Putting weight on a dog

[longshadowfarms]

We just got our new LGDs and the one is skin and bones! The lady who had him at rescue for the last 3 weeks free fed him trying to put on some weight. I can't imagine what he was like when she got him! You can feel every bone in his body. My SIL has a Lab that she used to feed Diamond premium free feeding. It is the only food he will retain weight on. He was one of the poisoned dogs and now that he's on a different food (cant' remember what kind she said), he's been eating the cat's food and losing weight. He's such a picky eater and Diamond was the only thing he would eat. Not sure if his new food is lacking something or he just prefers the cat food. Actually, our Jesse has been losing weight on the Nutro too so I could use some ideas for him as well. I KNOW that we have discussed this issue before but I can't find the thread. Any ideas for her and for me how to put/keep weight on these dogs? I have eggs from ducks and chickens. Raw, cooked or doesn't matter? I feed Jesse milk already because I know he's had it since puppy-hood but I doubt the others have had it. I'm willing to switch foods since I'm still in the "trying things out to see what will work best" stage.

[barnbilder]

What about worms? Could've had coccidiosis damage at some point too. Some breeds have wierd growth stages when they look like skin and bones, it's because they are mainly growing skin and bones at the time and fill out later. Switch wormers, feed some raw eggs, milk, whatever stimulates the appetite.

You could gain weight on saltine crackers, but it would probably be more than you would have an appetite for

[longshadowfarms]

He's 2 yrs old, stands almost 3' at the shoulder (no, that isn't a mistake), weight at last vet visit was 98 lb, stool sample clear, heartworm clear, forgot to mention that. This is just seriously underweight from all they could figure. His coat is pretty coarse and brittle as well. Prior owners were feeding Beneful - he was an outdoor "pet", no serious prior medical problems as far as they know. I've also got some liver in the freezer... I have a recipe for liver treats and found something called "satin balls" that I might try - or make something up!

[Maura]

If he's only two, he's been growing his long bones and will now start to fill out. Unless he's been nuetered in which case the hormones that tell his body to stop growing up and start growing out will not kick in.

Cont to give him a premium dog food, but add the raw egg. Feed him three times per day (he will be able to eat more). Make sure you wet down dry kibble a little before giving it to him. If you haven't been giving him raw meaty bones to chew on, start now. For a dog his size you'll want the big joint bones. Take away after three days as they will become dry and brittle. Take advantage of his need for food by using it as a reward. All day, give him kibble and treats (preferably meat) for every little thing he does right. Sits at the door, praise and treat. Lays down in the right spot, praise and treat. Comes when called, praise and treat. You get the idea.

[AgileGSD]

Free feeding can actually promote/cause picky eating and weight issues. I suggest feeding these guys two meals a day and picking up the food as soon as they walk away from it. I know this sounds counter productive but it will quickly teach them to be good eaters and clean their dishes
If they really need to put weight on you can try frozen BilJac. This food tends to be very fattening. Or even better make a batch of these:

http://www.dpca-breedered.com/satin_balls.html

[Shahbazin]

2 year olds (particularly tall ones) are often scrawny - when I want to put weight on a dog, I give them lots of eggs (usually boiled & mashed), maybe some corn oil, plus I get the Iams brand food that is high energy - yellow bag w/a greyhound on it last time I got some. Usually only takes a bag or 2 to fatten them up; I feed 2x/day, rather than free feed. Regular rations are 2 cups (adult, maintenance)-4 cups (young, or big male) per day, I may give 6-8 cups plus scraps/eggs when feeding up - split into morn./eve. rations, so they don't eat too much at once. If they're real active, growing, or lactating, they may need a lot - I've fed a 100 lb. nursing bitch 3 three quart bowls of pup kibble/meat/veggies/cheese/eggs a DAY - but she'll grow 8-10 pups from 1 1/2 lbs each to 10-12 lbs each in a month, just on her milk.

[mizattitude]

My vet said to feed puppy food. I heard that rice puts weight on them, also.

My dobie is always on the thin side.

