Loraine Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 A mini poodle has been surrendered to us and she is probably over 10 yrs. She is really very, very skinny. Can any of you advise which foods would be best to get some weight onto her as soon as possible. She has been to the vet today to have really bad ears cleaned and a few rotten teeth removed. TIA for your advice. She has been desexed, spent her life in the back garden in a kennel, and I doubt she has ever seen a vet until today. I would really like to get some weight onto her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jed Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Just good quality food - 3 or 4 meals per day. I'd be going for the basic barf thing - meat and a little veg + I would be giving her milk and rolled oats with eggs for one meal - just make sure she is not lactose intolerant, by testing her with a spoonful of milk. Feed small meals often. Chicken is good for starving dogs, and not too expensive. Sufficient fat, and easily digested. When she is a little fatter do a search on here for satin balls, and give her them as well. I have found rescues seem to do better on milk, eggs and meat rather than dry food - they fatten well, and eat more readily. Just don't stuff her full of food in the first few days!! Good luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anniejac Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 A mini poodle has been surrendered to us and she is probably over 10 yrs. She is really very, very skinny. Can any of you advise which foods would be best to get some weight onto her as soon as possible. She has been to the vet today to have really bad ears cleaned and a few rotten teeth removed. TIA for your advice. She has been desexed, spent her life in the back garden in a kennel, and I doubt she has ever seen a vet until today. I would really like to get some weight onto her. I just want to congratulate you on what you are doing, when I read stories about these dear animals it makes me cry. I would love to be able to do what you do but I know that I would find it too upsetting. It is people like you that make the world a better place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 If it's of any interest Royal Canin is doing a breed specific poodle food these days...puppy foods or energy foods are also good. Chicken and turkey are great...not to rich to upset her tummy. And you can easily get wings, necks, mince, frames etc for her to start on....sardines as well as eggs are probably a good bet as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loraine Posted September 13, 2007 Author Share Posted September 13, 2007 Thank you all for your information. Thanks Anniejac, I am so sad myself about this poor wee thing. Seems like she has been totally neglected for a long time. All of her bones poke out which is a sad sight to behold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Is she undesexed Loraine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loraine Posted September 13, 2007 Author Share Posted September 13, 2007 Is she undesexed Loraine? She is de-sexed (thank Dog for small mercies). Whilst at the vet's yesterday they shaved her feet and found a huge piece of chewing gum stuck to one of her rear paws I have noticed that she lifts her rear paws in a strange fashion (hard to explain, but almost as if she is worried about them touching the floor), I am guessing that she may not have had the hair removed from between her toes for some looong time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Is she undesexed Loraine? She is de-sexed (thank Dog for small mercies). Whilst at the vet's yesterday they shaved her feet and found a huge piece of chewing gum stuck to one of her rear paws I have noticed that she lifts her rear paws in a strange fashion (hard to explain, but almost as if she is worried about them touching the floor), I am guessing that she may not have had the hair removed from between her toes for some looong time! At least she wasn't a puppy factory. How matted was she? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Personally i would start with a bland diet & she how she goes.Being an old dog & underweight a food overload may cause the runs . Many poodles can be very thin so it could very well be the go for this girl but i would go with small meals & bland & then after a week or so add some more.If she had rotten teeth that could have been an issue so now she has the chance to eat happily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loraine Posted September 13, 2007 Author Share Posted September 13, 2007 Personally i would start with a bland diet & she how she goes.Being an old dog & underweight a food overload may cause the runs .Many poodles can be very thin so it could very well be the go for this girl but i would go with small meals & bland & then after a week or so add some more.If she had rotten teeth that could have been an issue so now she has the chance to eat happily She is a small dog, but all of her bones are sticking out - I mean she is really emaciated, not just thin. She is literally just skin and bone. She is deaf and almost totally blind too! Poodlefan - she was very matted, and we have managed to comb most of them out. I am not going to clip her until she has a bit more meat on those bones (I am scared I cut into her skinny skin). