food to gain weight?

tony_hk

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#1
My puppy (7mo old poodle/ male/ desex) is way too thin. I am feeding almost one cup (8oz) Innova puppy to him per day (the package recommend 0.7 cup only). I tried to increase to dosage, but he gave soft stool. I also tried feeding fish oil (actually not for weight gain), his stool was also instable. What food I can try in his regular diet to gain his weight healthy? Someone recommeneded milk for dog but it is quite expensive to me. Tks
 

nica

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#5
Dog is too thin, u may wish to try making him these meat balls. known to put on weight for dogs really fast. so watch him and not overdo it.

Can be given raw or baked. if your dog is not used to raw feeding yet, pls bake it to avoid sudden change in diet.

• 500gms beef
• 1/10 of a Kellogg’s cornflakes box
• 1/10 of a box of oatmeal
• 1/10 of a jar of wheat germ
• 2 Tbls of olive oil
• 2 Tbls of unsulfured molasses
• 1 raw egg
 

mrose_s

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#6
i would homecook soem stuff.

get some mince, brown it. add rice or pasta. some vegies (carrots, peas, potato etc) some stock, some dog food and yum.
 

SharkyX

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#7
Nothing to do with gaining weight... but I would stop feeding the fish oil and use something else.

The problem with adding fish oil, in it's liquid state as opposed to incorporated into food or even in a gel cap(those are meant for people... I'm not suggesting for a dog :p) is that the fish oil can go bad, but it doesn't change in odor or appearance for some time after. In those instances the oils will actually have the opposite effect of what you're after and decrease the dogs muscle mass. As a results you'd have an even skinnier and less healthy dog. Olive Oil is apparently best.. however it's also expensive.
 

Herschel

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#8
In those instances the oils will actually have the opposite effect of what you're after and decrease the dogs muscle mass. As a results you'd have an even skinnier and less healthy dog. Olive Oil is apparently best.. however it's also expensive.
Could you please show me a study showing that rancid fish oil can cause muscle wasting?
 

Herschel

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#9
Maybe. Poodles are dogs with light frames and I'm sure most will look like that if shaved all the way down. 1 cup of Innova/day should be plenty for a lightly active dog of that size.

Herschel looks similar when he is wet and we know he isn't underweight. He eats a little bit less than 2/3 of a cup of the Honest Kitchen's Embark/day or 2/3 cup of Canidae and he is extremely active.

He is dry in this photo, but you can notice that his body is shaped, his waist is visible but not severe, and his ribs don't show through his coat. If Tony's puppy had a full/short coat I would imagine the shape would be similar.

 

Melissa_W

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#10
Nothing to do with gaining weight... but I would stop feeding the fish oil and use something else.

The problem with adding fish oil, in it's liquid state as opposed to incorporated into food or even in a gel cap(those are meant for people... I'm not suggesting for a dog :p) is that the fish oil can go bad, but it doesn't change in odor or appearance for some time after. In those instances the oils will actually have the opposite effect of what you're after and decrease the dogs muscle mass. As a results you'd have an even skinnier and less healthy dog. Olive Oil is apparently best.. however it's also expensive.
It can go bad, but if bottled and stored properly, it's perfectly safe. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. If you leave a steak in the sun for a week, it will go rancid too. But I wouldn't say that you shouldn't feed your dog steak at all! Though not as fragile as fish oil, olive oil can also be rancid. In fact, it's more likely to be rancid unless it's cold pressed.
 

tony_hk

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#11
Maybe. Poodles are dogs with light frames and I'm sure most will look like that if shaved all the way down. 1 cup of Innova/day should be plenty for a lightly active dog of that size.

Herschel looks similar when he is wet and we know he isn't underweight. He eats a little bit less than 2/3 of a cup of the Honest Kitchen's Embark/day or 2/3 cup of Canidae and he is extremely active.

He is dry in this photo, but you can notice that his body is shaped, his waist is visible but not severe, and his ribs don't show through his coat. If Tony's puppy had a full/short coat I would imagine the shape would be similar.


But most ppl comments that the rip cage should not be seen or feel easily. Do you mean that is acceptable for a poodle?
 

