Opinions Please On Very Skinny Labx - Photos

[Katdogs]

This poor boy is coming to us for fostering.

He's being vetted thoroughly before desexing, but in the meantime I'm planning ahead - I've only ever dealt with keeping weight off a dog, not putting it on!

Pound's guess is that he's about two years old. He's got dry scruffy skin and a dry(?) nose. No obvious flea problem, and his pen at the pound was clean and he'd eaten his breakfast, then travelled for about an hour without stomach upset. To an amateur like me he seems to have clear eyes, ears, bum and teeth, he was a bit dirty to touch but smelt OK (except for one HORRIFIC fart, but then he's been eating pound food for 8 days!). He's got a bit of skin off one leg and it's a bit difficult to judge his gait because he was just so excited to be out of the pen, but he seemed to move freely and without any pain. Certainly the tail-wagging muscle is in full health! He can do 'sit' and 'drop' beautifully, and is very polite but interested in everything going on around him.

Anyway, do I need to do special feeding to 'fatten him up' or do I just stick to the healthy diet that works for my dog and let him gain wait slowly? He'll be getting a combination of Royal Canin lab, chicken necks/frames, roo mince, mixed veggies/fruit, sardines and eggs about twice a week, BARF pattie every couple of days (depending on finances!), and yoghurt every few days. Also Joint Guard and Dr Bruce's Health Booster vitamin/mineral mix. Should I add some fattier mince such as the 'pet mince' sold at the chook shop? I don't want to leave him with bigger bones for now. Any other suggestions welcome!

I think we're going to call him 'Tommy' - it seems a nice friendly name for a nice friendly dog. Suggestions welcome for this too!

Here's his handsome face (but he's a bit camera shy):

He's got a reasonably good-quality collar and a bit of training, so may have been in good nick when he ended up on the streets (not microchipped unfortunately). How long would it have taken for him to drop to this condition? And how long to be back to a shiny healthy looking boy?

Edited April 6, 2008 by Stevie&Jodie

[Trisven13]

First thing I'd be doing is worming him (though I'm sure the vet will tell you that ) - probably not a bad idea to worm him again in a couple of weeks. A lot of his dry coat will be a combo of worms & poor/no food. Second thing would be a good bath BEFORE he gets desexed - it will wash out the obvious things like dirt but it will also wash out the old coat. With a clean coat, good food & no worms he will come good quickly.

Your diet sounds good - I would feed him extra of that to start with to get his weight up and then when he is at a good weight drop it down. Twiggy gets feed three or four times a day to get her weight up - once its at an okay level I will drop it down to just twice a day. She also gets extra treats :D like the fat off the meat we're going to eat, left over kids cheese sandwiches etc. She is a real scavanger so I have to be careful of her looking for food in some crazy places - you may need to do the same - my kids can't walk outside with food as she would steal it. He may have a problem with food around other dogs too.

In a couple of weeks he will start looking fantastic - you won't believe how quickly it can happen.

Trish

[Wobbly]

Good on you for rescuing him :D

He looks like a sweetie. I'm no expert but I'd say he'll pick up condition very quickly with the diet you've posted. Don't forget you'll probably be giving him lots of treats on top of that to help him understand what kind of behaviours you want from him. When I got Jarrah from the pound she was hopelessly hyperactive, but I'd give her treats and cuddles every time I saw her sitting quietly or acting how I wanted her to and she learnt very quickly what the most rewarding behaviours around this house were. Some chewy stuff (pigs ears or trotters maybe) might help him settle in and feel comfortable in his new home too.

[Scarlet]

He looks gorgeous and I can't imagine a labX having trouble putting on weight.

I've had a couple of thin fosters and like Trisven13 said give 3 or 4 small meals a day to start with and gradually decrease the number of feeds as you increase the volume.

Does he need to increase his condition before the vet will desex him?

[lucknow]

He doesn't look too bad IMHO compared to some of the fosters coming in, sad but true. I also would feed as you described with an increased volume to allow for adding weight. I feed yoghurt daily, which is the only real difference in your plan. Good luck with him, he looks a real sweetie and I bet he is a stunner in a few weeks!

[Katdogs]

Don't forget you'll probably be giving him lots of treats on top of that to help him understand what kind of behaviours you want from him.

Oooh yes I had forgotten treats and training! Thanks, I can sneak some extra calories onto him that way without the other dogs seeing him getting extra meals too often. I won't feed them near each other until I get to know him better, but they'll be able to see each other and my LabX counts every pea or kibble that moves out of my kitchen!

He looks gorgeous and I can't imagine a labX having trouble putting on weight.

...

Does he need to increase his condition before the vet will desex him?

Yeah, after two years of keeping weight off Stevie, this is an interesting challenge!

I was worried he might be too light for desexing, but the vet nurse said they've seen much worse. They'll have a good look at him before operating. They're very experienced at poundies :D

He's not a dominant boy from what I can see, and didn't go around marking everything in sight, and all the bitches in our street are desexed, so if he needs to wait a week or two before desexing we can handle that if we have to, though of course we don't know his escape abilities.

