tasha's mum Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 It has been more than a month since I started both my dogs on the barf diet, one needed to lose the weight and the other needs to gain. Today when I weigh them after weighing them last a month ago. My girl who needs to lose weight has lost a kg but my boy has also lost a 600gms! ;) I have been feeding him 500gms of the barf diet based on his ideal weight which is 20kgs and he is not gaining weight at all. Instead he has dropped the weight. He was desexed a month ago and should gain some weight which is not happening at all I am at loss now, is there anyway I can help to boost the weight gain? I want to feed him raw and didn't want to add in any stuff such as biccies to his diet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tess32 Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 The ideal weight is just a guideline - if he needs more food because he expends more energy, just give him more raw food per day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggy Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 I usually feed 3% of bodyweight raw food. So for a 20kg dog 600gms. If your dog is too skinny maybe try 4% or feed fattier foods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretel Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Yes just give him more and maybe feed something like lamb flaps which are great for putting on weight ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Yep as Tess said that percentage is a avg guide, you need to adj how much they get to suit the individual dog. You will also find different times of year and different week to week activities will change their requirements, but that goes with any feeding not just barf, I also rarely ever measure how much they get, I just give a little more if they are looking leaner or a little less if they have put on from where I want them to be (but with staffords you see every bit of gain/loss as their coats are so short and tight) I wouldnt reccomend going fattier just yet, I would try increasing the amount first, increasing fat with some dogs can make them sick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 we feed mainly raw- and just continually adjust the amount according to the dog's condition ;) if they are working or look ribby- they get more.In Summer, and no work- they get less... on colder days, they get more.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stitch Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Give the dog more food! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 What are you feeding? Lamb flaps are good for putting weight on. But yes the 2% for adult dogs for BARF is only a guide line. If he is a young active dog then he possibley needs to be feed .5 or 1% more. My two pugs, 6 who is 7.3kg and 8 who is 8.7kg, are feed approximatley 1.5% of their ideal body weight. If I up it to 2% they start getting to chunky. Whereas my foster girl, approx 15 months old and 5kg, is fed 3%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasha's mum Posted June 28, 2009 Author Share Posted June 28, 2009 He gets his usual barf diet and brisket bone every day. I will up his portions to even 4% as I only use 2% instead of 3%. He is an extremely active dog, always running around the yard. I will go to the butcher the next time when I am there and get him some lamb flaps Thank you all for the advice I will reweigh him a month later and let you know how I go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog_Horse_Girl Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 He needs more food. Increase the quantity of all ingredients you feed and see how that improves his weight. You should see a change in 6 to 8 wks. Don't be overly tempted to increase the fat content but do increase the overall amount you feed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 He gets his usual barf diet and brisket bone every day. I will up his portions to even 4% as I only use 2% instead of 3%. He is an extremely active dog, always running around the yard. I will go to the butcher the next time when I am there and get him some lamb flaps Thank you all for the advice I will reweigh him a month later and let you know how I go Just as everyone else has said, feed him more But don't get all tied up about what he weighs. Is he has a good covering over his ribs and is active and bright then he's the right weight. You may need to adjust his food from day to day depending on what he's doing that day or what you have planned for the next day - all feeding not just BARF is never fixed and often needs adjustment on a daily basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 We never weigh our dogs regularly.. just go on the rib feel/look , basically. ours are kept lean..and seem to sometimes lose/gain over a 48 hour period- so it is always easy to tell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasha's mum Posted July 26, 2009 Author Share Posted July 26, 2009 Hi all, I have a feel on his body. He does not have a nice covering over his ribs. All I could fee is his ribs sticking out OH weigh both dogs today, and my girl lost 1.2kg and my boy gain 0.8kg So now she is 20kg and he is 15.8kg. She is not too far from her ideal weight and he is slowly gaining it. I am adjusting their portions according to their daily activities. I did a pact with OH that if there is no result from starting on the BARF diet, he is allowed to feed them whatever he wants and now my perserverance pays off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Can you post a pic of him so we can see his body condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirra_Bomber_Zeus Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Definitely just depends on the dog - my girl needs to eat much more than my male who weighs more than her to maintain her weight. My male puts on weight really easily, so he gets less. Sometimes it takes a while to get it right, you just need to muck around with the amount of food a bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 I just go on body condition, too. If someone is looking a little skinny or a little plump, I just adjust slightly. It usually ends up being a bit of a subtle see-saw deal. Especially as I never actually weigh any of the meals. I just kinda toss things together haphazardly and feed lots of bones of varying sizes and amounts of meat and do it all by guesswork. My mum's Kelpie cross is a few kilos lighter than my Lapphund, but my Lapphund eats significantly less. The Kelpie cross is so active it's quite hard to keep flesh on her. My mum makes her own BARF mix and ended up having to increase the meat to vegie ratio. It wasn't a big deal for her less active dog, though. She just cut his food back and still feeds them the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasha's mum Posted July 26, 2009 Author Share Posted July 26, 2009 (edited) Here's a photo of him, I trying to upload some more onto my photobucket Edited July 26, 2009 by tasha's mum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasha's mum Posted July 26, 2009 Author Share Posted July 26, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Hard to tell from that if he's thin. I would expect to feel a hint of ribs but if his backbone and hips stick out then I'd say he's thin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wire Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Depending on activity levels, my 20kg boy will on some days eat up to 900gms. Other times much less, he's a bit of a fuss pot and generally regulates his own volume of food intake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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