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05/10/07, 12:03 PM
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Happy Homemaker
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 1,793
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Putting weight on a GSD
Okay here is the story.....I have a 1yr old GSD intact male. About 6 months ago he broke his leg (our fault, he was riding in the back of the truck and got on top of the tool box and fell asleep....went around a corner and out he went! Needless to say the tool box was promptly removed!!) he had sugery, had pin installed and removed later and was doing great! WELL! The stinkin' thing broke the same leg again!! This time he jumped out of the truck and DH went to shut to tail gate and he tried to jump back in, hit the tailgate and fell. As soon as he hit the ground DH heard it pop. Got him to vet and he broke the lower part of the same leg. Doc said the other part looked great!! So we went thru the surgery and pin thing again. Last week he had the pin taken out and is healing up fine. I never thought I would have a dog that would break his leg none the less twice!!  But this dog is VERY active and loves to ride and go go go!
Anyway, so that's the story. But with the surgery and being down he has lost approx. 15 lbs. I really want to get him looking good again and get some weight on him. His coat is kind of dull and he looks skinny (doesn't help that one whole leg is shaved!!)  Medically he is healthy, checked out fine with the vet.
Right now he is still on Ol'roy puppy food. I have heard that lamb and rice gives them a shiny coat and an even weight. Again he is a VERY active dog so I guess that is why he never fills out quite how I think he should. This dog can clear the bedside of a F250 4x4!! He is an amazing jumper and Doc couldn't believe it because he has arthritis in the hip of the bad leg, but you wouldn't know it by how he acts.
Anyway, what food to you recommend for this big baby?? Thanks for any help.
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05/10/07, 12:22 PM
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Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 15,516
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To be candidly honest, I wouldn't be feeding any animal Ol Roy dog food. Find a higher quality food for it. Perhaps some other members can suggest a good brand.
Alsp, supplement his diet with eggs-one or two a day. Sometimes my dog gets them raw, mixed in his food and I also scramble them for him.
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05/10/07, 12:26 PM
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Happy Homemaker
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 1,793
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Ardie/WI
Alsp, supplement his diet with eggs-one or two a day. Sometimes my dog gets them raw, mixed in his food and I also scramble them for him.
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Thank you for the tip. We already feed him eggs but only a couple times a week. I will try to do it every day (as long as my hens are giving enough).
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05/10/07, 12:52 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: South, South Alabama
Posts: 1,991
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There are so many things wrong with OlRoy that I won't begin to try and list them. If that's all you can get, then obviously it's better than nothing but do try to get a MUCH higher grade of food or go to raw. (raw is cheaper than premiums once you get your sources worked out)
Other than that, you can do some satin balls. There are about a hundred different recipies for them but the basics are ground meat, eggs, wheat germ, cottage cheese and anything else you want to throw in for supplements. make into balls and freeze. Give a few every day/every other day.
Since he's healing a weight bearing bone I would also recommend supplementing with kelp and yucca. Solid Gold makes both and both are wonderful.
What concerns me is his age and the fact that he has arthritis already. Obviously he is nutrient deficient... If you don't get that under control now, he'll be crippled very young.
__________________
If you plan on breeding so your family can see The Miracle of Birth, Please take them to the shelters so they can also see The Tragedy of Death.
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05/10/07, 01:15 PM
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Dirt Farmer
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: ottawa
Posts: 75
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*giggle*
On a serious note, we feed Performatrin to our pup, made by Nutrience. We pay a bit of a premium on it now since it was one of the very few pet foods that was not affected by the recall. It has kelp and yucca in it 
Is arthritis not an inherited disorder ? I didn't know it could be caused by deficiencies...
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05/10/07, 01:33 PM
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Happy Homemaker
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 1,793
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Doc said the arthritis is just setting in and we already have him on Glucosamine and Chondroitin. Sold as a people supplement but Doc said that it works great with dogs. He does not act at all like he has arthritis and he is very young.....wonder in Doc could have been 'seeing' things??? We owned his parents and breed them and kept him (we no longer have parents). We made sure both pedigrees where great in the hip department since GSD's are prone to hip problems. All ancestors had good hips.  Could the arthritis be from the injuries and stress it puts on the hip??
I did not realize that ol roy was so horrible. We are limited on our budget to it is hard to shell out 20 for a small bag of food but I guess if that's what I need to do then I will do it.