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Just another to consider i have found when often when dogs go blind & deaf there sense of smell seems to go aswell.It may not be the case for this girl but with our last few oldies ithas happened to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jed Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Sorry to disagree, KitKat, not meaning to be disagreeable, but I have found with emaciated oldies, it is better to go for meat, rather than wings, necks, bones, as they get more meat, more easily. Sometimes, the effort of getting it wears them down, and the bones themselves can be a bit hard on a digestive system which hasn't been doing too much digesting. Sardines too, in the early stages, can be a bit rich, leading to diarrohea, which then pulls more condition off them, and sometimes can be hard to cure. As showdog says, bland is best in the early stages. Eggs are high in protein, and help with conditioning. Only 1 at a time though. When the dog is in better condition, bring on the wings necks and sardines as part of a balanced diet. Also, if you can avoid clipping, the hair prevents the bones sticking out of the dog being rubbed or made sore from lying down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 (edited) Hehehe...always happy with knowledgeable corrections Jed Always happy to keep learning for starters! Must admit i was also thinking later that minced chook (eg like leonards etc?) would be a better way to go - not to mention perhaps a pair of jammies making sure she doesn't get too hot or cold - eg cold makes her use energy for other then getting back into condition, not getting too hot and sending her down hill. Hadn't thought of the sardines being too rich...but i guess the ones in oil for starters would be too much and would just slip straight thru her system. Would raw fresh fish perhaps be an option? Just thinking that oils would be good for her skin, coat and putting on weight - eg like sprint oil is often used? I know that cat foods are made ultra stinky due to their sense of smell not being as good as say with dogs so the stinky food is more 'tempting' to the cat - could the same be said of older dogs? not feeding them cat food...but feeding stronger smelling food to tempt more? (Mind you the first time my dogs got fresh whole raw fish they weren't sure what to do with it!) Edited September 13, 2007 by KitKat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jed Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 When I've had little skeletal ones, I've stuck with the chicken mince. The type I get is bone in, but the bones are very fine. Like grains of sand. I have resorted, in a couple of very fragile cases, to proper chooks from the supermarket, which I have then steamed to get the meat off the bones, and fed them that. Raw is better, but imho, any food they will eat (and which doesn't go straight through them) is the best!! Some Lenards mince has biggish bones in it, some doesn't. Guess it depends on how carefully or finely they mince it. I tend to go for "safe" - and as i actually haven't had any die on the mince/milk/eggs/oatmeal regime, I tend to stick to that. Sardines in spring water should be ok. If the dog wont eat, warming the food in the microwave to blood heat often releases more of a smell. Cats which have lost their sense of smell often wont eat, because part of their physiology is to smell what they eat. I don't know about dogs. All the ones I have had would eat, unless they were sick. I had a little mini foxie which was so skinny his back end swayed when he walked, and he could fall over very easily, he was just so fragile. Tough little blighter, and very keen to live, he just ate everything, and in a short time, was just a little porker!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loraine Posted September 14, 2007 Author Share Posted September 14, 2007 This is the little gal. So much knowledge and help around here, you are all fantastic peeps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loraine Posted September 14, 2007 Author Share Posted September 14, 2007 Here she is on a bed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poodle wrangler Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 You seem to have done a really good job with her coat. Good point Jed made about the fur giving some cushioning as well as warmth . I would have been tempted to shave it off, but it makes good sense not to where possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loraine Posted September 14, 2007 Author Share Posted September 14, 2007 You seem to have done a really good job with her coat. Good point Jed made about the fur giving some cushioning as well as warmth . I would have been tempted to shave it off, but it makes good sense not to where possible. Her real foster carers gave her the coat. I am just caring for her until Sunday, they are getting all the info I have gleaned here written out for them. I have a little more knowledge about poodles and sick dogs than they have, and offered to drop and collect her from the vets, and to do the initial caring for the wee one. I must admit that I had no idea that this little one was so emaciated, and I had planned to groom her, but that can wait until she fattens up a bit. I have cut and paste all the info I have been given here into word, and copied the recipe for Satin Balls for her F/Carer's. She is not too matted now (all large matts have been clipped off, and her coat has been brushed to clear other knots. She is a fiesty little beggar when it comes to putting the drops in her ears . I am feeding her little and often treats of cooked chicken breast aside from her breakfast and dinner in which I have included cooked porridge oats, rice, egg and raw chicken mince (from Lenard's, that is the frame and meat ground up). Nah she is not being spoiled Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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