My 14 y/o female lab stopped eating regularly just before Christmas. She would occasionally eat her dry dog food. I began to supplement with whole wheat bread and deli chicken meat. She now refuses to eat any dog food and simply expects to eat "people food."

I have an appointment with my vet on Monday (in two days).

Is wet dog food the next step?

Had she been sick in anyway before her appetite for her food stopped? If not was she getting a little more people food than usual around the holidays? I have a 15 year old Min.Pin. And when my hubby is home he'll slip her people food and I don't give it to her.She'll snub her food cause she expects something else.. I do add a teaspoon of canned mixed in her dry really well and she eats that.When she pouts again I say there's your food little gal and she eats her dry food but she slings it all over the food like a brat tantrum.. lol.. hope everything is OK at your vets... I feed her senior formula canned in her dry.

cmemphom, right now, for the next couple of days until you can get into the vet's office on Monday, try a little canned food mixed in with her kibble to encourage her to eat, or what I do usually do is add just a little bit of plain lowfat/low sodium chicken broth (you can find it in the soup section of your grocery store) warmed up and mixed in with her kibble. Just enough to create that wonderful aroma that will tempt her to eat, about 1/8 of a cup. Please do try to avoid the people food. When dogs aren't feeling well, the first thing that happens is they go off their food. Then we get nervous and will tempt them with our rich food just to get them to eat. The most important thing right now is for the vet to figure out exactly why she suddenly went off her food. Is your old girl suffering from hip dysplasia or arthritis? Is she on any glucosamine or supplements? If she hasn't been diagnosed with those things and/or isn't on any medication, speak to your vet about it. I know many older dogs will go off their food because there are experiencing arthritic issues and once they are put on glucosamine, it may take a month or two, but they pep up and their appetite returns. Good luck on Monday. I hope it is something that is easily resolvable and she will be back to her old self in no time. If you get a chance, please stop by and let us know how she is doing. :)