[Tango]

A couple of tablespoons of canola oil over the kibble will add 250 calories and will help his coat. I have fed Nutri Cal to dogs who have needed extra calories over the years. The Nutri Cal has been imitated by others but they aren't as palatabe - at least the times I've tried to save money by buying the spin offs, my dogs haven't cared for it. I don't know what kibble to recommend. Jack is my only one that seems to be doing well on Nutro Max Lamb and Rice and poorly on the raw. Being suspicious of all kibble now, I hesitate to make a recommendation. Glad to know they are finally home

[Oceanrose]

If I need to add weight to a dog, I increase fat, and feed them 2 X a day. Depending on the dog, and the food I'm feeding, I've added: Satin balls (YES they do work), cottage cheese (4%), ice cream, hamburger.

Check your fat content on your Nutro. Diamond Premium is 18 or 20% fat, which is why it keeps weight up, and good coats. But, I'd never feed it. BilJac is 18% fat. It keeps the weight on, especially on working dogs. Otherwise, most foods, just don't have the percentage of fat they need.

Some dogs too, are just thin. Figure out what he likes to eat, but don't coddle him, feed him twice a day, and find a good quality food he will eat.

[longshadowfarms]

Thanks for all the tips! I'll pass along the food recommendations and the Satin Ball recipe to my SIL for her dog. I'm going dog food shopping this afternoon so I'll see what I can find. Maybe Nutro has a puppy food or something else higher protien for the young Pyr, now named Carter. He's not just slim or lanky, he's horribly bony. My Lab pup is slim, you can readily feel all his ribs but they don't stick out. The Anatolian we just got is lanky. This guy is way beyond those healthy descriptions. You can honestly feel every bone on Carter. His backbone just sticks out. He's one of the tallest Pyrs this rescue coordinator had ever dealt with and only weighs 98 lbs. Some of it is build, but a lot of it is that he needs more put into him. He is high energy and was just neutered Wed so I'm sure that doesn't help. He's plenty willing to eat. He ate 6 c of food yesterday and all the cookies and what not that anyone is willing to give him. I'm a little worried about too much too fast though so I think we'll stick with 6 c kibble spred out 3x/day plus additives to start. I can build up a bit more if he handles all this well. I tossed a few eggs in his food this morning after getting all sorts of meat and bones out of the freezer to thaw.

I made about 20 lbs of modified Satin Balls (I used what I had on hand trying to get a similar balance of ingredients - I used venison, liver, hamburger, cooked brown rice and nutritional yeast instead of Total, everything else about the same). Everyone loves the stuff! Even Katie the Anatolian, who has not been willing to eat since she came Thurs night, ate some kibble mixed with the satin ball stuff. Jesse has been losing weight on the Nutro so I'll add some of this to his food. He's not that fond of the Nutro but he really needs a lamb and rice food due to allergies so I'm somewhat limited with what I can switch him to. Eider is having a little difficulty keeping weight on with the Nutro too so I may switch him to whatever I come up with for Carter. Eider is a year now so a puppy food or higher protein food shouldn't push his growth too much at this point. He's eating a LOT more Nutro than he was Diamond and he's borderline skinny, not just slim. Having fed fat Labs Diamond for about 20 yrs, this needing to add weight is all new to me! Thanks for all the input!

[Lawbag]

I feed 4 of my dogs Innova - it has 24 percent protein. When we got the Aussie-collie mix he was pretty much a bag of bones. My mother would cringe everytime he'd drop to the floor to lay down because she was afraid he was gonna break a bone. Skinny as could be. Anyway, he is now extremely healthy. Plus the Innova must be quite tasty, they all clean their bowls. I've never heard of dogs losing weight on Innova, it usually tends to make most dogs too pudgy, esp. if they get treats.

I would also recommend feeding 2x a day rather than free feeding.

[Windy_jem]

Go with the Satin Balls! They are excellent and most picky eating dogs love them!

OOPS!! I posted before I read the whole thread! Sorry...

