Best Foods For Weight Gain?

[Dogsfevr]

RC energy 4800 plus what you normally feed.

I use it on my very active dogs plus certain dogs in boarding where weight maintenance is an issue.

What i like is i don't need to feed umpteen cups just 1/2 max plus there normal meat etc etc.

I to have breeds prone to bloat so very careful in not wanting to feed alot .

In extreme cases i feed ice cream & porridge etc etc .

As mentioned though watch how the dog accepts the fat content .RC energy for example is very high in fat so if you are adding lamb flaps & the likes would be a total overload .

Lamb flaps give our dogs the runs .

Pancreatitis can be created by to much fat & can be a worse evil than being a tad skinny

[JessicaM]

Just lately I have been trying to put a bit of weight on my pap... she is fussy with food which doesn't help but she has put the weight on. I swapped her dry to 'junior' royal canine... it has more protein and fat than the adult choice. 31% protein and 20% fat. Also chicken wings, necks and lamb

[Crisovar]

Lamb flaps and chicken portions skin on have always worked here as an addition to an already good diet. There certainly is nutrition in them and I have never experienced any issues with feeding them as part of a diet. The key to preventing constipation (which I presume is the stool issue mentioned above) with any diet is balance. Too much bone will cause constipation in some dogs, but as part of a diet I have never had an issue. I don't feed porridge, bread or any other processed grains.

[Nekhbet]

If the dog is well muscles I wouldn't worry about more body fat, especially in a long backed breed like a basset hound. If she's way too ribby my trick is, yes, porriage too. I take the home brand minute oats and some puppy milk and make that into a warm porriage, you can add some tinned fish if you really want but if the dog is not used to it add it slowly over the course of a couple of weeks to prevent farty bum bum.

I don't mind pet minces and chicken minces with bones, it's only chicken carcass minced up. A dog with a decent digestive system should be able to digest it. If your dog is on a processed only diet you should introduce it slowly with a decent probiotic.

[Kirislin]

give her porridge in the morning. Soak it over night in milk, pour some hot water on it in the morning, yummy!

forget the dog, I'll eat that.

[Wundahoo]

RC energy 4800 plus what you normally feed.

I use it on my very active dogs plus certain dogs in boarding where weight maintenance is an issue.

What i like is i don't need to feed umpteen cups just 1/2 max plus there normal meat etc etc.

I to have breeds prone to bloat so very careful in not wanting to feed alot .

In extreme cases i feed ice cream & porridge etc etc .

As mentioned though watch how the dog accepts the fat content .RC energy for example is very high in fat so if you are adding lamb flaps & the likes would be a total overload .

Lamb flaps give our dogs the runs .

Pancreatitis can be created by to much fat & can be a worse evil than being a tad skinny

Agree !!

RC Energy is great for weight gain in lean dogs and maintining weight in dogs with high energy output.

Although it's high in fat, the type of fat is formulated to be easily digested and therefore less likely to cause pancreatitis. It's highly palateble and the dogs really like it so even fussy eaters will eat it.

It's completely balanced so there is no need to worry about these issues when adding different things to a diet. Although it might seems a bit expensive it's actually quite economical to feed if calories per $ is compared with other diets.

I often care for a friend's two working kelpies and one is a four-legged pogo stick and is never still. It's always been hard to maintain her weight and even more so when she's working the sheep. She has been on RC Energy exclusively for some time now and her weight is stable and much easier to control. When she needs it she is just given a little bit more. Prior to RC Energy it was almost impossible to keep up the food intake without overloading her. At one point she went through a bit of a picky-eater stage, she dropped weight and was very lean. That was when we started the RC and she has never looked back..... loves it and eats it readily, does extremely well on it and is easy to adjust the amounts as needed.

[Rebanne]

give her porridge in the morning. Soak it over night in milk, pour some hot water on it in the morning, yummy!

forget the dog, I'll eat that.

don't forget the dollop of honey!

Edited August 9, 2013 by Rebanne

[TheCheekyMonster]

Haredown Whippets sometimes food just isnt enough I feed Gus a hell of a lot, 5 cups of kibble, chicken wings eggs and sardines I have had real trouble keeping weight on Gus, I just acquired some Super Fuel its been 1 week his already starting to look a little fuller, I can see less rib cage and less spine and tail bone, its not a drastic change its only been a week but there is a slight change in body fat %

Edited August 9, 2013 by TheCheekyMonster

[Yonjuro]

Have a look into "Satin Balls" it is specifically used to put weight on. A quick google search will help you decide if it is right for you and your dog. I know many Husky people recommend these for dogs that really struggle to put on weight.

Below is a cut and paste of a post I found for you to check out, I haven't gone through all of the ingredients in all of the recipes but I imagine there would be heaps of scope to modify to suite your needs.

Here is a recipe for Satin Balls, that takes the best recipes from the internet and combines them with information shared in the Food and Nutrition Forum, along with a discussion of the ingredients.

Satin Balls appear to have developed in the show community, as an uncooked, homemade dog food to improve coats and put weight on a skinny dog, quickly. Many recipe variations have proliferated on the internet, but a few are mentioned frequently. The dog rescue community also uses Satin Balls to put weight on underweight dogs. The following recipe combines the best elements of two of the most common recipes circulating on the internet.

Satin Balls:

10 pounds raw ground beef, 70%-85% lean

18 ounces Total Multi-grain cereal (or other vitamin-fortified, unsweetened cereal

2 pounds oatmeal, uncooked regular or quick oats (not instant oats)

20 ounces wheat germ

1 ¼ cup canola oil

1 ¼ cup unsulfured molasses

10 hard-boiled eggs and shells, crushed and minced

10 envelopes unflavored gelatin

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Divide into freezer bags in daily ration portions (some divide into 10 equal portions, others 14, and I divide it into one-pound packs). Flatten out the filled bags to expel air and completely fill the bags, and to reduce freezing/thawing times. Seal and place the bags in the freezer in a single layer. Once frozen, the bags can be stacked. For travel, the frozen bags can be placed in a cooler and used to chill other items until needed. Break thawed meat mixture into chunks or roll into meatballs. Feed raw as a meal or supplement.

