This is a specific conversation about Puppy Essentials — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
A 13-year-old Miniature Schnauzer going off their food — that's one of the more stressful things to deal with at this age, because you can't always tell if it's just fussiness or something worth investigating. Has your vet given them a recent check-over, or is this something you've noticed gradually creeping in over the last few months?
The vet checked her out about six weeks ago and said she's in decent shape for her age — kidneys are fine, no major issues. She's just become really picky. She used to eat anything.
inparticular.ai
That's actually reassuring — clean bill of health means you're dealing with a sensory or preference issue rather than something medical. Older dogs genuinely lose some of their sense of smell, and since smell drives appetite in dogs more than taste does, even food they used to love can start seeming bland. Is she currently on dry kibble, wet food, or a mix?
Dry kibble mostly. I've tried adding a bit of warm water but she's still not very interested. She'll eat treats fine though.
inparticular.ai
That tells you a lot — she's not off food entirely, she's off that particular food. Dry kibble is the hardest sell for a dog with a dulled sense of smell, and warming it helps but only so much. At 13, I'd move her to a high-quality wet senior food as her main meal. The texture, moisture, and aroma are all significantly more appealing, and it's easier on the teeth and digestion too. The one I'd point you to is Lily's Kitchen Chicken & Duck Senior Casserole — it's a proper wet food with recognisable ingredients, no cereals, and it smells genuinely strong when you open the tin, which is exactly what you want to tempt an older dog.
I've seen Lily's Kitchen in the shops. Is it actually worth the price compared to something like Winalot or a standard supermarket tin?
inparticular.ai
For a young healthy dog, the difference matters less. For a 13-year-old with a reduced appetite, it matters quite a bit. The ingredient quality in Lily's Kitchen is genuinely higher — named meat sources, no cheap fillers, no artificial flavour enhancers. When a dog is barely eating, every mouthful counts nutritionally. Winalot and similar use a lot of derivatives and cereal content to bulk things out, so she'd be getting less actual nutrition per gram. The cost per day for a small dog like a Miniature Schnauzer is pretty modest even with the premium pricing — she's not eating huge portions.
That makes sense. Should I switch completely to wet or keep some dry in there?
inparticular.ai
Given she's already resisting the dry, I'd go fully wet for now and stop the battle. If she stabilises and starts eating reliably again, you could reintroduce a small amount of a senior dry as a mixer if you want — but don't overcomplicate it while she's being picky. Get her eating consistently first. Lily's Kitchen do a variety pack which is worth trying initially so you can see if she prefers the chicken-based recipes over the fish ones before committing to bulk.
