# How to help my dog gain weight?



## guatemama07 (Nov 28, 2011)

Can anyone give some pointers on helping my dog gain weight? Vet agrees with me she does need to put on a few pounds. She is 68 lbs now and needs to be about 75 lbs.

I am feeding high-quality kibble and supplementing with raw chicken quarters and turkey necks.

She is a 5-year-old spayed female, with no other health issues. She lost some weight after a bad reaction to frontline and her spay surgery. (She's on Confortis for flea prevention now and tolerates that well.) She has healthy heart, hips, elbows, etc as per OFA (former breeding female.) She is from working lines out of Eastern Europe with high ball drive and energy. 

Any ideas on healthy ways to get her weight up? I had considered adding some high-quality canned food to her kibble to get her to eat a bit more, but was wondering if there are other suggestions. Thanks!


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Green Tripe

Egg

Cottage Cheese

Plain Yogurt


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

More fat and calories. Healthy oils, peanut butter, eggs, or just a higher-fat, higher calorie formula of the brand of food you're already feeding.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

guatemama07 said:


> Can anyone give some pointers on helping my dog gain weight? Vet agrees with me she does need to put on a few pounds. She is 68 lbs now and needs to be about 75 lbs.
> 
> I am feeding high-quality kibble and supplementing with raw chicken quarters and turkey necks.
> 
> ...


Why does she need to be 75? Is she tall? Or is she barrel-chested?
Just curious. My dog hovers around 69 at 25.5 inches and has good meat over her bones.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

I had to switch my older female from raw to kibble, as I couldn't keep weight on her. I'd suggest a higher-fat kibble, split into two meals. Is she a picky eater? If so, you could try soaking her kibble in warm broth, mixing in some canned food, or bacon drippings. Now I'm making myself hungry.


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

Can we get some pics?

My DDR girl is quite lean - I always get comments about how "skinny" she is - but she very well muscled and is just in amazing shape.

Thankfully my vet is amazing and sees that she is in shape. A lot of vets can think that if the dog is not overweight its not healthy. When in fact the opposite is true. 

If you could post some side pics, front pics and bird's eye view, then I'm sure some working Shepherd people can chime in!


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

PaddyD said:


> Why does she need to be 75? Is she tall? Or is she barrel-chested?
> Just curious. My dog hovers around 69 at 25.5 inches and has good meat over her bones.


All good suggestions regarding food above. But was also wondering the samething...75 pounds is on the larger side for a female. I want to be careful and not say overweight because alot depends on that. 

Any pictures?


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## guatemama07 (Nov 28, 2011)

PaddyD said:


> Why does she need to be 75? Is she tall? Or is she barrel-chested?
> Just curious. My dog hovers around 69 at 25.5 inches and has good meat over her bones.


The reason I mentioned 75 lbs is that right now, when you look at her, she really is too thin. I know you can feel the ribs of a healthy dog, but hers stick out and she has pronounced hollows on the side. I will try to post some pics. She is a tall girl, I need to measure her.

I discussed her weight with the vet and the vet agreed she was under-weight. The vet records I got from the previous owner had her at around 73-75 pounds when she was in great health and looked fabulous (still lean, but looking healthy.) 

She lost a good bit of weight recently after reacting to frontline and not eating after her spay. She was treated at her previous owner's vet and they commented on her weight being low also at her most recent visit.

Thanks for the comments everyone.


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## guatemama07 (Nov 28, 2011)

For folks who mentioned pictures, here's some:

First, two pictures of Lena at her weight in the 73-75 lb range from vet records. These pictures were taken by previous owner and shared with me. These pics were *before* she got sick from Frontline (lost some weight after that) and before spay surgery (lost some weight after that.) To me she looks very healthy: trim, fit, but not skinny.

The second 2 pictures are ones taken with my cell phone this morning. Odd pose, but trying to capture how skinny she is--her ribs are plainly visible, hip bones prominent. (68 lbs.)

I can't find the measuring tape at the moment for her height, but she is a big dog. 

We've only had Lena since Nov 27 and she is already my precious girl...I just want her to be in the glowing good health that I feel like she was in in the first 2 pictures. What do you all think? As a new owner I am open to advice. Thanks!


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

She doesn't look painfully thin, but I agree, a few pounds would look good on her. Have you tried Satin Balls?


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## guatemama07 (Nov 28, 2011)

Freestep said:


> She doesn't look painfully thin, but I agree, a few pounds would look good on her. Have you tried Satin Balls?


Thanks for mentioning these! I had never heard of them, but just googled Satin Balls and they sound like a good idea. I am loving this forum for great suggestions from the more experienced.


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## fuzzybunny (Apr 29, 2011)

I've never tried satin balls for my dogs but I know people who have and they reported very quick weight gain. Good luck! Beautiful girl. I agree she looks a little thin in the last two pics.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I would give her some probiotics/digestive enzymes. Green tripe would be a daily supplement. I wouldn't want a quick weight gain, slower is better. And I'd work on building muscle while the gain is going on. She looks like she lacks muscle as well as weight in those last two shots.


