Skinny Dogs

[rebekah_ashby]

Hi all,

I have one very skinny dog and one fairly normal dog, though still on teh skinny side. They do not have worms and have been checked out by the vet so are healthy but I just can't seem to get the little one to put on any weight, his bones stick out all over the place. Does anyone have any recipes or food sugestions. I can't give him anything with bones as he just chokes on them in his rush to get them down or get's extremely aggressive over them if i try to take it aways whn he is having trouble

thanks ;)

[Ruffles]

What do you currently feed them? What breeds are they? How old?

[rebekah_ashby]

The really skinny one is a maltese, around 5-6 years old, he was a stray when we got him so no real idea of how old he is. The other one is a terrier x around 2 years old. I was feedng them kangaroo meat and veggies, fruit for a while, that disn't seem to help. then I thought I'll feed em canned food as that's what most dogs eat and they seem to be on the more plump side but no luck. I've even tried feeding them big meals but that just seems to make em poop more and not put on any weight???

Bek

[bloss344]

I was feedng them kangaroo meat and veggies, fruit for a while, that disn't seem to help. then I thought I'll feed em canned food as that's what most dogs eat and they seem to be on the more plump side but no luck. I've even tried feeding them big meals but that just seems to make em poop more and not put on any weight???

Bek

Are they very active dogs?

Kangaroo meat is very low in fat, and therefore low in calories as are fruit and veggies. Tinned food has a high percentage of water so again you need to feed a massive amount to put on weight, actually tinned food is great for them to loose weight. Sometimes feeding more frequent meals helps. A meat with a higher percentage of fat like beef or lamb should help, some pet shops sell a puppy mince that is beef with extra fat in it. You could also add some oil to their food for extra calories. If you want to feed a commercial food, a good quality one shouldn't increase the amount of poop, but they are all different. Any changes you make to their diet should be slow, especially if you are adding extra fat which might upset their tummies a bit initially. You might like to try some well cooked rice or even pasta for a while to see if that puts on a bit of weight.

It's great that the vet said all is fine with them.

I'm sure you'll get lots of helpful advice here.

[Ruffles]

Canned food wont help as it is full of water and not much else.

If you want to feed a dry food try a premium one for active dogs. It has more fat and carbs. I use Eukanuba Performance Large breed for Rinse as its impossible to keep weight on her.

You could also try feeding more fatty raw foods... Chicken necks and wings are fatty and with the wings you'd find that they couldnt chomp them down too fast because of the harder bones.

Damn you got in first Bloss!

Edited April 12, 2006 by Ruffles

[rebekah_ashby]

thanks for advice guys will try it out well except for the necks and wings, he tries to swallow them whole then tries to bite me while he's choking and I'm trying to fish them out of his throat ;)

[morgan]

Sounds like he has serious issues about food - often if they have been badly underfed for ages, they will treat every scrap of food like their last. Can you leave some good quality dry food down for him 24/7 for a while in addition to meat, sardines etc?

This way he would learn not to bolt his food, and there wouldn't be so much to clean up at the other end..

[greyhoundangel]

One of our adopted greyhounds we found out was fed on fruit, because she liked it, not only was she a skeleton and she had some bleeding from the gut...

Chicken Mince and Mutton Mince have a good amount of fat, and you can also include lard and Canola oil to their meals...

Mel xx

Edited April 12, 2006 by greyhoundangel

[dogbesotted]

kangaroo is very low in fats and dogs require a good %of fat in their diet( around 30% plus). Maybe add some satin balls to his meals. usually work well in putting condition of thin dogs.

[t-time]

I'm with dogbesotted - go the satin balls ;) Just do a search and you'll find the recipe

Canned food is yuck - a lot of water as mentioned by the others and yep, the more of it you feed, the more poop you'll get ;) It goes right through them.

I am an advocate of raw feeding too but if its too much hassle for you, do buy a quality kibble (preferably a product for active dogs or for puppies as you need to get the weight on and as mentioned your dog needs more fat in its diet) and start adding it to their dinners little by little. Eventually ditch the canned food - like in a couple of weeks time. Add some mince to the kibble - preferably human grade or specially prepared puppy mince ( more fat) and add a little natural yoghurt.

