weight gain for dogs?

[jalapeno]

My Mother has an middle aged (not old, 6!) greyhound X. I know these breeds are on the light side but he has always been a poor doer! Does anyone have a dog similar? if so, what do you feed them? He doesn't do very well on biscuit meals, and never eats very many of them. He is fed on a diet of fish and chicken and has raw bones to no avail. I have heard that complan can be a good weight gainer but it is made from milk which dogs cannot digest? Are there any supplements etc? Also, would rice add to the calorie content?

 

[CorvusCorax]

Has he had his teeth checked out?

Keep on with oily fish and add tripe, the raw green type if you get it, I get my stuff from a guy who supplies greyhound tracks and he does big bags of tripe and whole minced chickens.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Rice is of no real nutritional value, it is a bland filler to add bulk.

Good weight gain foods are chicken carcasses (raw, obviously), tripe, as already mentioned, more because dogs usually love it as opposed to protein content.

Moisture 71%
Crude Fat 11.7%
Protein 15%
Ash 1.23%
Phosphorus .14%
Calcium .12%
Calories 756/lb
pH 6.12
Lactic Acid Bacteria 12,000 CFU/g
Linoleic Acid 2.72%
(Taken from the Dog Food Company's website)

Chicken legs are good.

Volume may be the key with the dog as opposed to protein. Good quality kibble can be invaluable, but if he's not keen, consider something like the Wainwright's trays (Pets at Home)

If you're really worried, add lactol.

 

[jalapeno]

Yes he has dental examinations although he is due for one. he has always been this way though! CinnamonToast.. is that analysis for tripe? Also, do you more info on lactol? or a link to more info?

CaveCanem - can I really give a dog the carcass of a chicken once the 'good bits' are off?

Thankyou for your replies.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Yeah, the main bulk of my dogs diet is raw chicken carcasses (hand cut, human grade, ten kilos for a fiver, happy days!) and the chicken mince as mentioned (everything in but the feathers!) and then tripe.

Salmon oil is a good conditioner, and eggs.

 

[s4sugar]

Never feed cooked chicken bones!
CaveCanem meant a raw chicken carcass.

I have a Borzoi that is a supermodel type. She will eat a bit of just about anything but won't eat much at any meal & if you cut her meal in half she will still leave the same amount.
I feed her a tin of Butchers tripe or a pack of Naturediet and she will eat this with a bit of Skinners mixed in. I would like her to put a bit of weight on but she is eight and has always been the same.She turns her nose up at raw food.
Sardines in oil or cat tuna are good a couple of times a week.

Don't leave food down as this makes them less likely to eat.

 

[Dexter]

I've got a whippet with an eating disorder! Dylan had anorexia when I got him, and it frightened the living daylights out of me! He gets Fish4dogs as his main food, he loves it, so might not be so handy if yours doesnt. I try and give him a fair bit of raw as well, liver, kidneys, heart, chicken carcasses, other raw bones, sardines etc. When hes eating ok, he gets by on mainly the Fish4dogs.

When he has one of his episodes I up the raw for a bit, then once hes eating I knock it back down. I also up the exercise. The more he does the hungrier he is. I used to worry I'd burn the weight of him, but its the opposite, although hes burning more calories, he eats way more!

 

[CorvusCorax]

Yes as mentioned, I meant raw chicken!

Also, don't stand over the dog or hover around it, checking whether it is eating or not. This can cause sensitive dogs to associate mealtimes with stress/pressure.
Agree lift the bowl after ten minutes.

 

[ChesnutsRoasting]

I've got a whippet with an eating disorder! Dylan had anorexia when I got him, and it frightened the living daylights out of me! He gets Fish4dogs as his main food, he loves it, so might not be so handy if yours doesnt. I try and give him a fair bit of raw as well, liver, kidneys, heart, chicken carcasses, other raw bones, sardines etc. When hes eating ok, he gets by on mainly the Fish4dogs.

When he has one of his episodes I up the raw for a bit, then once hes eating I knock it back down. I also up the exercise. The more he does the hungrier he is. I used to worry I'd burn the weight of him, but its the opposite, although hes burning more calories, he eats way more!

Try him on rabbit chunks. Used to get mine from Sainburys in the frozen dept. My old Whippet was very fussy with food, but he would devour rabbit chunks and raw tripe.

 

[jalapeno]

s4sugar - I would never feed cooked bones of any type - I just thought chicken bones at all were a bit too small and spindley.

Dexter - is fish4dogs a kibble/biscuit feed? Anorexia in dogs? wow, never heard of that! how awful! Glad he is ok now.

Thanks for all the advice. Off to source lactol and salmon oil! No he is never watched and we have to take it up after a bit or the others steal it (he is fed in his own room)

 

[ChesnutsRoasting]

s4sugar - I would never feed cooked bones of any type - I just thought chicken bones at all were a bit too small and spindley.

Dexter - is fish4dogs a kibble/biscuit feed? Anorexia in dogs? wow, never heard of that! how awful! Glad he is ok now.

Thanks for all the advice. Off to source lactol and salmon oil! No he is never watched and we have to take it up after a bit or the others steal it (he is fed in his own room)

Can I ask why he is fed seperately? If there is one thing I have noticed with my dogs is there is nothing like a bit of competition to make them eat up their grub.

 

[jalapeno]

Can I ask why he is fed seperately? If there is one thing I have noticed with my dogs is there is nothing like a bit of competition to make them eat up their grub.

he doesn't really do competition. He will sniff his food, maybe take a bite, stand and watch the others and then watch them eat his!

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Fish4dogs is dry food, very much recommended by lots of people on the other dog forum I use. Heart is good, even your bog standard supermarket does whole hearts now. Rabbit is good, but not too much because it's so low fat, there is a weird thing called 'rabbit starvation'.

Salmon oil is good and may encourage him to eat, but the effect for joints can be replicated with tinned mackerel/pilchards in tomato sauce, much beloved by dogs! (Avoid those in brine, obviously!)