More Food? Or Supplement?

[Wing]

Hi everyone,

Me and my wife need a little advice from the experienced!!

We found out our little boy is a little under weight recently, we are trying to find out how can we help him to put on some weight. But unfortunately this little boy has some issues which we are not able to just simply add more food for him in each meal.

He is currently having two meals a day, morning and night. Amount about one full scoop of dry food (similar to a washing powder scoop), also sometimes we give him steam chicken or pork (meat only) with rice and carrots in it. (He is a 1 and a half year old westie) Besides his meals, we give him veggies like carrots, apples, vegies like twice a day. Also some treats occasionally of cos :D

Once we found out that he is a little under weight, we tried giving him more of the dry food in each meal. But ending up he starts eating his own poop in the morning.

We also tried giving him raw diet, thought it might give him more vitamins and stuff. But he ended up having diarrhea for two days. And we felt extremely bad for doing that.

We are now thinking of adding some supplements like powder or some sort to his dry food. Any suggestion for that at all?

[Aziah]

Start introducing things like chicken wings and lamb flaps (slowly)...

Did you just switch over to raw the very next day or introduce it slowly? If you just switched over without a slow introduction then that's most likely why he didn't handle it well.

Raw chicken wings will be a good start

[persephone]

Hi-vegetables will not put weight on... nor are they necessary except in small quantities.( they are recommended for dogs on a weight loss diet) he does not need rice either

ANY change of diet needs to be done gradually and slowly...to avoid tummy upsets.

What breed/age weight is your dog?

What dry food is he eating?

The meat you give him... is it lean?

( he doesnt need his food cooked, either)

What meaty bones does he get?

Does he like chicken wings, or turkey wings?

[Erny]

Before the answers begin to pile in, you'll need to give a bit more detail. Such as :

What weight is he now?

How much underweight does your Vet suggest he is?

What brand dry food do you feed?

What "issues" is it (just a brief explanation should do) that prevents you from feeding more food quantity?

As an aside (in the meantime to waiting for your answers to the above), when you change a dog's diet you need to do this more gradually.

[persephone]

we all came in at the same time!

[Wing]

He is 14 months old and he weight almost 10kg.

The last time we been to a vet he didn't mention anything about under weight, its just that we see him being very skinny and we can almost see his ribs after grooming.

I didn't dare to give him chicken wings at all because he tends to swallow whatever he can eat as long as he can swallow it directly. He choked once when we gave him a dry pig ear. we are afraid that he is going to hurt his throat by giving him chicken wings.

The meat we gave him they are all lean, my wife cut out all the fats. Assuming that its no good for him to consume too many fats. Not too sure if that's correct.

[Aziah]

I'm betting he's not under weight ideally you want to be able to run your hands over his rib cage and feel the ribs with a small layer covering...you don't want cm's of cover over the ribs.

[Erny]

He is 14 months old and he weight almost 10kg.

The last time we been to a vet he didn't mention anything about under weight, its just that we see him being very skinny and we can almost see his ribs after grooming.

I didn't dare to give him chicken wings at all because he tends to swallow whatever he can eat as long as he can swallow it directly. He choked once when we gave him a dry pig ear. we are afraid that he is going to hurt his throat by giving him chicken wings.

The meat we gave him they are all lean, my wife cut out all the fats. Assuming that its no good for him to consume too many fats. Not too sure if that's correct.

I'm a little puzzled still - sorry.

You say you "found out" your boy is a little under weight. Do you mean someone has advised you, or do you mean you decided yourselves? There is nothing wrong with "just" being able to see his ribs. To me, this would not equate to being "very skinny". Problem here is that being over the internet, we have interpretation difficulties. A picture paints a thousand words and if you could take 2 or 3 and post them here, that would be helpful. Take a couple from side on and one from above (whilst he is standing).

You could teach him to chew by giving him a raw meaty bone - one that he has to gnaw on.

You forgot to mention what brand of dry food you feed.

Eating his own poop isn't often a big problem (to the dog). It can be a behaviour that has been brought about by boredom; exploration/opportunity; and/or dietary deficiency.

I agree with Persephone - stop cooking his meals .... you're cooking all the excellent nutrients right out of the meat. Also, is there a reason why you are trimming the meat of all fat?

What is the "issue" you talk of and is the reason you suggest you cannot increase food quantity?

[poodlefan]

The meat we gave him they are all lean, my wife cut out all the fats. Assuming that its no good for him to consume too many fats. Not too sure if that's correct.

Tell her to leave the fat ON. Dogs need more fat in their diet than we do - they get most of their energy from fat, not carbohydrates. My guess is that your boy is not too fat. As as already been said, you should be able to feel his ribs.

[persephone]

Wing- a photo would certainly tell us exactly what covering he has on his bones

to be able to 'almost' see my dog's ribs would be great !

[chuckie500]

I used to trim the fat off meat too, but what what I hear they need some of the fat. I only trim off big bits of fat now. I worry about my dogs diet too and people at work laugh at me I think because I'm more "health conscious" about my dogs diet than my own. (I'm often buying rubbish for lunch).

[tomas]

He is 14 months old and he weight almost 10kg.

The last time we been to a vet he didn't mention anything about under weight, its just that we see him being very skinny and we can almost see his ribs after grooming.

I didn't dare to give him chicken wings at all because he tends to swallow whatever he can eat as long as he can swallow it directly. He choked once when we gave him a dry pig ear. we are afraid that he is going to hurt his throat by giving him chicken wings.

The meat we gave him they are all lean, my wife cut out all the fats. Assuming that its no good for him to consume too many fats. Not too sure if that's correct.

I agree with the other advice you are getting. Dogs totally need fat for energy.

How about buy a whole chicken and whack it into 4....2 breast bone in pieces and 2 leg and wing pieces. That is 4 meals. He will chew them as they are too big to swallow.

I watch all my dogs eat raw as I have some gulpers too,just try and give him stuff he HAS to chew

Good luck.

[Sandra777]

He is 14 months old and he weight almost 10kg.

I would think this would be a fairly good weight for a Westie, but they're all individuals

The last time we been to a vet he didn't mention anything about under weight, its just that we see him being very skinny and we can almost see his ribs after grooming.

This is good - even though I'm not sure how you can "almost" see his ribs. You should be able to easily feel the ribs (right to the front, not just his back ribs) for a healthy weight on any dog regardless of breed or age.

I didn't dare to give him chicken wings at all because he tends to swallow whatever he can eat as long as he can swallow it directly. He choked once when we gave him a dry pig ear. we are afraid that he is going to hurt his throat by giving him chicken wings.

Chicken wings are a good place to start so it might be a good idea for you to hold on to the wing until he gets the idea of chewing. Turkey necks are good (Chicken necks are much too small) as a dog his size would not be able to swallow them without chewing - but you MUST supervise his meal times if you are going to feed him whole foods. Incidentally - when he choked did he actually choke and need to be rescued or did he just cough a bit and bring the pig's ear back up - the latter is pretty normal behaviour and is pretty unlikely to do him harm, but again, supervision is the go.

The meat we gave him they are all lean, my wife cut out all the fats. Assuming that its no good for him to consume too many fats. Not too sure if that's correct.

No, dogs don't have cholesterol problems, they can eat as much fat as they like (lucky sods ) but you will need to introduce these things slowly as generally too much fat will case the runs, and in some dogs it can cause a pancreatitis (sp!) attack.