Restorative Nutrition For Giant Breeds

[wolfie333]

I am getting a foster mastiffx soon who is about 10-12 months old and is pretty skinny and his coat is in awful condition. Having my own neox about the same age I know how important nutrition is in the early months.

Can anyone recommend any food or supplements i can give to get him back in top shape ASAP.

I feed my dog a lot of sardines and he looks great so i'll start with that

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I work for Doggie Rescue and many of our dogs arrive in poor condition. At our shelter, we therefore feed them on a quality mix of Basmati Rice (its the most nutritious), minced meat, vegetables and eggs.

The only thing about that is the poops can get a bit sloppy and if your dog is large, that won't be so good. Perhaps you could scramble the eggs in the morning with the sardines and see how you go.

For my fosters (who are all fairly small), I feed them on sardines every morning and only good quality biscuits like Hills with their main meal.

I also have a Flaxseed supplement that I got from a health shop, made specially for dogs.

I find it takes about 2 months to see a total result. Good luck!

[witheverythingiam]

I have a skinny Boxer, who's hard to keep weight on - he's quite active.

He's doing VERY WELL on "Great Barko" dog food, which quite surprised me as he;s a fussy eater, and it's a cheaper food to buy, but he just gobbles it up like he did when he was on Super Premium foods.

-WithEverythingIAm

[poodlefan]

Dogmad:

At our shelter, we therefore feed them on a quality mix of Basmati Rice (its the most nutritious), minced meat, vegetables and eggs.

That diet would be lacking in calcium Dogmad which a young Giant breed would need in spades. Rice provides a rapidly available source of carbohydrate for dogs involved in high intensity exercise but otherwise dogs obtain their energy from fats.

A talk to a decent vet would be an idea in case vitamin or mineral supplementation is recommended but I'd suggest either:

* A Good raw diet (PM Espinay, she has a Giant breed) OR

* Premium kibble and lots of chicken frames etc.

A PM to Lilli might also be a good idea = she has BIG dogs.

Edited November 17, 2008 by poodlefan

[Aphra]

If your new foster is really a Mastiff X you won't want to be giving him any extra calcium.

A lot depends on just how thin your new foster is. If he's just a bit skinny then you can just proceed to feed him normally. If he's really in poor condition because of starvation you'll need to proceed with more caution and veterinary advice.

Good quality kibble with additions such as eggs/yoghurt/sardines/Natures Gift (tinned food) with the addition of some flaxseed oil, raw food such as chicken frames or lamb flaps and necks, meaty bones to give him something to do and good for teeth. This is basically what I feed my Neos and the other dogs on a day to day basis. I am a convert to the use of flaxseed oil for their coats.

You don't want to force feed him. If he's very starved his body may not cope and you could cause something called refeeding syndrome. Give him the normal amount of food for a dog of his size broken up into a few smaller meals during the day.

A good grooming every day will help his coat, at this time of the year many dogs are shedding out, and you might find that he just needs all the dead hair brushed out of his coat to make him look better.

Don't worry too much if he doesn't put on weight quickly. A dog can be thin because they have gone hungry for a little while and lost the external fat from their bodies. Or they might be thin because they have gone hungry a long time and lost not only the external fat but internal fat as well. In the latter case they put on the internal fat first and their external appearance won't change much for a while.

Here's a good article on feeding a really emaciated dog: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb48...ag=artBody;col1

[wolfie333]

Thats great advice everyone thanks! He's certainly not starving but the coat is terrible and he is really stinky, my main worry is that he missed out on proper nutrition in a period of crucial development and was hoping there was something i could do to lessen the impact of this on his future health.

How come I won't want to be giving extra calcium? not to upset the calcium/phosphorus ratio? My dog is a neoxenglish mastiffxGSP, And this dog is remarkably similar in size/body shape and age (I have a little fantasy that they may be brothers!)

Calcium is one of the reasons i give so many sardines gosh, i hope i haven't been doing the wrong thing by my darling!

Anyway i have attached a photo of the new boy "Wilber" and will update with a new pic when he is looking sleek and shiny like his brother oh alright i'll put a photo of him up too

If your new foster is really a Mastiff X you won't want to be giving him any extra calcium.

A lot depends on just how thin your new foster is. If he's just a bit skinny then you can just proceed to feed him normally. If he's really in poor condition because of starvation you'll need to proceed with more caution and veterinary advice.

Good quality kibble with additions such as eggs/yoghurt/sardines/Natures Gift (tinned food) with the addition of some flaxseed oil, raw food such as chicken frames or lamb flaps and necks, meaty bones to give him something to do and good for teeth. This is basically what I feed my Neos and the other dogs on a day to day basis. I am a convert to the use of flaxseed oil for their coats.

You don't want to force feed him. If he's very starved his body may not cope and you could cause something called refeeding syndrome. Give him the normal amount of food for a dog of his size broken up into a few smaller meals during the day.

A good grooming every day will help his coat, at this time of the year many dogs are shedding out, and you might find that he just needs all the dead hair brushed out of his coat to make him look better.

Don't worry too much if he doesn't put on weight quickly. A dog can be thin because they have gone hungry for a little while and lost the external fat from their bodies. Or they might be thin because they have gone hungry a long time and lost not only the external fat but internal fat as well. In the latter case they put on the internal fat first and their external appearance won't change much for a while.

Here's a good article on feeding a really emaciated dog: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb48...ag=artBody;col1

Edited November 18, 2008 by wolfie333

[KitKat]

How come I won't want to be giving extra calcium? not to upset the calcium/phosphorus ratio? My dog is a neoxenglish mastiffxGSP, And this dog is remarkably similar in size/body shape and age (I have a little fantasy that they may be brothers!)

Calcium is one of the reasons i give so many sardines gosh, i hope i haven't been doing the wrong thing by my darling!

Ratio etc is exactly why - not a big deal with the sardines because it's a whole sardine so the balance is already there - mind you...as with us....all things in moderation When you give calcium powder it's just pure calcium, so no balance.

[wolfie333]

oh good! thanks! You can see the sheen in my boy's coat I owe it all to sardines i think The funny thing is most people give a tin or so a day as a nice supplement, with these boys 6 or 7 tins is just a snack! I do sometimes wonder if I should be giving the springwater ones instead of the vegetable oil variety, any opinion here?

[poodlefan]

oh good! thanks! You can see the sheen in my boy's coat I owe it all to sardines i think The funny thing is most people give a tin or so a day as a nice supplement, with these boys 6 or 7 tins is just a snack! I do sometimes wonder if I should be giving the springwater ones instead of the vegetable oil variety, any opinion here?

What kind of oil is it?

I feed my guys the Woolies Brand Mackeral in its own oil.. might be easier than opening all those cans.. cheaper too maybe?

[Kelly_Louise]

I prefer to always feed the sardines in springwater with no added salt. Just to cut down any nasties that don't need to be in her diet!!

I've finally found Sasha's food weakness - sardines!!! She too would eat 10 cans a day if I allowed her too!!

[Nekhbet]

remember giant breeds mature more slowly then others. The biggest mistake was the old fashioned 'add calcium to everything' adage. Well you CAN overdo calcium, a LOT actually.

If you want put the dog on something like Eagle Pack giant breed puppy which has the correct balance for a giant breed. Supplement with things like sardines, lamb flaps, chicken pieces/carcasses etc but I wouldnt go adding supplements at all if you have a good food. As for home made giant puppy food if he has had a bad start at least give him the right food until he's a little more mature then give him a home made diet. Grow slowly he wont be a full adult until 2 1/2 - 3 years old!