hello, I know most people struggle to control the weights of their dogs so they don’t become overweight, well my boy is getting bony despite upping his food allowance with vet advice, giving more treats (with training being newly trained to tasks for assistance dog), and giving him ‘cakes’. Any ideas what else I can do to help him gain weight in the correct way while keeping him healthy and allowing him to have plenty of exercise? Thank you
Definitely not a question you see to often here! My Rottie boy had a problem with skinnitude. I cooked from scratch for him and when I needed to fatten him up, I'd increase his protein percentage, add more oily fish (salmon, sardines), organ meats (liver) and oils (olive, flax seed). Eggs aren't really high calorie, but they're also good digestible protein. Also I'd increase his two meals a day to three. I didn't up the quantity really, just the ingredient balance and frequency. I've also heard of people that swear by home-made meatballs (ground beef, eggs) as a way to put on weight, but I never tried it so don't have any tried and true meatball recipes to share.
Great thank you, I will look into some meatball recipes which I could take out with me then. I actually cook for my cat due to her allergies so this wouldn’t be alien, just on a dog nutrition level, which I have done some Canine courses so have the basis. I wondered if there was suggested ways to start with rather then me just doing something though. Thanks for tips. Hope your boy got to a healthier weight in end.
He was always going up and down, so I just got good at adjusting and keeping him at a good but light weight. He also wasn't all that enthusiastic about food, which I understand likely won't be a problem if I ever get my Lab!
Thanks for suggestion, he doesn’t have any of the typical symptoms though luckily. Yes my lab is very quick to bolt to get anything on the floor if I’m not quick to tell him to leave it, I have to constantly look ahead and be ready for anything to tell him or he will gobble it. Enjoy your lab.
My boy tends to the skinny. As a puppy, he was terribly skinny at times; each growth spurt saw him going up and in. If I fed him more, he got the squits. How old is Baloo? In the end with Shadow, I just increased his food allowance very, very gradually and he got there in the end. He's three years old now and it's a lot easier to keep weight on him. If Baloo is still a puppy, then volume of food could be an issue as too much volume can lead to diarrhoea, so I'd be looking for calorie-dense foods that have a lot of calories for a smaller volume. Things like sardines, either raw or tinned, can help.
Hi @EDSandBaloo it would help if you let us know what you are currently feeding and pups age. Adding more treats isn't necessarily the best way to go but not many dogs will complain
That’s what the charity has suggested to do who my assistance dog is from. He is nearly 20 months old. He has purina pro plan.
Jubilee was very scrawny- she seemed almost fragile, but the vet said she was healthy and not to worry that she would fill out when she was 3. He was right. She is still thin but is much sturdier looking.
I would be looking to change his food to something of better quality. Pro plan only deliver 20% meat protein and the next ingredients are maize and wheat. Maize and wheat can deliver good nutrition but they are both quite hard to digest. If you look on www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk you can compare Pro Plan to other available foods of better quality.
