# need help with fat- too thin



## Countrymama (May 22, 2011)

Since discovering Ziva's allergy to chicken, beef and grains I've started her on BARF. She's showing improvement but she's getting thinner than I'd like since getting off bag food. I have her eating 2% of her weight, per BARF research and the vet. Right now she's on turkey neck, fish, spinach, yams and eggs and her system is taking really well to it but I need to find a way to get weight back on her. Any suggestions? We're using a Chinese cold and neutral diet per her vet but most of the other meats on the list are hard to find and everything else is fruits and veggies..everything on the list if lean fat wise. I though about increasing her meal sizes but I don't want to put too much stress on her system since she still has sores from her allergic reactions. She's not real active compared to when she feels well because of the sores and so per that vet I'm still feeding her at 2% instead of the active 4% she would be getting.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Since your vet recommended the 2%, I would talk to them. Maybe you can slowly increase it. What other meats are recommended? What oils are you adding?


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## Countrymama (May 22, 2011)

Jax08 said:


> Since your vet recommended the 2%, I would talk to them. Maybe you can slowly increase it. What other meats are recommended? What oils are you adding?


Meats
turkey
deep sea fishh
rabbit
frog
turtle
clam
white fish

I haven't been giving her oils since I'm trying to get a good foundation diet and he sores healed before I add other things that might trigger a reaction.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

wow...didn't make that easy for you, did they? Deep sea fish such as mackerel, sardines have a decent amount of fat in them. 

Is she getting to thin? Or just getting thinner and losing the Kibble Carb layer? Definitely talk to the vet about increasing her food amount. If she's getting to thin then she obviously is not getting enough calories and I would assume that would affect how her body heals as well.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

2% that includes all of the barely digestible veggies is not enough. I would increase the amount she is being fed. 2% is a starting point. How old is Ziva? You might also look into pork (probably the last thing I would try since some dogs can't handle it), lamb, mutton, venison, duck, buffalo, or goat.


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## Countrymama (May 22, 2011)

Ziva will be 2 in Dec. She's not thin to the point of serious neglect..i would never let that happen but you can feel her ribs and spine more than I'm comfortable with. I knew she'd lose weight getting off bag food but this is too much. Talked to her vet and she said to load her up on benedryl first to try and counteract the reaction..she just got off vet prescribed meds for it. She was 99% healed and I saw her getting thin so I thought I'd try beef since the vet figured that her allergy was only grain based and chicken (the beef allergy was just a guess on my part at the point) So I gave her a pound of ground beef with her veggies hoping to add some much needed calories. She had a serious reaction of welts,sores,rash,itch, redness with an hour or less..nasty! So that's why the vet said to keep her on a steady dose of meds first. She also said to bring her up to 4% of her weight per meal, doubling her protein and fat until she recovers. I love her but man is she a handful to try and feed! That's $100 a month just in meat! We had planned on breeding her with a world-class champion next spring but have decided to decline the offer..this is just too much to put other puppies and her through. After she heals she'll be making another trip to the vet for spaying. I love my Ziva :wub: and just want her healthy.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Hans got the runs from ground beef, and it was the good kind, too! Grass fed.

Have you looked into beef heart? Very, very nutritious. Also, whole fresh sardines or mackerel. You can get a brisket and cut it into big hunks. Leave on some fat, she needs it. 
You can safely ditch the veggies. I know there are differing opinions on this, as one vet told me to give him veggies and the other said he didn't need any. 
The only veggies he gets are Olewo beets and carrots, and he does very well on them-- loves them, too!

https://www.olewousa.com/

Oh, and green tripe. SAD Sushi has some really good stuff, and Hans eats it first. Don't ask hw it smells, though!
They also have a really useful feeding calculator.
Calculate


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Are you cooking the sweet potatoes until they are soft and mushy? You can increase the amount you are feeding of those to increase calories without increasing fat.


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## Countrymama (May 22, 2011)

Ziva actually really likes her veggies. she takes the meat out, eats the veggies and eggs and then the meat...strange dog. She gets Mackerel too and loves it! Yes the yams are soft and they get blended with the other veggies for a mush..and she gets a decent helping with roughly 2 lbs of meat and two eggs..sometimes some fruit. I may look into beef heart after she heals.

She's licked her skin to leather-like and is so sore..baby aspirin in the morning and then allergy meds every four hrs..my poor baby. I'm starting to see slow improvement though.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Countrymama said:


> She's licked her skin to leather-like and is so sore..baby aspirin in the morning and then allergy meds every four hrs..my poor baby. I'm starting to see slow improvement though.


 Oh, no, poor dog.
Have you looked at the products these folks have? Seem pretty effective. 
Blizzard - German Shepherd Dog Recovery from Skin and Itching Problems | NZYMES.COM


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Did you determine the chicken allergy by kibble or by feeding raw chicken (with nothing else)?

If your dog has allergies I would do an INCLUSION diet. That's where you start with ONE ingredient, leave the dog on that for a couple weeks then add a second ingredient once you know the first one is ok.

I would not feed any carb foods - veggies, potatoes (especially the sugar-rich sweets)


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## Countrymama (May 22, 2011)

Lauri & The Gang said:


> Did you determine the chicken allergy by kibble or by feeding raw chicken (with nothing else)?
> 
> If your dog has allergies I would do an INCLUSION diet. That's where you start with ONE ingredient, leave the dog on that for a couple weeks then add a second ingredient once you know the first one is ok.
> 
> I would not feed any carb foods - veggies, potatoes (especially the sugar-rich sweets)



We had a blood test done for the chicken and rice..beef was an almost instant reaction when i tried it raw the other night...regretting that now. The inclusion diet would work but i already know what her allergies are and what to feed her. I just can't seem to find the right calorie intake.


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## Clyde (Feb 13, 2011)

Just feed her more. 2 % is just a starting point. Most people take it way to literally.

Also what about adding coconut oil for some good fat.


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## Wolfgeist (Dec 4, 2010)

You are feeding all lean meat sources. Can you do beef or pork? I use pork heart to fatten Hunter up after every growth spurt. It's hard to get fat on him right now, too. Fish won't do a thing for Hunter, even though he gets pollock and tilapia.


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## Clyde (Feb 13, 2011)

Pork is cold. Also eggs.


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