Portion size of liver for a 25 # dog

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kshama2001
kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My mother’s dog is old (supposedly 126 yo in people years) and will not eat dog food anymore. She has been feeding him vegetables, sweet potato, and beef liver. She is wondering how big the portions of the liver should be. Any thoughts?

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  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,945 Member
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    I don't know, but Google gave me About 4,980,000 results (0.76 seconds)

    :smiley:
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
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    Get the dog some proper food. Geez!
  • VegjoyP
    VegjoyP Posts: 2,710 Member
    edited July 2021
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    wilson10102018 wrote: »
    Get the dog some proper food. Geez!

    What would you say is proper food!?
    Real food is what we ALL are truly meant to eat
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    My mother’s dog is old (supposedly 126 yo in people years) and will not eat dog food anymore. She has been feeding him vegetables, sweet potato, and beef liver. She is wondering how big the portions of the liver should be. Any thoughts?

    Would her vet be able to help her? I think at this point, your mom is probably doing the best thing by giving her dog healthy foods that will actually get eaten. As far as amount, I'd have no clue. :( Poor thing; you definitely have to give him what he'll eat. I tried searching for making your own dog food but there are zillions of suggestions online; it's very confusing. :( Best person to ask would be the vet. You aren't lucky enough to live in a place where you'd have access to a veterinarian nutritionist would you? I wish vets were more trained on the nutritional aspect of it(gee, sounds like typical doctors).


    Both of my dogs are 9 yos but one of them is slowly refusing her food. I'm not sure if it's her teeth bothering her or if she's just sick of it. If I doctor it up with chicken or hamburger she'll eat more of it. I'm currently trying to switch her to Zignature but her stools are becoming a mess so I'm switching back.

    I wonder if there's a canned food the vet could recommend for your mom's dog?

    Good luck in finding some advice for your mom!!
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
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    https://spoiledhounds.com/can-dogs-eat-liver/

    I did find this article that includes a lot of info about feeding liver to your dog. It mentions not more than an ounce a day as Vit. A can be toxic to dogs. That's not a lot so can your mom also add other soft meats; will he eat chicken or hamburg?
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
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    Senior dogs need a specialized diet your mother probably knows nothing about. Believe it or not, the folks who make premium dog food like Wellness Core and Orijen actually like dogs and know something about this topic. Not tossing some sweet potatoes and bacteria soaked liver in his bowl. And, without preservatives it can be unsafe.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
    edited July 2021
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    wilson10102018 wrote: »
    Senior dogs need a specialized diet your mother probably knows nothing about. Believe it or not, the folks who make premium dog food like Wellness Core and Orijen actually like dogs and know something about this topic. Not tossing some sweet potatoes and bacteria soaked liver in his bowl. And, without preservatives it can be unsafe.

    My mom has tried a number of premium dry dog foods over the last 6 months. He won't eat them.

    She discussed with the vet, who wanted to prescribe an appetite stimulant.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
    edited July 2021
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    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    https://spoiledhounds.com/can-dogs-eat-liver/

    I did find this article that includes a lot of info about feeding liver to your dog. It mentions not more than an ounce a day as Vit. A can be toxic to dogs. That's not a lot so can your mom also add other soft meats; will he eat chicken or hamburg?

    Perfect, thanks!

    Yes, he will eat other meats, great idea :)

    ETA: Just talked to Mom. She had been giving him Freshpet and will go back to it. He preferred the first one, which is without rice.

    z0jz8ik8a1ou.png

    https://www.bjs.com/product/freshpet-select-small-dog-chicken-and-turkey-dog-food-1-lb/3000000000002204791

    https://www.bjs.com/product/freshpet-select-chunky-beef-with-vegetables-and-brown-rice-dog-food-6-lbs/3000000000000156997
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
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    How old is this sweet boy?

    For awhile I was looking into making my 2 dogs' food myself but 1) it was going to be way costlier than buying Taste Of The Wild and 2) they lost me when they started saying how important certain vitamins/supplements were. Then I looked into something called 'Farmer's Dog' where they make fresh food and send it sort of as a subscription service, or something like that and that was very expensive as well. :(
    My dogs are only 9 but I think one of them is developing more stomach or teeth issues(already has sensitive skin issues and has monthly allergy shots). I wanted to find a softer food I could mix in with their regular crunchy stuff. The cans would be an expensive way to feed them as well. :( For now, I add meat daily but really want to change it somehow. :( I have another appt. coming up next week for my sensitive skin/stomach dog. But all my vet suggests is getting away from grain-free. :( Well, last time I tried that, her poor allergies flared up terribly. It's so difficult when dogs react in one way or another to everything you feed them. :(
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    How old is this sweet boy?

    For awhile I was looking into making my 2 dogs' food myself but 1) it was going to be way costlier than buying Taste Of The Wild and 2) they lost me when they started saying how important certain vitamins/supplements were. Then I looked into something called 'Farmer's Dog' where they make fresh food and send it sort of as a subscription service, or something like that and that was very expensive as well. :(
    My dogs are only 9 but I think one of them is developing more stomach or teeth issues(already has sensitive skin issues and has monthly allergy shots). I wanted to find a softer food I could mix in with their regular crunchy stuff. The cans would be an expensive way to feed them as well. :( For now, I add meat daily but really want to change it somehow. :( I have another appt. coming up next week for my sensitive skin/stomach dog. But all my vet suggests is getting away from grain-free. :( Well, last time I tried that, her poor allergies flared up terribly. It's so difficult when dogs react in one way or another to everything you feed them. :(

    If the age Mom was given when she adopted him was accurate, he is 18 years old. Here he was 4 years ago:

    0z2ux3avdhhi.png

    For a while, Mom had good success mixing ground beef, chicken, or turkey in with his dry food. I think on other occasions, or perhaps simultaneously, she added warm chicken stock as well.
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
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    Cooked meat I trust?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    wilson10102018 wrote: »
    Cooked meat I trust?

    Yes
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
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    Whoa a cover model and everything!! He's absolutely adorable. :)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    Whoa a cover model and everything!! He's absolutely adorable. :)

    Thanks!

    That's just a gimmick PetSmart grooming does (or did in 2017 anyway) for new customers ;)

    If you have a PetSmart your dog could be a cover model too!
  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Aww, what a good pup!!

    Just popping in to say that, and also that Freshpet is a good option if he won't eat dry food. One other thing Mom could try with dry food is soaking it with water or chicken/beef broth, maybe warming up the liquid first to make it smell better/more strongly. Also +1 suggestion to have his teeth checked - dental problems are very common in senior pets and it can manifest as "pickiness" with food, because their mouth hurts! The good news is that dogs don't really chew their food as such, so even if that precious baby needs to have a bunch of teeth pulled, he'll still be able to eat normally.

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