My dog needs more weight (pic).....how?! as he is neurotically fussy!

VictoriaEDT

VictoriaEDT

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Hi all

Got a problem! I have a 13month old Gordon Setter and I am having so much trouble keeping weight on him. He is healthy so no problems there but just too thin!

He is fed defrosted tripe (2 packs daily) and as much purina beta that he will eat. He is sooooo fussy though and mainly picks out all the tripe and turns his nose up at the rest. Cheeky monkey! Have tried nearly every brand dry food but does the same thing. He also has 1/2 can of rice pudding a day and the odd piece of toast etc.

Any ideas of getting the Angus to eat something?....anything!!!! He is costing me a fortune to feed and so much wasted. He is such a demon!!!

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p139/victoria__23/Angusincar3.jpg[/img]]
 
One of my Inuits was extremely fussy and OH said give her one feed a day, if she doesn't eat it take it away, I did this and she started eating every bit up (she used to leave it and was underweight). The past month though the biggest difference has been from changing to BARF, raw chicken carcasses (they only take the legs and the breasts off leaving the skin, bones and meat and fat) and lamb bones. She's put on lots of weight and never turns her nose up at the food.

If my memory serves me correct tripe isn't the best food for putting weight on?! I'd switch to BARF, much cheaper...doesn't smell like tripe and you'll see results.
 
I can so relate to this post!
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I had(sometimes still do)the same problem with my Doberman.I just couldn't get enough food into him to maintain his weight.
I had the added problem of him having a sensitive belly too.
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He would also eat something for 2 days and then stop!
I ended up buying the cheap,full of fat,mince for him.I fry it with quite a bit of oil.He loves it and due the high fat content he is slowly putting on weight.
He also likes cheese too.
I also think Ice has finally stopped growing so that has helped too.He is finally a nice weight but everytime he went through a growth spurt he would look terrible again.
My vet suggested a very high fat diet(one that wouldn't effect his belly)and I can honestly say that after 18 months I have stopped worrying!
All the best.
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I tried the trick of offering him his food and if he leaves it then I would take it away but I thought after 3 days of him not eating I had to give in!!!

He wont eat fried mince either! I know this is not good for him but he also spat out a roast potato last week and looked at me in disgust!

will look into BARF - thanks
 
remember your dog isn't fully up at 13 months and they all go through a thin and rangy phase. I would cut out some of the tripe and seek professional help via a vet. Most have Weight advice clinics for fat and thin dogs. We panicked about our dog that was very slim but as he grew older he filled out and was fine. He has never been food orientated. Really watch the amount of protein your youngster is getting.
Lovely dog by the way!
 
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If my memory serves me correct tripe isn't the best food for putting weight on?!.....

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I thought this too as it just goes straight through them. My brothers terrier pup loves it but it's just full belly really and has no benefit as such to a growing dog. (I think!) I don't really have much in the way of help as not experienced any such problems. Only have ideas you could maybe try.... Stop giving tripe as it is so tasty to Angus he's leaving the other food offered to him. I'd probably gradually cut the amount out over a period of time instead of suddenly removing it. Try dampening his food a little to tempt him, I'd just use water then you don't have to start clatting about with mixing gravy or anything up! Not being funny but is the food large in size. My brothers old boarder collie didn't like certain food if the pieces were a particular size!! But if you've tried many varieties then this isn't probably an issue. I'm guessing you leave his feed down for him and he picks the tripe out and leaves the biscuits? If so try cutting the amount of biscuit you give with the tripe and give a small bowl of fresh biscuits by themselves, iit could be he thinks the biscuits go "off" and doesn't like the taste!!!!!

Hope you have some success soon, but I also agree with the other poster that at 13mths he's still got some growing and is probably going through the lanky and lean look
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We have a Wire Haired Pointer, in our rescue that was bone thin when he came in.......I have been feeding him 3 meals a day.....meat and mixer.....at first he was picking......so I fed him amongst the other dogs and he soon began to eat the lot...........he was also castrated and this alone has helped him gain weight.
 
Totally with severnmiles on this - I do a version of barf and my pup looks great (although I got a dog nutritionist to write me a diet sheet - which is fab (loads of options on it) - she does it for a small donation to a dog charity - I would worry about just plunging in there without proper research/ advice. I can PM you her details if you interested).

For putting on weight (which I had to do with my pup) - I would recommend tinned sardines in oil and adding a bit of vegetable oil or olive oil to their food.

My pup wouldn't eat the dried food (that the breeder gave us) - but since we switched to this new diet he eats everything up.

Hope you manage to sort him out xx
 
My boy was very fussy and would never finish his food -he is a Large Munsterlander so a large dog who really needed to eat well.
I can't recommend enough to you Nature Diet - they have an excellent website. It is basically the BARF diet without the hassle of having to prepare it, and it really isn't that expensive either. I have all three of my dogs on it and they look great and never leave a crumb. The food looks like pate, as it is mushed up meat and veg with ground bone meal in it, and is in plastic trays - so easy and clean to use. You just need to mix in some terrier mixer to bulk it up. I also feed them two or three times a week a tin of sardines in sunflower oil. Oh you can add a raw egg, shell and all as well for something else that might interest him.
Good luck
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Actually naturediet is part of what I feed my pup (every once in a while - it is good (although not barf as is not raw but is good quality complete dog food - which is why I say I do a version of barf).

And as Chilly says is very easy to feed and mix with terrier stuff.

They also seem to love it
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My mother in law won't do barf with her animals but has told me she is buying nature diet I think she'll be gobsmacked to find out she IS actually doing barf lol cool

On the weight gain issue, pasta helps dogs gain weight - not great for them long term but does make them gain weight.

Emma
 
He looks very well, and will go through rangey periods as he matures. Try different dried foods, and try to avoid wheat as not all dogs can tolerate it. I have yet to find anything better than James Wellbeloved kibble, and our dog is gaining weight with that and Butchers canned dog food.
 
Hi, I feel your pain here, I really do!

I have always had terrible trouble keeping weight on my older whippet. It has been a constant battle all her life as she is mega fussy, has a poor stomach, and won't eat anything more than 2 days in a row.

I find feeding raw rabbit or raw beef is good for keeping weight on - you can buy these in the frozen squares from most decent pet stores. I also add cod liver oil to her food (in small amounts). In terms of tinned food, she will ONLY eat butchers and ONLY the chunks in jelly so when I've been in tinned mode with her, that is what she gets.

For dried food, Vitalin Bitch Diet is the ony one that she will eat with enthusiasm. Apparently they coat the biscuits with a strong flavour plus they are very high in nutrients and oils as they are designed for pregnant bitches.

I have also fed porridge made with kitten milk and oats for breakfast (you can get kitten milk in most pet stores and it is kinder to sensative stomachs than regular milk). I used to feed her scrambled eggs (kitten milk again) to help build her up as well.

However, now that she has a new baby sister - who eats like a DEMON - she is eating much better and actually has a nice healthy layer of fat covering her ribs for the first time in her life! The only thing that really worked for her was getting a bit of competition! I still have to monitore her eating though as she eats really slow and if I'm not careful the pup will finish her own dinner and move onto Flora's.
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Iams do doggy gravy in 3 different flavours, personally i would try something like that first before i started adding any meat to complete dry food, as it is complete you shouldnt need to add anything because it contains everything a dog needs as long as he eats it of course, but dogs are not suicidal they will eat eventually unless he has an underlying condition which you should get you vet to check out ASAP
 
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