[NC Grandma]

I have a stray female malamute, probably about 4 yrs, recently had pups (not when I found her). She is skin and bones, 81 pounds soaking wet! The vet wormed her, checked her over she seems OK. I'm giving her Purina Puppy chow, as much as she will eat, which is alot. Boiled liver, about 3-4 oz. a day. You mentioned frogen BilJac, what is that? How can I make it?

Originally Posted by AgileGSD

Free feeding can actually promote/cause picky eating and weight issues. I suggest feeding these guys two meals a day and picking up the food as soon as they walk away from it. I know this sounds counter productive but it will quickly teach them to be good eaters and clean their dishes
If they really need to put weight on you can try frozen BilJac. This food tends to be very fattening. Or even better make a batch of these:

http://www.dpca-breedered.com/satin_balls.html

[chickflick]

Aside from all the obvious tips for worming, feeds, etc. TRY putting some good beef broth over whatever you're feeding. Or Chicken broth. Use bullion, if need be. I think it will help pick up the appetite.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dog-Whisperer-by...QQcmdZViewItem

[Willowynd]

2 yrs old is the lanky stage for a large breed- most do not fill out until 3 yrs old. That bein said- if you can see bones protruding- that is way too thin. I used to boil up a bag of chicken quarters in just enough water to cover and serve a 1/2 c over the dogs kibble (was nutro)- the increase in quality protein and fat chunked them up quickly. I had to cut back the amount of kibble to almost half for the dogs that were in good weight as they were getting fat. Also, any dogs that picked at thier food before- stopped. Cheap and works

[longshadowfarms]

As I posted in the "long, rambling update" it turns out he was probably considerably less than 100 lb and the bones were certainly protruding (not that you could see them for the fur, but you sure could feel them!). He's a HUGE dog for that weight. Now he's just painfully thin rather than emaciated. He's doing very well on the Nutro puppy food mixed with the satin ball mixture. His stools are well formed and he seems to be filling out slowly but surely. I made about 20 lb of the satin balls stuff already and have enough to make about 20 lb more before I have to buy any meat but I think chicken will probably be about the cheapest way to go if I do end up buying meat. Thanks for all the tips!

[Willowynd]

Frozen BilJac is a dog food that is made fresh then frozen. Not easy to get in my area anymore. Try changing her diet to something that is higher quality- Purina puppy chow is corn based with low quality protein. You will find changing her to a higher quality diet she will eat less and do much better. If you can buy it at the grocery store or Walmart- it is poor quality. Read the labels- you want something that has a specific meat (lamb, chicken, etc) or specific meat meal for the first ingredient at least, then preferably in the next few ingredients as well. Watch for lots of different grains such as corn gluten, followed by ground corn, followed by rice-- those all add up to actually more grain that meat. Not all quality kibbles are expensive, but they will be more than purina puppy chow, but you will feed less- so it evens out in cost and sometimes even saves money. Try the suggestion I gave to longshadow and buy some cheap chicken quarters and boil them in enough water to cover, then put a 1/2 c or so over her food. That should put the weight on her.

Originally Posted by NC Grandma

I have a stray female malamute, probably about 4 yrs, recently had pups (not when I found her). She is skin and bones, 81 pounds soaking wet! The vet wormed her, checked her over she seems OK. I'm giving her Purina Puppy chow, as much as she will eat, which is alot. Boiled liver, about 3-4 oz. a day. You mentioned frogen BilJac, what is that? How can I make it?

[arnie]

lard from the bakeing section addin this and hot water or bacan grease a few table spoons to his feed diamond is good feed a big active dog can burn up a lot of fat the old fox hunters would bake cornmeal and lard pones to feed there hard running hounds.my dogs get a lot of raw eggs and there coats shine with health

[Haven]

Buy a few lbs of powdered puppy formula and soak his food in it each day. Add some raw eggs to the mix.

If he refuses to eat, mix the puppy formula into his water and he will be forced to consume calories as he drinks.

Add a bunch of digestive enzymes or probiotics to get his gut in shape. A huge breed like that will often lay mushy cow patties for poo if they arent healthy, which pretty much passes all the calories right through them.

[JasoninMN]

And another almost 7 year old post gets revived.