MafiaPrincess

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#12
To me there is a difference between thin, and so thin I can count most ribs because they are protruding. Cider when shaved down you can count the last couple of ribs, but she's not so thin she looks frail.
 

Herschel

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#14
To me there is a difference between thin, and so thin I can count most ribs because they are protruding. Cider when shaved down you can count the last couple of ribs, but she's not so thin she looks frail.
I definitely agree. Some dogs have smaller frames than others, though. Maybe Tony's dog could gain weight, but if he isn't tolerating more food then it isn't healthy to force it.

Tony, you could significantly increase the amount of exercise your dog gets and then up the amount of Innova.
 

Luvntzus

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#15
Maybe. Poodles are dogs with light frames and I'm sure most will look like that if shaved all the way down. 1 cup of Innova/day should be plenty for a lightly active dog of that size.

Herschel looks similar when he is wet and we know he isn't underweight. He eats a little bit less than 2/3 of a cup of the Honest Kitchen's Embark/day or 2/3 cup of Canidae and he is extremely active.

He is dry in this photo, but you can notice that his body is shaped, his waist is visible but not severe, and his ribs don't show through his coat. If Tony's puppy had a full/short coat I would imagine the shape would be similar.

Yes Poodles have a small build, but no most Poodles would NOT look like HKdog's if they were shaved to the skin. Also, there's a very big difference in his dog's weight and yours. Your dog has some padding and muscle mass. Using the chart lined below, your dog is probably a "5" which is "ideal", his dog is probably a "2" which is "very thin".

http://gianteagle.petkare.com/index.asp?FrameId=4&CMD=Menu&SId=2150

Anyway, tony_hk- How many times a day are you feeding your dog? Eating too much at any one time will cause digestive upset. To put weight on a dog I would feed 3-5 small meals a day. I'm a little concerned though that you've been feeding him the recommended amount of a high quality food and he's so thin. :( Have you had him checked for parasites recently? Tapeworms or whipworms will cause a dog to be underweight no matter how much they eat because they leech the nutrients from the dog's food. Your dog just doesn't look healthy to me and I would take him to the vet for a full checkup.
 

drmom777

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#16
Look at pics of this dog on tony's other thread about shaving it on the general page. The dog really is too thin.
 

Herschel

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#17
Yes Poodles have a small build, but no most Poodles would NOT look like HKdog's if they were shaved to the skin. Also, there's a very big difference in his dog's weight and yours. Your dog has some padding and muscle mass. Using the chart lined below, your dog is probably a "5" which is "ideal", his dog is probably a "2" which is "very thin".

http://gianteagle.petkare.com/index.asp?FrameId=4&CMD=Menu&SId=2150

Anyway, tony_hk- How many times a day are you feeding your dog? Eating too much at any one time will cause digestive upset. To put weight on a dog I would feed 3-5 small meals a day. I'm a little concerned though that you've been feeding him the recommended amount of a high quality food and he's so thin. :( Have you had him checked for parasites recently? Tapeworms or whipworms will cause a dog to be underweight no matter how much they eat because they leech the nutrients from the dog's food. Your dog just doesn't look healthy to me and I would take him to the vet for a full checkup.
I agree with you that feeding smaller meals more frequently will help and that Tony's dog lacks muscle mass. I think if he exercises the dog more it will be able to eat more and should fill out nicely. (Herschel is a "5" because he gets so much exercise)

Tony, she is right about the parasites, as well. You should take a stool sample to your vet just to make sure everything is OK.

However, I would like to see some photos of Tony's dog with a full coat. I think that if we saw them we would all agree that "99" looks OK.
 

Giny

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#18
I have to agree with Herschel here. I didn't comment on Tony's dog's size in the past post because for a poodle of 7 months it's not unusual for them to look thin, especially seeing him shave as he was. Crud, if mine were shaved at that age as close as he was they probably would have looked thin too. You could feel Kassie's hip bones very easily and it wasn't because she wasn't eating. She was a pig.lol

At that young age they are all legs where muscle mass haven't developed yet and their frames grow faster then they can keep up, it's the awkward looking age. Tony's dog could stand to gain a bit but if he's eating well, 3 meals a day, then I wouldn't be too concerned. He will eventually put on muscle mass.
 

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