Anymore suggestions on a good food?? Should he also get can food and not all dry?? I do give him meat out of the freezer on occasion but we 'people' do good to have meat on the table so he doesn't get alot.
Last edited by barnyardfun; 05/10/07 at 01:34 PM.
Reason: extra word!
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05/10/07, 01:54 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Central Iowa
Posts: 3,990
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Ol' Roy is one of the worst foods and you will find that even though you will pay more for a better food the dog will have to eat less of the better food to get the same calories, so in the long run you will not be paying more. As to recommendations for food, there have been A LOT of threads about that previously if you want to sift through them (everybody has a favorite). Pretty much anything will be better than the Ol' Roy.
It is possible that the arthritis is from the injuries, but you will never know-it could be a congenital malformation of that hip. And since GSDs have so many hip problems, I would not chance using this dog as a breeding dog since you can't know for *sure* what the original cause of the arthritis is.
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Sarah,
If there are no dogs Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.
-Will Rogers
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05/10/07, 01:54 PM
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas
Posts: 5,408
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I think I would quit letting him ride in the back of the pickup without being tied so he can't jump or fall out. Not trying to flame here, just what I would do.
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05/10/07, 01:59 PM
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Happy Homemaker
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 1,793
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Ruby
I think I would quit letting him ride in the back of the pickup without being tied so he can't jump or fall out. Not trying to flame here, just what I would do.
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He only jumps out on command and like I said we took the toolbox out that day when we got home!! He would be one depressed dog if he didn't get to go everywhere with us! We may have to look into the tethering him in there. Don't think DH would go for it but I will do some research. Thank you.
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05/10/07, 02:02 PM
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Happy Homemaker
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 1,793
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by GoldenMom
It is possible that the arthritis is from the injuries, but you will never know-it could be a congenital malformation of that hip. And since GSDs have so many hip problems, I would not chance using this dog as a breeding dog since you can't know for *sure* what the original cause of the arthritis is.
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When he broke his leg the first time Doc did the x-rays and made the comment that his hips looked awesome for being a GSD. He said he had VERY good hips. We were happy about that because that is what we bred him for! So it happened between the first time and this time....that is what makes me think it was caused by the injury. But I guess there is no guarantee.
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05/10/07, 04:56 PM
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: The Ozarks
Posts: 5,201
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Change his food. Eukanuba lamb and rice is pretty decent. Hamburger and brown rice is very good for him, nutritional yeast will do wonders for his coat.
If you can feed him raw rabbit (bones and all) that is excellent as well. If he were mine, I'd be hand cooking his food every day until he fattened up. I cook for ours all the time, they're part of the family.
The Wandering Quilter's Life in a Box!
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05/10/07, 06:32 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Michigan's thumb
Posts: 14,877
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Solid Gold, Canidae, see what your pet shop has. Look within that price range (expect sticker shock). Even though your dog will eat much less than Ol Roy, you will still pay more per week for dog food. The upside is, your dog will be much healthier.
Try to find some nice bones for him. The bones should be too big for him to swallow, but soft enough that he can make headway and actually scrape them. They do dry out, so toss after three days. Eating bones is good for growing bones.
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05/10/07, 06:41 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,242
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You don't have to buy a more expensive feed.
Let the dog free choice feed the dry kibble. He'll digest his food better. Add a little more feed each day. He'll soon realize the food will always be there. Be patient. Don't add a bunch of stuff or you can cause more problems.
And for gawds sake, don't let a dog ride in the bed of a truck! It's one of the biggest money makers for the vets. If you must 'cause there's not enough room in the cab, get a bed harness so the dog can't jump out.
Arthritis sets in after an injury. Happened to my dog while climbing on some rocks, but she showed pain by limping. I increased her daily amount of DE and it took care of the problem.