DO give meaty bones. I have little dogs and if you feed BIGGER bones, he/she will not "inhale" them - hence you won't need to get your fingers bitten off. Instead of a meal, provide your maltese with a whole chicken FRAME or a large lamb flap with bones in it. He cannot possibly swallow it whole. The bones are essential for his teeth and I imagine the teeth of a 6 yr old rescued malt would not be great. Go BIGGER with the bones.

Feed the malt twice a day or maybe even 3 times a day if you can. He/she needs a little extra to get the weight back on. Whole chicken frame in the morning, meal at regular feed time. Keep in mind that malts are "light on" and you don't actually want a FAT dog! Also a rescue case that may have been underfed in the past, is likely to scoff as much food as quickly as possible - the vomiting sounds like its happening as a result of that. Place some large stones in his food bowl so that he has to eat around the stones.

Because he is a rescue, feed him alone. Give him a little more time to eat his food in peace. I would still remove the food after half an hour (leave him to his bone though). If you leave kibble out, you are asking for problems with your other dog and the malt's food aggression.

You have 2 issues. 1) skinny Maltese - needs a better diet as above 2) food aggression - do a search on the training forum about this issue. Your dog should not be doing this and you need to ensure that he/she IS getting bones and fresh meat without choking or biting you.

PHEW! Apologies for the long post but I hope you'll find something in it to help your skinny dog! ;)

[Zorro_007]

As previously mentioned, canned food is 75% water and roo meat is wayyyy too lean. Bear in mind that a change of diet has to be done very gradually otherwise you are going to end up with 2 very sick dogs with gastroenteritis. Introduce a new diet a little bit at a time whilst still feeding some of that extraordinarily lean diet that you have been feeding till now. Go the BARF way, much cheaper and much much healthier without all the preservatives and additives that most commercial foods have. Chicken pet mince mixed with cooked rice and some vegs added in will be great for putting on weight; chicken necks are also very good and a great source of calcium and also great for the toothy picks. If you must feed a commercial diet then I would opt for Supercoat as it is natural, it's made here in australia and they are not guilty of inflicting horrendous pain to dogs in the name of experimenting like Iams/Eukanuba are....any TRUE animal lover would never want to be guilty of funding such a company by buying their products

[sas]

I'm noted with the ability to make a skinny dogs fat hehehehe

With skinny dogs we feed numerous small meal such as chicken frames, wings, necks etc Also feed barf patties and a high quality kibble.

I stay away from Supercoat as it's upset the tummies of any dog I have tried it with.....poo through an eye of a needle type upset tummy.

I am a true animal lover and I think Iams/Eukanuba products are very good, I would not choose an inferior product because of the publicity they have recieved in recent years (not that I agree with it, but this shouldn't be a political topic), so I don't appreciate that notion Zorro, I think you'll find a great deal of people on this forum use these products because they are of a high quality.

[Zorro_007]

Sas, this is a forum for the sole purpose of exchanging ideas; I am not trying to offend anybody; I am sorry that you don't appreciate what I said about Iams but it happens to be the truth so I don't understand what my wrongdoing is. There is nothing political about my comment regarding Iams!! As an animal lover myself, I would not buy their product no matter how good I thought it was as it would play on my conscience with the knowledge that Iams have conducted horrific experiments on dogs, I wouldn't want my dogs to have to endure that kind of suffering so my heart goes out to those poor dogs in the Iams laboratory. This is only my opinion and to each their own but surely I should be allowed to express it without certain individuals getting all high and mighty ;)

BTW - I know for a fact that Iams/Eukanuba were using BHA, BHT and ETHOXYQUIN, which are cancer-causing preservatives, how then can you consider this a healthy product, have you checked to ensure that these noxious preservatives are no longer used? I haven't checked in the last 12 months because it isn't the kind of product that I would feed my dogs even if it were available for free...

Edited April 14, 2006 by Zorro_007

[Ruffles]

I Love animals and am offended by your comment. I am going to feed my dogs what they do best on and that is Eukanuba.

