Putting weight on a GSD

Thank you Willowynd for all the info. I am going to take the bag of Ol Roy that is unopened back and the partial I will feed to the fish in the pond. As for what food to get for him......well I just don't know.

I have considered doing to Raw food diet but in all honesty this dog is very picky and hardly ever eats any meat I give him. He will just sniff it and walk away. I have tried chicken, steaks, pork chops, roast, etc.

Finding even a dry dog food he will eat is hard!! He LOVES the cat food! But is very picky about any dog food. And this has not just been since all the recalls. This has been since birth that he has been this way.

Urgh! It's just so frustating! I don't know what to do. My other GSD is like a vaccumm and will eat ANYTHING!

If you want to feed raw, I can tell you it will wipe out the picky eater syndrome...at least it did in my dogs. Now I still have days they don't want to eat (girls in season or self-fasting), but they don't pick or refuse to eat for days in a row. It may take him a bit to even try eating it, but once he does he should eat with gusto. I had a couple that went 2 days without eating it, but they eat what you put in front of them if they get hungry enough. It does help if you start with chicken quarters and put them in hot water with a bit of minced garlic added for about 5 mins to bring to room temp and flavor the meat. Do chicken quarters only for the first couple weeks, then you can start addding in a different protein one at a time. Give organ meats in SMALL amounts weekly (I mix mine with red meat so only have to feed in a bowl twice a week) and if not giving fish oil- give fish at least weekly. Most raw feeders supplement with something. Most of mine do great with mostly chicken except for twice a week and a mutivitamin and kelp (for vitamins and minerals and micro-nutrients). I have an old boy who needs fish oil as well, but he is the only one. If your boy loves cat food- you may want to break fish oil caps over his chicken. You can get human kelp and fish oil caps online pretty inexpensively. Let me know if you want more info.

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Willowynd Collies
"A breeder is at once an artist and a scientist. It takes an artist to envision and to recognize excellence, and a scientist to build what the artist's eye desires."

If he's LOVING the cat food, it sounds like he's got some sinus issues. One of the reasons dogs will eat cat food over dog food is because it smells more.

If you're considering raw, you can flash pan fry the chicken in lard and garlic to heighten the smell of it. After a while you won't have to do that anymore because as they get healthier, smell returns and they get accustomed to the texture and taste of it.

Or feed emu...it smells more.

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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.

Agree with you guys. Old Roy has sweetener in it and artificial flavor enhancers. If you just lightly pan fry in a little butter and garlic, your dog will eat it. Probably don't even need the garlic (but dogs usually like garlic). Don't cook it, just braise it.

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Nothing is as strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength - St. Francis de Sales

Just to update......I bought him Science Diet Adult Lamb and Rice in the SMALL BITES( ) and he LOVES IT!! He seems to be doing very well on it and I am quite pleased. My wallet isn't so happy! He seems to be feeling out well and has more energy now! Thank you to all that helped me. Not sure if Science Diet is one of the 'Best' but he sure likes it. One of the winning points for him is the small bites! What can I say....he is a weird dog!

Go to ebay abd look up "dog food coupons". You will find many coupons there for amounts such as $5 off any size bag of XYZ dog food, one free bag of XYZ, BOGO coupons etc ,many for name brand foods both wet and dry. Lots of them come in lots of 10 and you'll pay a dollar or two plus maybe a dollar in shipping fees.It's a great way to pay less to feed your pets better.
PQ

Isn't it funny how some dogs can be so picky about size/texture? I'm glad you found something he'll eat.

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Sarah,

If there are no dogs Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.
-Will Rogers

It also tastes alot better then dog feed, seriously I am speaking from experience. Dog food tastes very bland, compare them sometime. I know which one I would eat...lmao

Walmart makes a brand of dog food called maximum nutrition. Its made with real meat as the main ingredient and no artifical preservatives. It is also priced reasonably. It doesn't really matter what a person feeds. Someone else is going to say its wrong. When I bought my first dog I bought high end food close to 50 bucks a bag. That was when I was living at home and had nothing better to spend my money on. The dog was no healther then any other dog I have owned. Now that I live in the real world, I am not going to spend more on dog food a month then I spend on myself to eat. Read ingredients and don't pay a ton for the labeled name is my advise. For his coat you might want to give him fish oil pills as a suppliment. It really helped my dogs dry skin and coat.

Please buy a van instead then....

Thank you for that info.....we do own a van but can't always drive it.

People just can't leave stuff alone can they??

We take very good care of our dogs and these were just to horrible accidents. I guess no one else here has ever had a dog injured? Sorry, guess I am a horrible pet owner. As I said before I am researching what to do in this situation. Sorry if my choices offend anyone but that is our decision.

I know better then to post anything.................Next time I will just post a question and not give the history of the problem.

I know everyone is up in arms about this dog getting injured from riding in the back of a truck. Don't you think she wants to prevent that too? How about helpful suggestions instead of ones that may not be feasible ?
Buying a van is not an inexpensive option (and they are harder to find these days)- not to mention running one- I know, I own one and the feul ecomomy on it is worst than my husbands pick up. Also she said the husband wants to take the dog with him- and lots of men do not want to drive vans....they want to drive thier pickup truck.
I wasn't even going to post about it because she didn't ask for suggestions.
I think a better suggestion would have been building a dog box (and maybe refering her to a place online that has plans) and anchoring it to the bed or using an airline crate anchored to the bed with straps. Both are pretty safe and inexpensive options and would also protect the dog from the elements while letting him enjoy some wind in his face.

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Willowynd Collies
"A breeder is at once an artist and a scientist. It takes an artist to envision and to recognize excellence, and a scientist to build what the artist's eye desires."

My Corgi really likes the Iams small bites.


If you're interested, here's a secure way of still letting your GSD ride in the truck bed.

http://store.puphut.com/

It is much cheaper than another vet bill and both you and your doggie can still spend time on the open roads.

WOW! That puphut is pretty neat....I am going to show DH that when he get's home tonight. Thanks for all the suggestions.