote:What about probiotics so she gets the most from her meals? Maybe Fish Oil caps?

I hate to have a suggestion for every suggestion on this thread but the name of the probiotics that Peachy takes are: Vetri Mega Probiotics. She also gets Solid Gold Seameal with her food. I got the probiotics from the vet.

TxAllieGrl wrote:duh...there's a simple idea - feed her more often. I'll give her some lunch, and see if that helps.

The trick is the others will be PISSED when Angel gets a bowl and they don't LOL Maybe I'll give them some green beans or pumpkin or yogurt at that time.

Lesley - I haven't tried eggs. I was thinking that since poultry doesn't set well with her, eggs probably wouldn't either?

Allie,

Chyna is extremely allergic to chicken and duck, but she can eat eggs without any problems. I was just thinking that might give her some good protein. Also, I didn't know with your work schedule if feeding more often would be a possibility or not.

Chyna was not happy when Tinker arrived and I had to feed him three times a day instead of two. I would have to gate her, and she would just stare through the gate like I was torturing her. I also had to gate both Tinker and Chyna when we adopted Ruffy. He was skin and bones so I was feeding him three times a day for a couple of weeks.

Oh this is a great thread! Lillie has started wasting away and I honestly am at a loss. With her weak backend my vet likes her on the thin side but I am starting to see her backbone and she seems so frail when I pick her up. I think I'll add a feeding at noon too and see if that helps. I'll get her in and get her thyroid checked too. She had bloodwork in May and it was all good.

Does anyone have their senior on a high protein food? I've heard the higher protein is actually good for seniors and was thinking of switching her too one but probably should wait and have her bloodwork done again.

Remember my "Feed that Pug more" thread about Bob? Geriatric wasting. Here's what I did. I was feeding him a very high protein food to begin with (42%) and that may not be possible with Angel--but I'm convinced the only reason Bob wasn't skin and bones was due to the protein levels. I did increase his meals to 3 and sometimes 4 a day. And I added plain rice baby cereal--what we call pablum up here--to his food. There is a very good digestive enzyme that can helps with absorption and gastric issues called Acute Care--it's made by CentaurVA--same company that makes Sasha's Blend.

It's really hard to watch the wasting.

thanks everyone!!! I have zero experience with seniors, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with me.

Lesley - luckily I work from home so I can definitely feed her more often. And I'll look at a higher protein food, and maybe some scrambled eggs for her (we can try it...the worst that happens is she will be itchy for a few days). And when we go back to the vet for her blood work up, we'll check thyroid, and I'll ask about probiotics.

THANK YOU!

I have no experience yet with seniors either but there are some very knowledgeable people on here. I am learning quite a bit as well.

Sorry i have nothing to contribute info wise to your post, but i will send positive vibes and hope she gets healthier soon ..good luck!

Wow, I'm going through this with my foster "Starla" I never thought of the baby food either!! Thanks for starting this thread Allie, I've really learned alot from everyone whos replied.

A lady from an all breed rescue suggested I use Nupro with Aggy when I first adopted her and she was so skinny. We've had great success with it and she's still on it.

http://www.nuprosupplements.com/ingredients.htm

What a great thread, I never realized there was a name for it, but I am going through this with Dolly.

I am giving her pure meat babyfood...Beechnut ..no spices, just meat and water, I also bought her canned puppy food. I give her 1/2 a can three times a day along with the baby food meat and a jar of baby food fruit or veggie (for the added water) I also add a jar of water because Dolly will not go to the water bowl since she got really sick in December. She is actually repulsed by it. So I add water to her food. Sometimes a scrammbled egg to give her more variety.

I also add nutricale and a supplement called "Vibrant Pets" Canine Athlete, www.vibrantpets.net. I chose this formulation with the advice of the founders of the company. Dolly has major arthritis issues. There are other specific formulas.

Dolly has a hard time standing long enough to eat and an even harder time with a bowl. So I bought pyrex pie plates for her, and she is doing great, they are heavy enough to stay in place, hold the water I add, but not too deep for her to get aggravated trying to get the food out.

My heartbeat will be 15 in April, God willing that she stays with me that long. I see her getting stronger every day and gaining weight slowly, but she is gaining.

Bella wanted to thank Angel for the warning that this could happen, she has now explained to me how important it is for her to bulk up now, while she still can, to fend off this possibility!?!??!

Lilos Mom wrote:Wow, I'm going through this with my foster "Starla".

Not to hijack the thread but I didn't know that you were the one fostering Starla, Carol. She is beautiful!!

PugLady3 wrote:

Lilos Mom wrote:Wow, I'm going through this with my foster "Starla".

Not to hijack the thread but I didn't know that you were the one fostering Starla, Carol. She is beautiful!!

Yep, I've had her since the day I picked her up from the shelter. I love her to pieces!!
But right now she is just so ribley so this has really been an awesome thread to learn from.

TNPUGMOMOF3 wrote:Bella wanted to thank Angel for the warning that this could happen, she has now explained to me how important it is for her to bulk up now, while she still can, to fend off this possibility!?!??!

Yes indeed. This is the principle that Tank operates on. Why wait for wasting? Waste is bad. So he is storing up fat to fight it off.

If she has a tender digestive system. a perfect, easily digested protein is egg whites. I just boil the eggs, and chop up the white for Bella who has liver issues so can't take the fat, but needs high quality protein. I give the yolks to the others, not because they need it, but as already mentioned, they are storing up for old age.

That I am aware of, there is no correlation to eggs and an allergy to poultry.

If she is gassy and is very touchy with what you feed, metronidazole is a wonder drug. It is listed as a antibiotic, but is a really common drug to use for the calming/slowing effect it has on the digestive tract. On liver board I am on, they suggested it, and my vet prescribed it for Bella, and she went from having almost IBD to being perfectly normal. she is on a very small (1/4 minimum dose) dose once a day, and I cannot emphasize how much it has helped her. Many people have had their dogs on it for years, and no side effects.

Hope this helps
Joan

This is a wonderful thread. At 12.5 yrs old, Teddy was just skin and bones at the end. He got more food than the others, but the years had really taken a toll on him. I am lucky with Baby Girl in that even though she is 11, her skin has remained relatively taught. She is on the tiny side anyway. I give her joint suppliments, but I have to keep her slim because the additional weight put strain on her cardo system.

Keep the info coming, you never know what you are going to learn here.

This issue applies to humans too so I am pleasantly fluffy now because I fear of just wasting away as I get older. Plus, if for some strange reason I get really sick with something, I have months that I could probably live off my fat!!

leslyeb wrote:This issue applies to humans too so I am pleasantly fluffy now because I fear of just wasting away as I get older. Plus, if for some strange reason I get really sick with something, I have months that I could probably live off my fat!!

Lesley, me too! That is my excuse. When I think of my grandmothers, the one who was more "pleasantly plump" always looked much younger than the one who was obsessed over staying skinny. I can deal with that!

Joan - thanks for that info on the eggs. I did give her a bit of scrambled egg with dinner last night. She's been fine with it. And we did have her on the metro- drug for a bit, I will ask him about keeping her on it a while longer.

thanks to all of you!