Yield: approx. 17 pounds @ 1275 calories/pound.

About the Ingredients

Beef: If the goal is to improve the coat, then use leaner ground beef. If the goal is to put weight on, quickly, then use ground beef with higher fat content.

Cereal: The original recipe calls for Total cereal, but another fortified, unsweetened cereal could be used. Some competing recipes discourage the use of Total cereal “due to its high sugar content”, but since it is unsweetened, the sugar content is low. Total was chosen for the original recipe because of its vitamin content.

Molasses: Some recipes criticize the use of sugar (molasses) in the recipe, however the molasses contributes minerals and calories. If the Satin Balls were being fed on a regular basis, long-term, then one might want to omit the molasses.

Eggs: The original recipe for Satin Balls calls for 10 raw eggs. Apart from concerns about salmonella, raw egg white contains avitin which blocks the use of the B vitamin, biotin. While there is a lot of biotin in the egg yolk, to offset the avitin in the egg white, dogs do not digest raw eggs as well as they do cooked. Cooking neutralizes the avitin, allowing full use of the biotin. Cooked eggs are more nutritious and easier to digest, with more usable calories per egg, so our recipe calls for hard-boiled eggs. The shells are included for their calcium.

Gelatin: Some recipes call for unflavored joint health supplement gelatin.

Other Recipes

Some of the competing recipes, variously called Satin Balls or Fat Balls, call for subsets of the main Satin Ball recipe, and often add cream cheese or peanut butter. The high dairy content of some of these recipes may cause digestive upset in some dogs. Here are some of the other, popular recipes for Satin/Fat Balls.

Fat Balls #1:

10 pounds ground beef

10 ounces uncooked oatmeal

6 raw egg yolks

10 ounces wheat germ

10 ounces molasses

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Roll into one-inch balls and freeze.

Fat Balls #2:

1 pound ground beef (high fat content)

1 package cream cheese

1 jar all-natural peanut butter

12 raw egg yolks

1 cup rolled oats soaked in milk

1 jar wheat germ

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Freeze into meal-sized bags and thaw as needed.

Fat Balls #3:

1 half-pint container heavy cream

12 raw egg yolks

2 blocks cream cheese (at room temp)

5 pounds ground beef

1 small box Total cereal (crushed into crumbs)

1 cup wheat germ

Mix dry ingredients, add heavy cream, add cream cheese, mix together. Add ground beef, and mix together. Roll into balls and freeze.

Fat Balls #4:

2 cups dry dog food, crushed fine

2 packs cream cheese

1 ½ cups peanut butter

½ cup corn oil

1 cup cottage cheese

1 pound ground beef, browned (reserve some of the fat)

additional crushed dry dog food, as needed

“Combine all ingredients and mix well. Work to a doughy mixture, adding more crushed dry dog food meal as needed, if consistency is too thin. On wax paper spread some crushed dry dog food meal and roll out mixture into log shape. Refrigerate until firm and slice as needed. Feed them a slice or two several times during the day.”

[kelpiecuddles]

Thanks all, I've been using a few of these suggestions over the past few days adding to what I had already started and I can already see a difference, she's no longer looking ribby and looking more the way she should. I don't like much extra weight on my dogs(like to be able to see the last rib) but it's a fine balance with her and she can drop the weight so quickly sometimes.

[eschlachter]

Have to agree with Satin Balls- worked like a charm, when I was trying to put weight on my Ridgy. Peanut butter, she just loves :)

Would add one more thing- what I think has made a difference this winter, is keeping the Ridgy 'coat on' nearly all winter. For the last year I thought that she was fine, inside our house all the time really, temp would get to the lowest I suppose about 10 deg. at night inside. This year (and winter has been really mild for us) she has PJ's on every night/day, and the only time she goes 'nudie' outside is if we're walking/off leash exercising. She has eaten less, and maintained her weight (even putting on a little weight) easily. It's something that is accepted science with horses (and sheep) and I'd say it applies to dogs too.

A smaller dog (Ridgys= greater coat surface area/body mass= better able to regulate body heat) is less able to control heat loss and therefore burns more energy to keep warm.

Please note!! I'm in no way suggesting that I think your dog's chilly, or that you're not keeping him warm enough- just that, like mine, sometimes they use valuable calories in winter keeping warm (without us knowing, ie no shaking or anything), and therefore their energy needs increase :) It's something I'm only really just realizing, and (I think) it can have a big effect on body condition.

[kelpiecuddles]

Makes sense. the girls sleep inside and I'm pretty wussy so my house stays warm at night, around 16 degrees but they are out during the day no matter what the weather is like(unless it's disgusting weather!).

Edited August 9, 2013 by kelpiecuddles

[eschlachter]

Makes sense. the girls sleep inside and I'm pretty wussy so my house stays warm at night, around 16 degrees but they are out during the day no matter what the weather is like(unless it's disgusting weather!).

My OH thinks that it's not cold till it's -5 INside, so we have a very repetitive argument about what a good sleeping temperature is! I usually win (lol) but the coats have made such a difference- if someone had told me that last winter, I would've said hmm, not cold enough in my house to make a difference- but this year I experimented, and was very surprised. Particularly when the 'literature' makes the assumption that all Ridgys are hardy, and can deal well with temps from 0-35. They can, but not without an impact on overall condition... :)