What to feed a dog to gain wieght?

[GreyhoundGirl]

What to feed a dog to gain wieght? I've seen many brands of dog food designed for wieght loss, but none for wieght gain.

Jenny has been losing wieght for a while, now. we took her ( and a lovely stool sample ) to the vet to see if something was wrong with her but he said the only thing wrong with her is that she's too skinny.

I know Greyhounds should be skinny, but she seems TOO skinny. I mean, she won't hold still enough to measure accuratly, but she's about 25-30 inches and only around 20-25 lbs. I'll try and put on a photo, but literally, she's only skin and bone.

She seems really healthy, though... She runs full speed for 2 hrs each day through the forest, she's doing well in agility and she's eating all her meals. She is already eating a LOT, but i think she's just burning it off.

HELP ME !!! should I change food, to a higher calorie food or just feed her more?

BONES YOU CAN SEE: ( all measures are from 5 ft away )

8 ribs

2 hip bones ( easily ! )

all the veines and detail in her legs ( her legs are about an inch in diameter )

HELP !!!

[Danegirl2208]

umm.. a 20lb greyhound???

[Danegirl2208]

i just dont see how a greyhound can be 30" and 20lbs ...the average weight for a female greyhound is over 60lbs

[bckrazy]

I would also think she wouldn't be able to run 2 hours a day if she was less than half of her ideal body weight. :/ Hopefully that was an exaggeration.

What kibble are you feeding her? If it is based on fillers, it'll go right through her, and for some dogs that means they'll be unable to keep weight on. Go for a high-meat kibble such as Canidae or Innova Evo. Add supplemental meats, and give her a satin ball or two every day (do a search for "satin balls" to find out the recipe). You want her to gradually put the weight on and keep it on. If you're able to, raw feeding helps many dogs keep a healthy weight on.

[GreyhoundGirl]

It's purina 1 and she's eating 2 1/2 cups a day for her wieght I think she only needs 1 1/2. I'm not sure why she's so skinny. ( the vet wasn't much help ) People at agility were commenting on it that she's skinnier but they said to add stuff to her food.

What should I add? Gravy? Oil?

[GreyhoundGirl]

P.s. on the recipie, what is total cerial?

[wolfsoul]

Purina One is a low-quality food and it's filled with fillers -- she isn't getting enough nutrition.

I agree with Satin Balls. Total Cereal is a brand of cereal. Personally I would skip it, it contains BHT, a carcinogenic preservative. Oatmeal is a good replacement, but it may cause gas.

I know a good food for gaining weight is Natural Balance Duck and Potato. For some reason dogs gain weight on it; I think it's the duck. It doesn't have any grains either.

The only thing Visa keeps a good weight on is a raw diet. She does so well on it, I'd highly consider it if I were you. It's so healthy.

[GreyhoundGirl]

Raw food sounds kinda.....nasty. I've never seen any of those kinds of food here. Or cereal. I've seen oatmeal ( duh ) but Jenny's already got bad enough gas.

As to those satin balls, are egg shells even good for dogs? Jenny has a tendency to hurl things like that so I don't want to try anything too different. Come to think of it, she would probably hurl up raw food too. So far the only food she doesn't really hurl is Alpo, Iams and Purina 1. Do sweet potatoes have any wieght gain sorta things in them, because she doesn't hulr up sweet potatoes.

very

[dragondawg]

It's hard to imagine a dog at less than 50% of its ideal weight would be running around active for 2 hrs a day.

Regardless... has the Vet run "tick titers" to check for tick borne disease? Did they run a liver profile and check kidney function? Secondary might be to look for digestive enzyme levels, and even run an ultra-sound.

It's encouraging the dog has an appetite, and at that low of weight it should be on free choice. I'd get it off Purina and place it on a high quality dog food perferably the Puppy or Performance formulas which offer high protein and high fat. I use the Propet brand which isn't stocked widely by stores. Some of the higher priced dog foods (you get what you pay for) would also be suitable. If this solves the problem, you can always shift down to a maintenance formula later on. You should be aiming for a 25-30% protein and 10-15% fat dog food for a dog that underweight.

But again before you focus on diet, get the dog tested for tick disease, and liver function at a minimum. Eliminate underlying disease conditions first.

[lv4dogs]

Have you had any bloodwork done on the dog? If not I strongly reccomend doing so.

the vet wasn't much help

Perhaps seek a second opinion.

[bckrazy]

Wow... Alpo? Seriously, you need to consider switching her to a high quality food. My sister has her Lab on a grocery store brand similar to Purina One at one point, and he became dangerously thin even with tons of food. Switching him to a higher quality food and giving him extra meats & satin balls completely brought him to a healthy weight.

I am saying, IMO, you need to switch her to a premium kibble... like Natural Balance, which is available at any Petco. You must have feed stores in the area, they carry many good brands. Low quality food is ok, whatever, as long as your dog is healthy. If she isn't, that is a red flag for you to switch her to a healthier food with actual meat in it! Being skinny for so long will definitely have horrible side affects - I've seen healthy dogs first-hand who have been too thin for too long and developed hip dysplasia because the muscles on the hips were not built enough.

To answer your question, no, eggs with shells are not damaging to dogs at all. My dogs eat raw eggs with the shell daily & they love it. Just don't include the shell if it bothers you. Oatmeal is actually known to be gentle on sensitive stomaches. Please don't knock it til you try it, satin balls are a great tool to give your dog extra nutrients and fats, which your dog desperately needs.

Also, I find feeding kibble chock full of gross, nutrition-less fillers and animal by-products (which includes but is not limited to: hair, sawdust, feces, teeth, feet, & feathers) a LOT nastier than feeding clean, whole raw meat. Just my opinion.

[Danegirl2208]

very well said bckrazy!! Agreed!!!

[GreyhoundGirl]

ok, i'm going to try and answer everything:

"Have you had any bloodwork done on the dog? If not I strongly reccomend doing so."

Yes, the vet did it, but told us she was fine, just too skinny. ( people started getting turned-off when you could see all the bones in her spine. Eww.

And I never feed her Alpo, that was what her previous owners feed her.

I got her the high-calorie purina 1 for active dogs. It has 16 % fat. And 26% protien.

"Which is available at any petco" We don't have a petco here. And I've never seen Natural Balance

I tried giving her some of the things in that recipie, I didn't have everything, so I sorta fooled around with it.

Yesterday, she gained 2 lbs ! Yay !

Thanks for your help !

[GreyhoundGirl]

Today we went to the vet. AGAIN !!! Since May, she has gained 1.2 Kilograms, Congrats ! ( I'm saying congrats to my dog, who won't ever be reading this... Am I crazy ? )

The vet also gave her a once-over and said that about another 10 lbs or so and she should be good. 10 lbs? I thought she would need more than that... The vet said to put it on her slowly, as not to cause too many negative effects. ( Well, duh ! I was thinking )

How heavy should she be when I stop trying to make her gain wieght? I don't think she'll ever be 65 lbs- the average for a female grey. I think between 30-40 would make her look about perfect.

Is it all about looks, or could she be too skinny even if she looked perfect? I just don't know ? ! Argg....

[GreyhoundGirl]

Now Jenny has gained a LOT of wieght in a short time. She now weighs... Something, I'll post tommaro. Here is a pic. ( finally ) Is this fat enough for her to stop gaining wieght?

Birds eye view.