Theory: older pets eat less because they realize their food tastes like crap

[DiploDocus]

about a month ago i brought my dog to the vet because he was losing weight and wouldn't eat his dog food or his plainly tasting chicken and rice (he's around 12-14 years old not entirely sure as he was given to us)

since then he's gained weight as changed up his diet to meatballs with carrots and potatoes (rice on the side)...tastes much better as this is something i would have no problem eating

Theory:

pets stop eating less when they are older because with age comes wisdom, wisdom that their food they have been eating all these years tastes awful

[actng]

with age, comes slower metabolism. aches and pains reduce amount of exercise, thus reducing amount of calories burned, thus decreasing amount of energy required, ergo no need to eat as much.

better tasting food will obviously induce greater consumption but can't be definitive in proving your theory.

on some days when you're already full but it's your favourite dish, you're gonna try to cram a few more bites in. you personally may disagree with that statement but we have a whole country that demonstrates on a daily basis what over serving and over eating means.

[riverkid090]

imagine you have eating the same dish everyday for 12 years.... i guess everyone will be bored and hoping for a change on the menu.

[rems]

is this why old people eat less too?

[Ghiness]

My cat is dumb. She only eats her cat chow and doesn't like treats or fish and stuff. Mind you we get her Royal Canin but still...

She seems to be eating more and more now though, although she isn't "old" yet but around middle age.

[riverkid090]

My 12 years seems want to eat more lately... she constantly circle around the kitchen and give you a hungry look an hour after we fed her dinner.

[barrist]

about a month ago i brought my dog to the vet because he was losing weight and wouldn't eat his dog food or his plainly tasting chicken and rice (he's around 12-14 years old not entirely sure as he was given to us)

since then he's gained weight as changed up his diet to meatballs with carrots and potatoes (rice on the side)...tastes much better as this is something i would have no problem eating

Theory:

pets stop eating less when they are older because with age comes wisdom, wisdom that their food they have been eating all these years tastes awful


Sounds like you're kind of right. Quick google search:

During the senior years, your dog will:

Possibly eat less. It may be that she's becoming more finicky, but there's also a chance that her senses of smell and taste have declined to the point that eating isn't all that fun anymore. Check with your veterinarian to make sure her loss of appetite is not indicative of a more serious health issue.

So their sense of smell may have gotten worse so it takes more tasty things to get them to eat perhaps?

[bionicbadger]

imagine you have eating the same dish everyday for 12 years.... i guess everyone will be bored and hoping for a change on the menu.

I mix food from 2 or 3 bags so there is a variety in each meal and when one bag runs out, I'll buy a bag of a different flavour or even a different brand.

[shane_k]

my dog was a year and a half old and would go days without eating dog food because my girlfriend and friends kept giving the dog candy and pizza and stuff, it was hard to get her back into the dog food thing

[mavrik13]

Dogs are often better at training their owners than vice-versa. If you look for it, you see it all the time. Nudging your hand to get a rub, looking at your with those 'puppy eyes' to get you to take them out (my girl is an expert at this one... its her 'why aren't you taking me for a run/walk/to the park?????????????????' look).

This is one of those situations - you feed your dog premium human food, they will stage a hunger strike to get you to pity them into making them a meatball and carrot dinner.

How can your dog know their food tastes like crap if that is all you ever feed them? Sure, I feed my dog treats and occasional bits of human food, but always treat it like a treat and never give it to them directly from my plate or the kitchen (she is not allowed in the kitchen). She must 'do' something to earn a treat, and I try and mix it up... her previous owners obviously had her trained to sit and give her paw to get a treat... so whenever she senses I have a treat, she immediately sits and starts flailing her paws in the air... I therefore wait for her to calm down, and make her do something different (e.g. stay, lie down) to earn her treat. Random tangent...

[Shaner]

That could be a part of it, but a diet of meatballs, carrots, rice and potatoes isn't exactly healthy for a dog.

First off, meatballs aren't exactly a quality protein. If you're going to feed your dog real food, you should really look into the "BARF" diet. Also, consider going completely grain free. People are finally starting to realize (and vets are finally realizing it as well) that dogs don't need grain in their diet. A small amount of grain is fine, but don't overdo it, and make sure it's a high quality grain, not white rice!

If that's too much work for you, then consider getting your dog a high quality dog food, such as Acana, Orijen, Wellness, etc. I bet your dog will gobble that stuff right up. The canned version of those brands literally have chunks of real chicken and beef in it, not that processed crap that most canned food has.

[Mark77]

Saw this in my cat. At first, he'd eat practically any sort of cat food. Slowly, there were certain brands he'd stop eating. Eventually, he weened himself completely onto "people" food (ie: ground beef, chicken thighs, etc.), and, in the last 2 years of his life, onto exclusively chicken breast, and in the last 6 months of his life, chopped raw chicken breast topped with KFC gravy lightly warmed -- it was costing over $100/month to feed him!

He lived to be 20 though.

[i6s1]

about a month ago i brought my dog to the vet because he was losing weight and wouldn't eat his dog food or his plainly tasting chicken and rice (he's around 12-14 years old not entirely sure as he was given to us)

since then he's gained weight as changed up his diet to meatballs with carrots and potatoes (rice on the side)...tastes much better as this is something i would have no problem eating

Theory:

pets stop eating less when they are older because with age comes wisdom, wisdom that their food they have been eating all these years tastes awful

Your dog must be pretty dumb if it took him 12-14 years to realize that he didn't like dog food. I have a feeling that's not true, then so is your theory.