How do you brush your teeth? Or wash your hair or do your washing?? without using products that have, at some point in time been tested on animals?

I do not agree with animal testing nor do I try and support it however being told that I do not love animals because I want my pets to be healthy is quite off putting.

I do not comment on people buying "supermarket" quality dry food for their dogs so I do not feel it necessary for you to comment on those who use Premium commercial food whether there has been bad publicity about them or not.

Sorry to be a bit off topic but you should keep opinions like that to yourself... Or if you must say something let it be along the lines of "I personally dont like Iams/Eukanuba products, how about this product instead"

[Norskgra]

I agree Ruffles. Everyone has their own preference for what they feed their dogs. That doesn't mean you run down other dry foods or people who feed their dogs certain dry food.

There are lots of dry that I don't like but I will normally only comment on what dry I would/do use and not on the others.

Zorro_007, you have only been a member of DOL for a week and you have managed to run down IAMS at least 5 times already. You may not like the compnay or their food but others do. Leave it at that.

[bommy]

Zorro oo7

I am offended too, but thats just me... on a side thought though you feed barf recommending chicken mince, where do you think the chickens come from?? chicken farms...living horrendous caged lives then being slaughtered & minced, how can a TRUE animal lover feed this??

THE fact of the matter is WE all have to feed what food is best for our dogs, not our political beliefs... me I wont touch BARF if I had a years supply for free... it just about killed one of my dogs.

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Rebekah_ashby

I would get a high protein food for a while & try that.....

otherwise a nice breaky of scrambled eggs & porridge with a few sardines followed up with their normal meal at tea time will fatten up any dog...

Good luck & let us know how you go

Edited April 17, 2006 by bommy

[Jefe's owners]

Don't stop the Roo meat... too high in protein but almost no fat (besides dogs love it). Same with the vegies. All you need to do is add some fat to its diet. The only way your dog is going to put weight is that its calories and fat intake is higher than its daily needs. Puppy food is very good for this.

We've had great results with our recue rotti. The base food is dry Nutrience Advance for large breeds. We complement this with puppy food which has a higher fat content. Then we would add something to make the food more interesting, like beef or chicken mince, silk balls, etc, we always vary those. As for ocassional treats (other than schmakos for training) we would give him lamb shanks, seaweed bones (can't remember name), but we hide those as a surprise on its kennel, bed and other places we want him to feel very confortable and relaxed.

Hope this helps.

[Staffy-Lover]

porridge in the morning with puppy milk - if he won't eat it, try mixing some doggy biscuits in with it or warming it up

meat (your choice), sweet potato (boiled and mashed) but not every night try mixing it with brocolli and other greens), and a good biscuit (can try one for active dogs as they have more calories, or try a puppy one that is atleast high in calcium etc) - for dinner

Don't overfeed as this just causes poop without the dog being able to digest the nutrition from the food and overloads the kidneys etc.

And little snacks of healthy treats here and there.

[Zorro_007]

DEAR OH DEAR.

To Bommy, Norskgra & Ruffles - I wish an apology was in order BUT I honestly don't think I have anything to apologise for.

I can't help it if your skin is ultra-thin and I don't regard what I said about Iams as 'running' them down; It is nothing other than a fact that those experiments were carried out and when is stipulating the truth considered as 'running' down something or someone?! What is this world coming to when one is made to feel like one is walking on hot coal when commenting about certain factual occurrences?

If I was inventing these stories then I could understand where you are all coming from but gee whiz just cause you insist on feeding your dogs Iams doesn't mean that you have to try and gag others from speaking about this. I can't believe how childish your attitudes are, grow up and grow a second layer of skin.

[Ruffles]

You shouldnt be calling us childish as we are not the ones making comments about what makes you an animal lover...

No one cares if you run down Iams or any other company but you are running down the people who use the brands you so hate.

This was not a "What do you think about this company" thread it was a "what will help my skinny dogs"... As I said before, all you had to say was "I dont like Iams/Eukanuba.. how about this product".