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

I agree that she is not emaciated, and once you put some muscle on her she will likely only put on a few pounds, but I think putting her up to 75lbs would be too much.

The first pictures look ok, but I would have wanted 3 or so pounds off of her at that point. So somewhere right in between 68-75 would most likely be perfect, make sure its muscle though.

Is she eating well now? Or is she still refusing some meals?

I also agree a slow weight gain is going to be better. If it were me, I would start my adding an extra meal a day and increase her entire diet by 50%, baited if need be.

I use Nupro as a gravy or homemade(no salt) chicken stock to bait the food. Or you can try and rotate between those, yogurt, boiled chicken with the skin on, cooked ground beef, basically high fat foods.

Satin balls may work in a pinch but the recipes I have seen are high in grain and sugar - neither work in dogs like they do in humans. Dogs turn fat and protein into energy.


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

I had a Golden with cancer and at the end, she refused food and lost weight quickly. I had some success with Nutri-cal supplements.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

N Smith said:


> Satin balls may work in a pinch but the recipes I have seen are high in grain and sugar - neither work in dogs like they do in humans.


Dogs can turn sugars and starches into energy and fat. It's why many kibble-fed dogs are so overweight! My older girl got too lean on a raw diet--I switched her to kibble and was able to get some weight on her. So carbohydrates can be useful in getting a dog to put weight on quickly.


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

Just wondering how long ago the reaction and spay was? She doesn't look that bad to me, she might just need to continue with regular meals and give it some time to catch up to her. Maybe add some green tripe, eggs or some beef/chicken if you add anything. I wouldn't be going for satin balls with how fast they're suppose to put on weight though, fast weight gain is NOT going to be healthy weight gain. You want her to gain back with MUSCLE, not FAT!


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## guatemama07 (Nov 28, 2011)

Thanks again to all for the advice. Just trying to understand here as I am new to canine nutrition. With having her put on muscle--not just gain weight--I am assuming that is done not only by the recommended supplements to her food but also continued exercise. We spend a lot of time with her chasing the ball in our fenced yard and soon she will be accompanying me on lengthy walks (her dog-mommy has to get in shape! Lena is in better shape than I am )

As to her eating now, she does eat her kibble--eventually. I put it out in the morning, and she's not always ready to eat right then. She eats most of it later although sometimes leaves some. I am going to try the recommendations to get her to eat all the kibble as well as some of the recommended supplement foods. Thanks again! I have a better idea now of how to help her gain a few pounds in a healthy way.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

why does she need to be 75 lbs.? how much do you feed her?
maybe she's at the weight she should be by eating quality
food and having the right amount to eat. she could be eating
slowly because she doesn't like what you're feeding.



guatemama07 said:


> Can anyone give some pointers on helping my dog gain weight? Vet agrees with me she does need to put on a few pounds.
> 
> >>>>>She is 68 lbs now and needs to be about 75 lbs.<<<<<


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

guatemama07 said:


> As to her eating now, she does eat her kibble--eventually. I put it out in the morning, and she's not always ready to eat right then. She eats most of it later although sometimes leaves some. .


Actually, leaving food out is one way to create a picky eater. If she knows the food will be there, there is no urgency to eat. If you make the food really yummy, set it down in front of her and leave it for 20 minutes, then pick it up, she'll learn that she'd better eat her meals pronto or they'll be taken away. She may eat less at first, but eventually, she'll learn to eat what's served to her when it's served.


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## guatemama07 (Nov 28, 2011)

Freestep said:


> Actually, leaving food out is one way to create a picky eater. If she knows the food will be there, there is no urgency to eat. If you make the food really yummy, set it down in front of her and leave it for 20 minutes, then pick it up, she'll learn that she'd better eat her meals pronto or they'll be taken away. She may eat less at first, but eventually, she'll learn to eat what's served to her when it's served.


Yes, that makes sense. I think she has just needed time to recover from the spay and adjust to her new home. I added some homemade chicken stock to moisten her kibble tonight and she ate it up within the 20 min.


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## dj27 (Dec 12, 2011)

Substitute 1/4 of your current dog food with a puppy food formulated for large breeds. Start slow with about 1/8 for a couple days then up it to 1/4. Once she gets to the desired weight wein her off of the puppy food slowly as well. A 10 pound bag should be enough. Good luck.


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## northwoodsGSD (Jan 30, 2006)

dj27 said:


> Substitute 1/4 of your current dog food with a puppy food formulated for large breeds. Start slow with about 1/8 for a couple days then up it to 1/4. Once she gets to the desired weight wein her off of the puppy food slowly as well. A 10 pound bag should be enough. Good luck.


What is your reasoning for adding puppy food?
If the OP is already feeding a good quality kibble with an appropriate level of protein, fat, & calories...adding puppy food isn't going to help. Puppy food will have lower levels of protein, fat, & calories than a quality adult/all stage kibble.

To the OP... Check to see if the brand you are currently feeding offers a performance or high energy formula, with higher levels of protein, fat, & calories.


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