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Big Breed


Freckles
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Hi guys,

Some of you may have seen the photo of the big boy I have in foster care at the moment and can see how skinny he is. He weighs 20kgs and the vet said he should be about 30-35kgs.

OK problem I have is he doesn't seem that interested in food. I have tried him on dry food, pet mince and even table scraps. I have had success with very meaty bones and meat offcuts but I don't think he would put on weight or get a balanced diet with just bones, so I am open to any suggestions you might have to help build up this boys size.

Thank you heaps and I'll add another photo of his back :)

post-22-1103510959.jpg

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Nutripet high calorie vitamin paste on his food - it is high calory but also acts as an appetite stimulant - i find dogs will eat anything with a little of this on it. a little thriveD may also help to make sure he gets the maximum out of what he does eat, as it provides dietary enzymes.

Maybe if you feed lots of lamb offcuts etc then also try giving some vets all-natural moist food to provide his grains mixed with a little chopped meat. I find my dogs love it - i think its the garlic smell. The small 1kg size is an affordable trial.

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Is he eating anything at all? Is he at least drinking? He may still be settling in and getting used to what food you are giving him.

We find that some of our new rescues may take a day or so to start eating.. everything is so new to them and it can be very stressfull.

Please keep us posted

Mina

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First up....... worm him with DRONTAL or similar that covers Tapeworm.

Feed him Lamb..... Brisket is great. The cheapest cuts of meat... like Chuck steak or anything else that is on sale at the butchers or the supermarket.

Susage mince is a great source of fat too (and cooked up a bit is VERY hard for a dog to refuse).

Get him Puppy food, but a decent one. One of the best ones I've found lately is OPTIMUM PUPPY........ 20kg bag will cost $63.00 or so but will last until he has gained a good amount of weight.

To help encourage his appetite you could pour a bit of chicken gravy on his dry food.

If all else fails to get his interest in food........ he needs to see a vet. (but worm him first).

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Sausage mince is a great source of fat too (and cooked up a bit is VERY hard for a dog to refuse).

This worked a treat on Rubi who has gone off her food with the heat we have experienced of late. I just cook up that with a bit of pasta and it has seen her put weight back on.

Riles

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Thanks for that guys,

I wormed him 10 minutes after he walked in the door. The vet said to try him on Hills puppy and he won't touch it. I had thought of gravy and with your advice I will try it today. Thanks Jack :eek:

Mina he is drinking well and he only eats the lamb offcuts and the back bones I got from the butcher.

I know people say a dog won't starve itself but he has no back up fat to go with out eatting so I am just giving him the off cuts. I bought a huge slab of meat for us to eat the other day and trimed off all the fat and bits and I'm giving him a handful of fat twice a day aswell.

Keep your fingers crossed that he might turn to the puppy biscuits with the gravy and I will update this again on Thursday.

Thanks again

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He hasn't got sore teeth or throat has he? Or he's feeling queasy? ;) Poor lad, he's very thin. Puppy biscuit is definately my recommendation too and I hear tuna is also irressistable.

Good luck! :rolleyes:

Diana (who also had a stupidly thin rescue to feed up!)

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I have had success with very meaty bones and meat offcuts but I don't think he would put on weight or get a balanced diet with just bones, so I am open to any suggestions you might have to help build up this boys size.

He is telling you what he needs, very meaty raw bones. Actually lamb flaps are very fattening, try him with those. While I think a raw based diet is balanced you may not agree with me but I would worry about balance after he has a bit more weight on him. :rolleyes:

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Hi,

Lamb flaps, and I gave porridge for breakast and toast with peanut butter, bacon

rind from your sunday breakfast it took me nearly 12months to get some fat on my boy slowly is better than putting it on too fast. Just do all the things you not meant to scraps from the table and 2 or 3 meals a day.You could count every vertibra on my boy. He never went on a diet in his life, but in the end was quite a solid airedale

Good luck

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Well I have had a break through already, he LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVES gravy and eat the hole bowlfull and looked at me like well wheres the rest.

He is between 7 and maybe 9 months as he hasn't filled out down there (the vet said he had :rolleyes: of a 6 month old) and still had 3 baby teeth.

in answer to dlmckays question No he hasn't shown any signs of a sore mouth or throat when he eats and his teeth are in really good nic.

Thanks for all your responces and I will just have to make friends with the butcher I think as he does love those offcuts.

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I agree with kitkat. Lots of lamb flaps are great for him - lamb offcuts with bones in them too!

Also try mixing sardines through stuff.

If you're worried, nutripet (or other vitamin supplement ) plus raw meaty bones would be a fine diet for a number of weeks.

By the way, he's beautiful - can I have him?

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