rogo16@yahoo.com
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05/10/07, 09:09 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: South, South Alabama
Posts: 1,991
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Food Type Grcry St Brd Pplr Pet Str Brd Quality Brand
Gtd Analysis 25 / 10 / 4 / 14 21.5 / 13 / 3 / 10 24 / 14.5 / 4 / 10
Kcal content per lb 1674 1683 1864
Kcal content per cup 360 365 466
Largest bag unit 35.2 lbs 40 lbs 40 lbs
Cups per bag 163.7 184.4 160
Cups per lb 4.65 4.61 4
Cost per bag $25 $32 $35
Cost per lb $0.71 $0.80 $0.87
Cost per cup $0.153 $0.173 $0.219
Recommended
daily amount 3.25 cups 3.63 cups 2 cups
Daily feeding cost $0.497 $0.628 $0.438
Days bag will last 50 50 80
Bags needed / year 7.3 7.3 4.6
Monthly feeding cost $15.21 $19.47 $13.42
Yearly feeding cost $182.50 $233.60 $161.00
The examples were calculated using actual, existing brands but I have left out the names since they are not required to make a point. If you absolutely have to know, check the source code of this page, the names are in the commentary. The initial cost for each brand was based on the biggest bag size and price average calculated from several sources (online as well as local stores), and the manufacturer recommended feeding amount. The amount of cups per bag and pound were calculated from the manufacturer's statement on caloric content per cup and per pound or kilogram of food (e.g. if you know a kibble contains 1,683 kcal per pound and 365 kcal per cup, you can easily deduct that a 40 pound bag of kibble contains 40 x 1,683 kcal = 67,320 kcal. If you divide that by the amount of kcal per cup, you get the amount of cups in a bag: 67,320 kcal/365 = 184.4).
As you see, the price tag on the bag should not be the deciding factor. A quality brand convinces not only with superior ingredients but also economically.
(taken from http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index....ge=costfactors )
__________________
If you plan on breeding so your family can see The Miracle of Birth, Please take them to the shelters so they can also see The Tragedy of Death.
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05/10/07, 11:24 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,242
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I asked the vet, who's a friend, if he ever feeds his own pets the pricey feeds he sells. He said, 'Hell no!"
rogo16@yahoo.com
Last edited by Rogo; 05/10/07 at 11:26 PM.
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05/11/07, 05:40 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: South, South Alabama
Posts: 1,991
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Be careful with Royal...They're on the recall. And Chicken Soup is made by the same company that makes Diamond and for that reason I can't say good things about it. They're also very inconsistant with formulas.
However, both are still better than Ol Roy or Pedigree.
__________________
If you plan on breeding so your family can see The Miracle of Birth, Please take them to the shelters so they can also see The Tragedy of Death.
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05/11/07, 06:46 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Chilson, NY
Posts: 194
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Hi Barnyard
I also suggest that you keep him out of the back of the truck too. I live in a small town & so far this year, I know of three dogs that have died as a result of riding in the back of a pick-up. One truck was rear-ended & had a big Newfoundland (SP??) in the back. The dog was launched out & ended up 30 feet from the site of impact..killed him instantly. The second one was in the back & the driver had to slam his breaks. The dog was thrown into the rear of the cab, head first. Broke it's neck & had brain trauma. It also was completely paralyzed. It had to be put down. The third was tied in the back by a harness. Another accident & abrupt stop. The harness held, but the result was from the impact was many broken ribs on one side & punctured lungs. The dog died within minutes.
I know that your dog enjoys riding back there, but the cab is still much safer. F250's are decent sized trucks, so there should be enough room & still be comfortable. Keep with windows cracked open so he can sniff & enjoy the breeze. I have a 3/4 ton Chevy Silverado & both of my dogs ride with me often. There's plenty of room. Your doggy will adjust quickly & enjoy his ride just as much, if not more, because he's in the front, with his owner.
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05/11/07, 10:08 AM
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 369
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We recently switched our dog's food from Diamond Naturals to Nutro Natural Choice Lamb Meal and Rice formula. It's a bit too early to tell too much, but I can tell you that their stools are noticeably smaller, and for a Dane, that's a HUGE improvement. I'm still battling those %)(*#@%! hot spots on him, tho...
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Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. ~ Mother Teresa
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05/11/07, 10:17 AM
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Happy Homemaker
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 1,793
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Robin12883
I know that your dog enjoys riding back there, but the cab is still much safer. F250's are decent sized trucks, so there should be enough room & still be comfortable. Keep with windows cracked open so he can sniff & enjoy the breeze. I have a 3/4 ton Chevy Silverado & both of my dogs ride with me often. There's plenty of room. Your doggy will adjust quickly & enjoy his ride just as much, if not more, because he's in the front, with his owner. |
We don't just have a dog.....we also have two kids. Try fitting 4 people and a dog into the cab of a truck comfortably! Not to mention we also have another full grown GSD Thank you for the suggestions....as I said before I am doing research on what to do. Him not going places with us is just not an option and not even something I would want to cross with DH. Thank you though.
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