Best supplement to increase appetite?

[sharon]

Would you know a good vitamin or supplement to increase the appetite of my 4month old pup? I once gave her nutri-cal and she did well on that, was wondering if there was a better one. Anyone ever heard of ornivita vitamins? would u know if thats better than nutri-cal? I posted this concern on another topic, hope you dont mind that i asked it again. thanks!

[erdog3]

Why does she need her appetite increased? Has she been unwell lately?
The most natural way to increase an appetite is to warm their food, it increases the smell and makes it more appetizing.
In all my years of breeding I have never had to use vitamin supplements etc, so I know nothing about them sorry, I always prefer to do it a natural way. Try changing her food, they do get bored with the same thing.
And please peoplez, don't write in to have a go at me, I am only trying to help with my opinion, as you probably will with yours.

[sharon]

believe me, i've done everything from warming her food to mixing canned food just to make it more pallatable. she has started eating a bit but it aint enough....she just eats around 1/4 of the bowl. thats why im really desperate on having a supplement to help in her apetite. thanks for your advice though.

[erdog3]

Gosh Ruth, you must be so frustrated!! your pup is being a real little darling for you isn't she.
How about some really smelly oily cat food mixed in with the regular feed. My brother had a toy poodle who would only eat his feed if it had some barbequed chicken mixed with it, but he lived to a ripe 16 years, he was always as skinny as a rake, and probably ate about 1/4 cup of food a day. My brother and I would go shopping together and he would pick up a couple of chickens, I would say chicken tonight mate, his reply, "no, it's for Timmy" would always make me smile. I hope someone else can advise you on the vitamins.

[sharon]

wow...i dread for the day when cocoa will just eat 1/4c a day....thats tough! but thanks for the encouragement....realy appreciate that!

[goombaya]

Hi Ruth,

There are products called Enervite, Nutrical, and a couple of others similar to these.. they are molasses or Corn syrup based with supplements.. basically they taste good and provide nutrients, and are high calorie. Ive used them with a finicky eater with only mild success. They were also moderately successful in putting on a little bit of weight on prior to a show. I dont think i'd use these over an extended period (personally-Just my opinion)

Or you could go the route of a probiotic like this one,Canine Fastrack® Microbial Supplement --
Probiotics basically add good bacterias to the intestinal tract - much like yogurt. It would take a few weeks for a probiotic to work properly, but IMO its a better way to go. I dont think theres anything negative about probiotics and you can use them long term.

However, if there isnt an illness.. you might eventually have to live with the fact that you have a finicky eater. Its not too terrible a thing. He'll eat when he's hungry, and refuse to eat when he's distracted or not hungry.

Good luck.

[sharon]

Thanks goomabaya! I went to the vet the other day to have his blood tested and this morning, my vet called to inform me that cocoas liver and heart enzymes are higher than normal. Would anyone know what exactly this means? My vet said it might mean his liver's weak but I really would want to hear a more thorough explanation to this. Needless to say, he has now shifted to a prescribed Hills Science diet thats nutritional to the liver and some liver-aid tablets which i'm finding incredibly difficult to make him swallow!!!! Please, if theres anyone who has the same prob or who can explain this to me any better, I would really appreciate it.