Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 17
  1. #1
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Eastern Ontario Canada
    Posts
    3,336
    Thanked: 2070

    Are there Simple Additions to Food to add fat/weight gain?

    Penny was doing really well on her food until the summer. I didn't notice an increase in our excersie (she may even has had more off leash time in teh winter) but for whatever reason she lost all fat and put on muscle. She put on a pound and a half on the scale but lost a layer of fat so that must all be muscle). There is no fat when you feel her ribs, just the skin.

    I am trying to increase food but it seems to lead to loose stool. I am feeding as many times in a day as I can managed (on the days the dog walker comes she gets middle of the day kongs, but on a work day if I do the one hour break before and after feeding I can't fit in another meal other than supper).

    Before I start on a food roller coaster I was just curious is there was a human food (or raw food) that I can add to her meals to help put on some weight? Tripe maybe?

  2. #2
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    2,598
    Thanked: 2588
    What about a spoonful of canned tripe on her meals? I think if you have any healthy leftovers from meals that aren't over spiced are fine for a meal topper. We'll give pasta, meats, veggies....

    At least you don't need to be careful about treats...

  3. #3
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Eastern Ontario Canada
    Posts
    3,336
    Thanked: 2070
    Oh she eats Go! dog food. she weighs 37 pounds and eats about 3 cups.

    Crude protein (min) 30%
    Crude fat (min) 16%
    Crude fibre (max) 3%
    Moisture (max) 10%
    Calcium (min) 1.8%
    Phosphorus (min) 0.9%
    *Omega 6 (min) 3%
    *Omega 3 (min) 0.6%
    Calorie Content: ME = 4120 kcal/kg or 453 kcal/cup

  4. #4
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Eastern Ontario Canada
    Posts
    3,336
    Thanked: 2070
    Quote Originally Posted by JenC View Post
    What about a spoonful of canned tripe on her meals? I think if you have any healthy leftovers from meals that aren't over spiced are fine for a meal topper. We'll give pasta, meats, veggies....

    At least you don't need to be careful about treats...
    LOL which is good as we are doing lots of training and - she gets tons of greats even when they are cut small

    Rocky on the other hand needs to lose a few (or more) pounds LOL

    Tripe I can do, just wondering how much fat that adds? I don't make many big meals so leftovers won't be a solid go to

  5. #5
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    2,598
    Thanked: 2588
    We buy this one often Pet Kind Bison Tripe
    it won't add a lot of fat though. The can is 4% fat.

    Maybe she is just destined to be thin...or eat peanut butter!

  6. The Following User Says Thank You to JenC For This Useful Post:

    Tanya (08-06-2014)

  7. #6
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    8,136
    Thanked: 5108
    Sweet potato? That's what the holistic Vet has Oban eating. Much higher on the glycemic index than pumpkin but also much higher in fibre and it has other nutritional benefits. He's getting the cooked turkey too but if ever a dog needed to gain weight and firm up stools it was Oban.

    ETA: Vet said it can be fed raw but we have to cook it in order to add the digestive enzymes. Every time I cook a batch I scoop a finger full out to eat myself, it's that good tasting.

  8. #7
    Senior Dog Berna's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Belgrade, Serbia
    Posts
    4,081
    Thanked: 4633
    Perhaps add some carbs? That's what I do when I want Cookie to gain weight, especially during the warmer months when we are more active.
    Cookie Black Snowflake
    July 12th, 2006. - May 25th, 2023.

    Hidden Content

    Hidden Content

    Hidden Content
    Hidden Content | Hidden Content | Hidden Content | Hidden Content

  9. #8
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    3,947
    Thanked: 2421
    I second the carbs. Probably potato.

  10. #9
    Senior Dog Charlotte K.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    somewhere out there
    Posts
    938
    Thanked: 581
    I agree, add carbs, in small quantities at first, as they don't usually loosen stool. They tighten it unless all fiber. Some raw fed dogs won't conceive and carry a litter to term; adding carbs was shown to correct that. I don't know the current science on that; this was a number of years ago.

    Prozyme increases the absorption of food and can reduce the caloric need up to 25%.

    For skinny young rescues, my old standby was adding Prozyme and the crusts from peanut butter sandwiches on whole grain bred that the kids didn't want! I put 10 lbs on an adolescent shepherd mix with this and 25 lbs of his kibble. He was VERY skinny. That was after a worming "just in case." His negative stool sample yielded roundworms and evidence of hookworms--yuck! That helped him gain weight, too.

  11. #10
    Senior Dog shellbell's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    St. Louis area
    Posts
    836
    Thanked: 497
    Is Go! grain free? When Cabo was on kibble, he needed grain inclusive to keep a good weight. Wouldn't hurt to add tripe, I'd try to find some raw chubs of it if you can, over canned. Lots of specialty pet stores around here sell raw frozen chubs.

 



Not a Member of the Labrador Retriever Chat Forums Yet?
Register for Free and Share Your Labrador Retriever Photos

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •