Food aggresion

[Ladydi93]

My dog is 16.1/2 yrs old, about 2 yrs ago she was put on Metacam for painful joints, for the last 12 months her attitude towards food has become very bad, she knows that when I arrive home from work she is given a treat but it is to the point where she will rather do her business in the house than go outside first on the anticipation of a treat, she follows me into the kitchen, when told to leave she walks around the table and comes right back in no amount of scolding or doing without treats is working, she has nipped my fingers several times to get to food that I may be holding, could this be a side effect of the Metacam, could it be a result of high liver enzymes which we have just found out she has, can someone help because she is driving me crazy, we have never had this sort of problem before

Thanks    

[Jim Humphries, B.S., D.V.M.]

most likely not related to the meds or the liver enzymes.  I've seen older dogs have a change in personality like this.  You will have to take back control and discipline her when she nips at you.  make her sit then stay for a moment, once she obeys and recognizes your leadership, then reward that.  Pick back up with very basic obedience 30 minutes a day and make sure she sticks to a strict schedule when you come  home, when you prepare the food and only treat when she obeys a command.  you should be able to get her over this.

[Dr. Carol Osborne, DVM]

Hello,
I completely agree with Dr. Humphries comments above and wanted to add a couple thoughts.

In older dogs, personality changes may also be an early sign of an internal problem. Although I doubt aggressive attitudes toward food are related to either the elevated liver enzymes or Meticam, it may be worthwhile to have a complete set of blood tests run along with a thyroid panel, to determined your dogs internal organ status and rule out appetite related disorders like Thyroid, Cushings and Diabetes.

What type of food, in what amounts and how many times a day are you feeding your dog? Is your dog overweight? Is your dog on a diet?

The vast majority of dogs with arthritis are overweight. As an attempt to promote weight loss, and lessen arthritis pain, many dog owners turn to commercial weight loss foods like Fit & Trim and/or prescription diets such as Hill's (R/D) Reducing Diet.

In general, many of these diets are less than optimal in quality and consist primarily of corn. In other cases, well meaning dog owners try to promote weight loss by feeding their dog one meal a day. In either case, the dogs are often truly quite hungry and as a result go out of their way to find food, in any way possible. A behavioral change, such as the aggression you described may also be a reflection of this.

Weight loss in dogs is best achieved as it is in people. Feeding small multiple meals, at least twice a day. Feeding your dog six meals a day, at four hour intervals is actually ideal. You would take the total daily ration, split it into six portions and feed every four hours. Each time your dog eats, it requires energy, which stimulates your dogs metabolism and burns calories.

Most prescription arthritis medications also take a toll on internal organs such as the liver. Should your dogs liver function, for example, be compromised in any way, that could affect his ability to completely digest and absorb dietary nutrients. Again a behavioral change can be an early sign, of an internal problem which is caught early is always easier to remedy.

I hope this information is somewhat helpful.

Bets Wishes
Dr Carol Osborne, DVM

[Ladydi93]

Thanks, Although I believe that the problem is not going to be so easy to solve as she has now started trying to get into the trash bin  or shopping bags if I leave them on the floor for a few minutes, it appears that all of a sudden she has developed this greed for food, but I will take your advice.