Food to put weight on?

[Acolyte]

Depending on what the vet says tomorrow morning, I think that there is nothing more I can do with my greyhound Jura other than try and build her weight back up and continue to monitor her

Does anyone have any suggestions about food which will put weight on without upsetting her stomach? I feed her sardines, tripe, and Hills Science Diet (all-in-one food) at the moment

 

[Blythebeck]

When my oldest bitch was younger, she was a picky eater and ate very little and was very skinny. I tried many different foods and the only one that put weight on her with small amounts was eukanuba for working dogs. I thinks its called performance?

 

[Luce1504]

I can also second the working dog food, when my border collie was younger she was horrendous at trying to keep weight on until we put her on beta active, which is a working dog food. She's however gone the opposite way in her old age and is on light now!

 

[Maesfen]

Raw flesh will put weight on in a blink although it's not very easy to come by unless you're a puppy walker or can get to the butchers regularly!

Have you tried leaving food down for her so she can eat when she wants to, that sometimes makes a big difference.
When our vet suggested it for our lot (bassets, border terriers and lurchers) I thought he was nuts and they would get like the side of a house. We got through a big bag (15kg) in two days; the dogs thought all their birthdays had come at once!

) they never left the dish alone. By the 3rd day they were full and wouldn't even touch a biscuit, even the Bassets and none of them ate anything that day until the evening when I think they were surprised it was still there, only had a mouthful each and were full. Ever since then, the bowl is hardly ever empty but they all line up in an orderly queue to take their turn in the morning and dribble feed whenever they feel like it. Because they know it's always there there is no great rush to eat it all at once and after the first week while they got themselves sorted out, none of them have put weight on, even the Bassets which is some achievement believe me!

This method really seems to suit their systems so it might be worth a go for yours.

 

[Acolyte]

Thanks everyone, those are some really helpful suggestions

I took her back again to the vets today and he confirmed (after £500 of treatment

and many trips there) that he can find no medical reason why she is so thin

He has given me some tonic called 'Equi-sup' which is designed for horses - it contains iron and something else - apparently they sometimes give it to greyhounds newly into the rescue kennels when they are very thin. I am also going to try and feed her 4 times a day now instead of twice in an attempt to get her to eat more.

MFH I am fascinated by your idea of trickle feeding, my lurcher would have a field day

as I imagine yours did, but I do believe it works if even your Bassets aren't fat

Perhaps I will be brave enough to try it.... And I hadn't even thought of raw meat, it would explain why my BF's working labradors are so fat as they get it quite a lot, he has a good relationship with the local butcher so I will see what I can get from there

Thanks again for the ideas, I have to take Jura back for another anabolic steroid injection in 3 weeks time (which I am not keen on due to her bad heart murmur) so I am really hoping that she will have put some weight on by then. Keeping my fingers crossed

 

[Spot_the_Risk]

Hi, I would suggest you change onto a puppy food (probably stick with a Hills one although I can recommend others if you want). Puppy food is for growth, and should help Jura a lot.

 

[skinnydogs]

Try lamb breast (raw) and give her 3 meals a day.
Green tripe, liver and chicken wings are all good for
weight gain.

 

[Acolyte]

Not sure whether Mum has got any Hills puppy food in, I will have to check - I rather prefer paying £10 a sack than the £28 a sack my vets charge

Jura loves green tripe - the smell makes me heave - I think I'm going to have to invest in a clothes peg for me

the end results will be worth it

 

[Damnation]

There is a food that I used on my older dog after his 2 operations, he was skinny before them and a rather fussy eater with a very sensitive stomach, after not eating for a week he looked like a rescue case! And this was a labrador lo! I used this tinned dog food called Chappie. Vets have reccomended it. Its good for fussy eaters, dogs with sensitive stomachs and dogs that need to put weight onto, it worked after about 3 weeks on Orry, he is a now a good weight

 

[Acolyte]

Excellent idea - especially as Chappie is cheap and easily available

Unfortunately the smell of it makes me heave, but I am sure Jura would love it in that case - off to the supermarket tonight