Newbie, needing advice Please!!

Missy76 · #1 12-09-10, 01:04 PM

Hi, I am a newbie here. I have a couple of questions and wondered if any of you could help me.

In August I adopted a 1 year old , he is absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately he had a very rough start in life, his previous owner was a Drug dealer that wanted a status symbol not a dog to love and care for, after countless beatings etc, he ran away and was picked up by the local council and taken to a very good rescue home. I was hooked the very first time I saw him.

Anyway when we took him home he was very under nourished. So we settled him in, he is very happy, sleeps well, and is very loving. We walk him twice a day, each for about an hour, we must walk at least 3 miles a day, with running around the park with his Kong etc.

We are feeding him his kibble (recommended amount each day), he gets either sausages, 100% beef burgers, or chicken breast, with either rice, pasta or boiled potatos, in order to give hime plenty of Carb's. The only problem we are having is that he isn't putting on any weight, he isn't loosing it but no matter what we do we cannot get weight on him. I know it will take a little while, but we are concerned. He weighs at the moment 34 kilos at the moment, but we are told he needs to put on at least another 5 or 6.

Can anyone suggest some ideas of what to feed him to try and boost his weight? Other than being under weight he is perfectly healthy, happy and settled. his muscle definition is perfect, he is wormed, de-flea'd and his jabs are all up to date as well.

I look forward to hearing any suggestion as I am concerned about him

Thank you

Missy

Shrap · #2 12-09-10, 03:49 PM

Hiya, glad you've done so well settling him in

by no means am I an expert but I thought dogs find carbs hard to digest. Google it and you should find some info. Also if you look on some raw feeding sites it will tell you more about their digestive systems etc. You could try feeding less carbs And more protein/fat. Does he look skinny? He might just be lighter.. I'm sure some more experienced members will give you a hand soon.
Rachel

kizzy · #3 12-09-10, 04:53 PM

Hello and welcome.
Your dog sounds as though he is now in his perfect forever home and you are doing a good job with him.
I am not an expert on feeding, so won't suggest anything. You are giving him good walks and exercise each day, so that will make him burn off what he eats.
My Cassie is 8yrs old and she gets good long walks and exercise each day and her weight remains at 35kg.

jesterjenn · #4 12-09-10, 05:13 PM

Tripe is brilliant for putting on weight

Maybe he is just burning the amount you give him with all his exercise

Would it be worth trying a higher fat content food??

Stuart · #5 12-09-10, 05:37 PM

Hi Missy, welcome to the forum,

How tall is the dog?, [ whats his name ], it would be good to know his weight compared to his hieght,. measure to the weither [ Shoulder ],..I much prefer a slender dog who has the right muscle with little fat.

What kind of kibble are you feeding him?, some are a lot better than others, check the ingredient, and try not to buy the ones that have a lot of grain produce in them,. they are just fillers and do your dog very little good.

I am a RAW feeder, so I would also suggest that way of feeding, but thats a big step, and may not be good for you

Missy76 · #6 12-09-10, 11:58 PM

Hi Stuart, thank you for your response.....

I named him Methos, a long story but it is a character from the Highlander series which i love!!!

He is roughly 25ins to his shoulders, he is only one, but has very big feet and most people I meet remark on how big his feet are and say he will be a very big dog.

I feed him on CSJ food, which he has taken too brilliantly. At the kennels they had him on puppy kibble which he wasn't getting on with coupled with Chappie tinned food which gave him the runs. So we did a lot of research and found this CSJ food and it has been briiliant for his stools, his coat and energy levels. He is also fed a Dentastik each day along with a couple of Bonios inbetween meals. I bulk his meals with meat and either pasta potatos or rice in addition.

I don't think i could cope with the raw feeds, I can't personally handle cooking raw meet for a curry or stuff like that, so that isn't an option for me i'm afraid.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Missy.

#7 13-09-10, 05:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Missy76

Hi Stuart, thank you for your response.....

I named him Methos, a long story but it is a character from the Highlander series which i love!!!

He is roughly 25ins to his shoulders, he is only one, but has very big feet and most people I meet remark on how big his feet are and say he will be a very big dog.

I feed him on CSJ food, which he has taken too brilliantly. At the kennels they had him on puppy kibble which he wasn't getting on with coupled with Chappie tinned food which gave him the runs. So we did a lot of research and found this CSJ food and it has been briiliant for his stools, his coat and energy levels. He is also fed a Dentastik each day along with a couple of Bonios inbetween meals. I bulk his meals with meat and either pasta potatos or rice in addition.

I don't think i could cope with the raw feeds, I can't personally handle cooking raw meet for a curry or stuff like that, so that isn't an option for me i'm afraid.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Missy.

He's still young so will fill out a bit as he matures. Mine was a skinny boy at a year old 28kg, now nearly two he's 40kg but a tall dog. The only thing that put muscle on him was RAW diet which he thrives on now. Its very energy rich but for you maybe give him more cooked protein like the chicken etc.

Caryll · #8 13-09-10, 08:20 PM

I'd cut out the sausages & beefburgers - they'll do him no good at all.

Have you tried tripe? I know you don't like raw meat (neither do I, I'm a vegetarian!) but you can get frozen minced tripe from the larger pet shops & all you need to do is thaw it & put it in his bowl! Tripe will usually put weight on a dog & they generally love it. (It's also cheap!)

LOVEGSD · #9 14-09-10, 11:36 AM

Hello and welcome

I would be wary about piling too much weight on him, he's still a baby and has a lot of filling out to do naturally. My lad was always on the slender side and in fact even now he's not the heaviest GSD but he looks in fab condition.

Tripe is an excellent way to bulk out kibble, plus most dogs love it. I would steer clear of beef burgers, sausages and all the carbs. The only time my lad every gets carbs is if he's been ill, he'll get boiled fish and mash potato.

Xenos · #10 14-09-10, 12:35 PM

Methos is lovely! How wonderful that you've adopted him. Poor guy went through hell with his previous "handler."

We've just begun our pup on Blue Buffalo for similar reasons (thin legs!). I'm told it really helps. If they carry it in the UK, try it. There is one to avoid in the line however, and it's the "Wilderness Chicken Formula." The company says they are working on balancing that one a bit better. You'll know which one it is - it has a wolf on the label.

Tripe is supposed to be very helpful too, as the others have suggested. I've not tried it yet however to comment.