Trisven thanks, I'll keep in touch about my skinny boy and compare him with your skinny girl! It's still weirding me out how much this boy could be Stevie's brother, and Twiggy could be Jodie's sister!

[benny123]

Just want to say :D for taking the beautiful boy from Hawkesbury and giving him a chance.

[Katdogs]

He doesn't look too bad IMHO compared to some of the fosters coming in, sad but true. I also would feed as you described with an increased volume to allow for adding weight. I feed yoghurt daily, which is the only real difference in your plan. Good luck with him, he looks a real sweetie and I bet he is a stunner in a few weeks!

What yoghurt do you use? I mainly give our dogs whatever we haven't eaten ourselves from the fridge - they don't care what it is! Is there anything in particular you recommend for this situation?

[lucknow]

He doesn't look too bad IMHO compared to some of the fosters coming in, sad but true. I also would feed as you described with an increased volume to allow for adding weight. I feed yoghurt daily, which is the only real difference in your plan. Good luck with him, he looks a real sweetie and I bet he is a stunner in a few weeks!

What yoghurt do you use? I mainly give our dogs whatever we haven't eaten ourselves from the fridge - they don't care what it is! Is there anything in particular you recommend for this situation?

Easi Yo as it is cheap, convenient and I am sure of the cultures still being 'live'. It has a good website and there was a thread on it recently also.

[Katdogs]

Easi Yo as it is cheap, convenient and I am sure of the cultures still being 'live'. It has a good website and there was a thread on it recently also.

Yep I remember the thread, it was very interesting. I'll look out for it, sounds like it would be healthy for me and OH as well as the dogs.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Thanks for taking him and giving him a new life!!!

I've had skeleton like dogs before - I give them 4 small meals a day. I use good quality meat and add things like Basmatic Rice (most nutritious), sardines, scrambled eggs and usually a dietary supplement. Sometimes it's hard to get them started eating again and things like tuna, BBQ chicken etc will get them started quite often but just not too much at once.

Best of luck, I find it takes 2-4 weeks to see a difference and about 2-3 months before they come back to normal.

[Katdogs]

Thanks for taking him and giving him a new life!!!

I've had skeleton like dogs before - I give them 4 small meals a day. I use good quality meat and add things like Basmatic Rice (most nutritious), sardines, scrambled eggs and usually a dietary supplement. Sometimes it's hard to get them started eating again and things like tuna, BBQ chicken etc will get them started quite often but just not too much at once.

Best of luck, I find it takes 2-4 weeks to see a difference and about 2-3 months before they come back to normal.

What do you mean by 'dietary supplement'? It seems to be on a lot of labels at the shop, ranging from simple vitamin powder to biolact type food.

I've just thought, I might add some manuka honey to the mix? What do you think?

[Poodle wrangler]

He's very handsome :rolleyes: .

It's much better for him to put on weight nice and gradually.

Quick weight gain is a stress on his young body- bones/ ligaments and digestive system.

Looks like he'll be a big boy and is best to keep him lean for the sake of his joints.

Beware very fatty treats and foods- can contribute to pancreatitis. I'm guessing an underfed dog is more prone to this kind of thing, too.

[_PL_]

He's gorgeous K

We use Jalna plain biodynamic yoghurt here because I'm too lazy to make my own.

And Protexin powder as a pro-biotic (but if he is put on an antibiotic you can't use it till the course is over).

Too much rich food to start with may give him the runs so start off cautious and small.

Missing Link is good for coat and skin but he's so young I think a nice healthy diet will see him right in no time. Let me know what the vet says about his general health. :p

[Katdogs]

Does he need to increase his condition before the vet will desex him?

New answer to this is Yes, unfortunately the slight cough he had once yesterday when he strained on his collar has now definitely turned into kennel cough (what a surprise ) so he's staying with the vet for a couple more days before the operation. At least it means a chance for a decent feed or two beforehand.

[_PL_]

No rush if the vet isn't happy. Poor boy must be even worse than his piccies.

Trish is right about his food. Hungry dogs can be a bit funny about food, once out of quarantine, pick up all the treats and chews, even kongs that may have had a few bits and pieces in them or anything the dogs might compete over until you know what he's like around them.

Thank you for taking him on. He'll make a lovely companion.

[Katdogs]

Yay Tommy! His cough wasn't too bad so they've done the deed to him today and he's come through it ok!

I haven't spoken to the vet yet, just reception/nurse. His weight is 24.5 kg :D

[Luke GSP]

Yay Tommy! His cough wasn't too bad so they've done the deed to him today and he's come through it ok!

I haven't spoken to the vet yet, just reception/nurse. His weight is 24.5 kg

do you know what he is crossed with?

[Katdogs]

do you know what he is crossed with?

No. His head is very labby, the rest of him is skeleton (not as bad as I saw on TV last night, but still very thin).

He seems to be black all over except for a thin white stripe down his chest.

Hopefully when he has a few more kilos of muscle and a shiny clean coat we might make a 'what breed is this' thread, but for now we'll just say Very Labby.