Thought I would ask, in case anyone has been in the same position. Blake is really underweight. He is a beautiful..quite tall, working line labrador around 18 months old and castrated around 12 days ago. I would think he needs to gain around 8 - 10kgs in weight (he weighs around 17 kgs) He is due at the vets later this week, can't take him yet due to importation regulations. So, he needs to build lean muscle. His appetite is very good, he gobbles down food so we have him on 3 small meals a day. We currently have Blake on Royal Canin duck and rice for sensitive tums, wanted initially to feed him something gentle. His has been fine on this and bowels normal. I am thinking a dog food with reasonable protein levels and high fat levels?
Duck is really good. And yes, high protein and fat. I don't have trouble putting weight on Charlie, but have had to do it when he got a bit too slim after his second op. I don't know if you've seen my post on ziwipeak - it costs an arm and a leg, but I reckon it would be absolutely fantastic for putting weight on a dog safely and without high volumes of carbs that would come from feeding normal kibble.... http://www.ziwipeak.co.uk/
Thank you JulieT...I am going to investigate that dog food. I think he needs something low volume but high in density..good levels of quality protein and fats
Sam has duck and rice, Skinners field and trial range, his tummy can be iffy and yet this suits him . Its a minefield , this dog food investigating , so good luck Kate, he looks lovely x
A website I read suggests increasing their protein and vitamin intake by adding 'human food' to their diet in the form of vegetables, meat, chicken and fish (in small portions). Another suggestion is good quality puppy food as it has a higher protein content etc. I think your approach of adding a meal probably works just as well as you don't necessarily want to increase his other meals too much.
You could try adding some tripe to his food. You can buy 'free flow frozen tripe' I defrost enough for a couple of days to put on the top of their dried food. Keep it in a plastic box with lid and there will be no smell!
Well today he has had lots of healthy homemade treats. quality food and an entire salted caramel muffin that I was rather looking forward to...
He just needed something to offset all that healthy food and to save you from consuming all those bad calories and fats
I know that you know this Kate, but just for the benefit of those that don't know. Simply eating the right food on its own is not enough to build muscle (no more so in dogs than it is in humans). The body needs to undertake exercise that challenges existing muscles. The body's response to this is to try to build more muscle - and to do this it needs the appropriate nutrition and adequate rest. So, work hard, eat sensibly, and sleep well (Although I'm pretty sure that the odd salted caramel muffin helps with the process )
I am very interested in nutrition (human and canine) and I think i have read many studies that concur that salted caramel muffins are intrinsic in a healthy recovery. And a healthy forum. So, you'd best get your baking gloves on
When I worked in the kennels if we were trying to get a dog to put on weight we would add a couple of handfuls of pasta to each meal. As well as finding a food that agrees with them (last thing you want is a skinny dog with diarrhoea!) and is good for them nutritionally. As others have mentioned the right exercise regime is also important for muscle tone.
Yes you are absolutely right. Blake was a bit wobbly on his pins to start with. We are giving him lots of exercise, allowing him plenty of opportunities to explore the fields at his own pace. Although he adores retrieving.. but have to limit that a bit as had a heart stopping moment when he leapt 6 foot in the air and caught the frisbee!
Blake has had his first vet visit and weighs just 21kg. He should weigh around 30 -35kg as he has a big frame (closer to Pongo than Benson or Casper) The vet is happy with our regime, 3 meals a day, with our own organic eggs, lamb and chicken, on top of Millies Wolfheart..salmon and veg with salmon oil as a supplement. Thinking of moving Blake onto Nutriment, as we have a local stockist. Already he seems to have gained a little weight. His anaemia has resolved, looking pinker now which is good. He has a horrid abscess on his back, which is being treated, but may need surgery. So going to have a think about the best nutrition for would healing.
Oh the poor boy with an abscess just as his anaemia is better. Hopefully the healthy diet will help his body to heal as well as gain weight.
I bet he can't believe his luck getting such lovely food! He landed on his paws when he found you, for sure. Hope the abscess clears up...
J wants to know if he can come and have dinner at yours, if that's what's on offer! Poor boy with the abscess. That must be sore. Is it from a wound?
Another visit to the vet.. (last week..) and Royal Canin C21 was advised. Basically after a few days here his tummy became a bit unsettled and the vet thought he may be sensitive to something. Went with this for a few days..and we are a little concerned. When we researched the right diet for a malnourished and very thin dog, bearing in mind this situation has been on-going for likely for fair few months. The article talked more in terms of calories, as well as the importance of high fat (around 20%) and high protein (30%) Other factors, regarding multiple meals, start slow etc...were also discussed, from this we are aiming for a total calorie intake of 1,600 per day (need to check spreadsheet on that one..) based on the weight Blake should be...which we estimate at 28-30kg Could be different, but a bit hard to tell as this point. His confirmation does suggests he is a naturally slim dog. Looking in more detail at the royal canin C21 (dry) it has a low fat percentage,(9%) and low protein (21%) content certainly not in the region of 18-20% fat and 30% protein that i have read. Also the fibre content seems a little high and the rest must be in the form of carbs. Going back a bit...our vet, very kind he has waived the consultation fees so far, however, I am a bit concerned re: recommendations. eg: have continued on the original antibiotics from Cyprus and not switched. Waiting for some blood chemistry results (after a LOT of nagging) they are coming over tomorrow from Cyprus. Also considering just taking him straight to our local veterinary teaching hospital Langford Hospital. Will see what the Cyprus test results look like first though, and obviously have another chat with our vet, he has been so supportive so far. So with all this in mind we are having a rethink. Our plan: move to chicken and rice for a couple of days, with a good pro biotic. Then find a very good quality, high protein, high fat food combined with a good pro biotic to help with the possible disruption of gut flora. Blake is in himself fantastic. He is now much much calmer. Settling really well. Great off lead, great on lead. A really fast learner...he was taught a down cue in less than 5 minutes..
It's a minefield all this food business. Poor Blake but what a nice vet you have to wave the fees I don't know if it helps Kate, but when we got Charlie he was very underweight and we put him on Fish4Dogs high protein, under our vets supervision she told us to put him on 800 grams per day split into lots of meals. It worked and he filled out but it's a real balancing act with him and we have to watch his weight carefully or it can drop, he is on 500 grams per day with tinned Sardines or the occasional chicken carcass etc. Good boy Blaker a quick learner, that always helps xx
I've never heard of C21 - I've used SC21 and there are a billion different versions of it, every from and volume of protein and carbs you can imagine....it's usually used because of the single protein and single carb sources, to exclude everything else. That's it's purpose. It wouldn't really be my choice to put weight on a dog. I do hope you get sorted with this, it's stressful finding the right diet. But Blake is in the very best of hands with you!
