Putting Weight On A Dog...

[cavmad]

I pretty much feed my dogs vegetables, fruit, the odd egg and dollop of yoghurt here and there and brisket bones and chicken necks. I think they eat pretty healthy and due to the fact that they both have a wonky leg each, I am conscious of keeping their weight down. However, I think Cooper might be a little underweight though. He has always been quite a lean dog, very active when we go to the beach and walking but lately he seems to be thinning down a bit too much. What foods can I give him that would add a litlle bit of weight without filling him up on crap? I don't have scales but I might take him up to the vet to weigh him this afternoon. My OH came home from being away for a week and the first thing he noticed was how skinny he has got.

[shantiah]

I pretty much feed my dogs vegetables, fruit, the odd egg and dollop of yoghurt here and there and brisket bones and chicken necks. I think they eat pretty healthy and due to the fact that they both have a wonky leg each, I am conscious of keeping their weight down. However, I think Cooper might be a little underweight though. He has always been quite a lean dog, very active when we go to the beach and walking but lately he seems to be thinning down a bit too much. What foods can I give him that would add a litlle bit of weight without filling him up on crap? I don't have scales but I might take him up to the vet to weigh him this afternoon. My OH came home from being away for a week and the first thing he noticed was how skinny he has got.

My dogs tend to thin down in the cooler months. They are also on raw now but have always lost weight in winter regardless of what they are fed.

I just increase the amount they are offered until I am happy with the weight. If they are getting too fat I cut it back again.

Interestingly they eat about twice as much in winter to summer.

[shantiah]

Oops forgot to add

You can also feed them things like lamb flaps which have a larger amount of fat on them

[poodlefan]

Dogs derive most of their energy from fat. Increasing the fat content of food will add weight.

[DeerhoundLover]

What about milk? Often they will drink a bowl of milk even when they don't want any more food.

I got my deerhound's weight up the final few KGs the vet recommended by getting him a milkshake every afternoon after work. But you did say you didn't want to give your dog crap. But you can make a very nice drink for him by frothing up some milk and a raw egg.

[Cavandra]

If he is a good eater, then raw chicken mince (whole carcas etc ground, not human grade) will put weight on him. I find my boys need more food than my girls, they are more active & can eat twice as much as the girls to maintain condition.

Sometimes this can be an underlying problem though, if increased food doesnt help then I would have him tested for thyroid or diabetes for example............

[Dogsfevr]

Yep need to feed more bulky food.Lean is great but they still need fat to be healthy .Increase there meat diet ,what there getting really isnt enough

[cavmad]

Yep need to feed more bulky food.Lean is great but they still need fat to be healthy .Increase there meat diet ,what there getting really isnt enough

O.k so they are getting chicken necks and brisket bone and mince from time to time (which I forgot to add earlier). What other kinds of meat could I give him? I will try the raw chicken mince, he loves anything chicken. He is very lean, not skinny, no ribs showing or anything, just looks lean. I will try and post a pic later. Thanks guys.

[hopenfox]

You definitely need to add more digestible food to his diet. Dogs need mostly meat, a little bone and a little organ.

Chicken is quite lean, so red meat would probably help a lot. Some suggestions for meaty meat are lamb & beef hearts, lamb off-cuts, lamb flaps, lamb necks and any other meaty portions of lamb & beef. Pork is good too, but needs to be introduced really slowly to prevent digestive upset.

[Tiggy]

Good topic! I have a Staffy who has always been lean but her weight fluctuates between skinny and lean, I can tell when she's lost weight because her collar gets loose. I'm going to try her on fattier cuts of meat/bones.

[Leema]

I agree with the suggestions of feeding more meat. Fruit, veggies and yogurt, I don't expect, would be doing much harm, but not much good either.

My dogs mostly get chicken (but they're fatties!). If I want to put more weight on my dog, I buy "lamb offcuts" at the supermarket. I think that may be the "lamb flaps" people are referring to.

Chicken mince has a lot of bone in it, but I do sometimes feed it. My local pet shop has diced beef quite cheap, and I prefer to buy that as it has no bone. I have no issues feeding my dogs bone, but chicken mince is very boney. When feeding something like mince or diced beef, it's very easy to just feed more and put weight on this way.

A 'big' meal for my dogs is a chicken wing or chicken drumstick - most meals are smaller (mostly because I can cut up other servings smaller but can't bone).

Another idea is mutton necks! They are quite fatty from my experience.

[Miranda]

What about milk? Often they will drink a bowl of milk even when they don't want any more food.

I got my deerhound's weight up the final few KGs the vet recommended by getting him a milkshake every afternoon after work. But you did say you didn't want to give your dog crap. But you can make a very nice drink for him by frothing up some milk and a raw egg.

Just be aware that not all dogs can tolerate cow's milk, it will give some dogs diarrhoea. Most dogs handle lactose free milk better than ordinary milk.

Have you thought of trying satin balls? You could substitute cooked potato or sweet potato for the cereal. There are recipes somewhere on this forum, just do a search.

[cavmad]

What about milk? Often they will drink a bowl of milk even when they don't want any more food.

I got my deerhound's weight up the final few KGs the vet recommended by getting him a milkshake every afternoon after work. But you did say you didn't want to give your dog crap. But you can make a very nice drink for him by frothing up some milk and a raw egg.

Just be aware that not all dogs can tolerate cow's milk, it will give some dogs diarrhoea. Most dogs handle lactose free milk better than ordinary milk.

Have you thought of trying satin balls? You could substitute cooked potato or sweet potato for the cereal. There are recipes somewhere on this forum, just do a search.

Thanks Miranda. I know about the milk thing and dont give them milk but might try the lactose free. I've never heard of satin balls! Will look into it. I'm a bit hesitant to increase the actual size of their meals as they always seem really full after they have eaten, they walk like they are both full and they sometimes make a bit of a regurgitation sound (although they never regurg)....just need to add more fat I think!

[persephone]

cavmad.. from my reading..sounds like your dogs are getting a lot of bulk in their diet?

If this is so...try feeding less veg/fruit (which they don't really need) and more meat This way they are getting the protein/fat needed, without a large volume of food

[sandgrubber]

fat contains more than twice as much enerty as protein, kg to kg compared, and if you take account of water content, fatty tissue may have well over triple the joules of muscle meat. The fat content of meats fed as dogfood is hugely variable. If your skinny one tolerates fat -- some do not -- and they may not because their digestive systems can't handle it so don't push it (the buzz word being pancreatitis) go for something with a lot of visible fat. Some chook products are very fatty, others lean. Ditto lamb and brisket. If your dog doesn't tolerate fat, then you generally have to work on getting him to eat more protein or carbs. But skinny isn't bad. If your dog runs lean, it may be best to accept it.