French Mastiff/Douge De Bourdeux

LittleMonster

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Hello,

I havent been on this part of the forum! so Hello all!

I was wondering if you had any tips on fattening up a bit,

shes 3 1/2 Full douge de bourdeux, but being the runt i believe (she is a rescue) im at my wits end trying to help her put a bit of meat on her bones, she has two meals a day (2 scoops of Burns) she has a funny stomach and cant take that much meat or she throws up :(:(:(
Walked mornings and afternoon/evenings (twice a day, round the block in the morning and longer walks in the afternoon)

I'm thinking about trialing 3 meals a day?
i dont know what to do (shes been vet checked as she has previously had a lump of skin on her foot)

is it because she is the runt of the litter that she will be quite skinny?
 
I'm wondering how long you've had her from the rescue ?

My Bullmastiffs were rescues and lean when I had them but over time on good portions and good quality food they have naturally filled out. I never set out to fatten them up so to speak it happened as part of a normal diet.
 
we have had her from 6 months, its only when writing this thread i realised its been three years! :eek:

The scoop we use is a small aluminum one (same a horse scoops) i think its equel to two handfuls (i have small hands)

i will find a picture, but i think the fact she hasnt put on any weight is because she was the runt and mistreated.
shes a dream dog i have spent time with her shes off the lead when in the park comes back as soon as asked so shes happy in herself. i just wnated to know if her weight problems could be helped or maybe it is because of her start in life :(:(

She is my big baby (would say little but shes rather big hahha)

In this one you can she her ribs (its not her skin)
rubya.jpg


Just because shes cute and sloppery!
ruby.jpg
 
Sounds like you aren't feeding enough. Can you please weigh or give a volume of the scoop and which Burns are you feeding?
Can you get better photos - side on or from directly above?
 
I will try giving her a extra meal a day, and i will get better pictures!

Dont get me wrong she has put a bit of weight on since being with us, and has built up her muscle (shes run around the park and i take her for a 5 min run when its a nice day and we/she feels up to it)

i forgot to mention when feeding her she trys to gulp it down (we put gravy in) quickly which hasn't been fun.. we are on our third rug now... (she wolf it down then goes and throws up...) so maybe feeding her the same amount per meals but more meals would help?

i may try also adding in fish to her diet lika few mentioned above, but i think i will start off adding a bit at a time to introduce her tummy to it,

sorry to be a pain!
 
You have to feed quite a lot of Burns. H used to be on it and he got 1 1/2 builders mugs twice a day to get the recommended amount (he's quite a skinny dog too). That was prob at least 6 handfuls of food a day and your boy is a lot bigger than H! (H is 30kgs)

H is not skinny now he is on a fish based foods. He was on fish4dogs, but now on Fishmongers which is the PetsAtHome food mentioned above. (The recommended quantity fed is also less than you have to give of Burns)
 
Thank you for all your replies!!

I think i may need to change her feed then... All your advice is very helpful! im not too good as i dont want to just keep swapping her food as it may upset her stomach! i may go and get a small bag of th Fish4dogs (i belive it is called) and try and mix it gradually with the burns to see if she gets an upset stomach.

You can scatter the food (without gravy!!) on the floor, put a large rock in the bowl or get a bowl with raised bumps to slow her down.

hee hee! :D that could be interesting with gravy... hahah!
i may try and find a bowl with raised bumps do you know where i can get one?
 
Stick 'slow feed dog bowl' into Google and there should be plenty of shopping results.

Fishmongers from Pets at Home is quite good, I've been using it for hand feeding although I end up smelling quite ripe :p
 
read the back of the packet and weigh it out on some scales to check you are feeding enough

Fishmongers works out cheaper than Fish4dogs ;)
 
just googled 'slow feed dog bowl' and i think i will be purchasing one! thank goodness its nearly pay day!!

I think if i hand feed mine she would just Droooollll all over me! lol!
Thank you agian CaveCanem :D
 
You can get the same effect as a slow feed dog bowl by feeding in a large bowl (aka washing up bowl) and adding a couple of large cobbles.

Which Burns food are you using as they are very varied and why that particular food?
 
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