Lab needs to GAIN weight

[daisylubob]

Usually the other way around w/ Labs but.....Rudy developed sensitivity/allergy to ProPlan Sport 28/18. He would vomit up his meal from 15 mins to 1-1/2 hrs after eating. He is not a gulper. Other than that, no symptoms, would want to eat, drink, run around, play, stool was fine. Vet put him on anti-vomit pill for 4 days, and vet GI canned food, which helped temporarily. He is kind of an anxiety-ridden dog, so I thought maybe it was that, as his daddy was gone and Annie had just been spayed. I mixed in some of his Proplan w/ the canned and it came back up. I bought the PPSSS and mixed it w/ canned and it came back up. After much research, talking, reading, etc., we think he became sensitive to something in the Proplan ingredients. So now I am mixing Wellness Simple Solution w/ canned, and it stays down, so far. He is thin to begin with, but what can I feed to get some weight back on him? Fed my other Lab cottage cheese, but vet thought he might develop lactose intolerance. He needs a few pounds back on him. ANy advice would be great. Thanks.

[JenC]

Vomiting isn't an allergy. But if the dog doesn't tolerate a brand, that's fine. Just feed 3 normal meals and day and the dog will do fine.

[Annette47]

Once you have him on a food he can tolerate, he should start to regain the lost weight. If you really think he needs more than that to regain what he lost, you could try satin balls (google for the recipe). We’ve used them on sick dogs who were getting fussy about their food towards the end and they all really loved them.

[daisylubob]

Yeah I guess allergy was not the right word, sensitivity is better. Maybe it was his way of telling me he wants to try something else. There are quite a few variations on the "satin ball" recipe out there. I will try that, he will definitely eat that up!!!

[Georgia]

When we adopted Frank he was severely underweight. We didn't do anything special, just fed him his regular meals. He went from 55 pounds to 70 pounds. He gained the weight at a nice steady pace without a special diet. I think your dog would be the same way now that he's not vomiting anymore. I personally would just feed his regular meals in their regular amounts and not do anything special.

[POPTOP]

We did the same thing with Archie that Georgia did with Frank. His spine and hips were showing when we got him. It took 3 months or so. He put on the weight slowly which I felt was the best way.

Sending good thoughts.

[Meeps83]

What about ulcers or colitis?

[Tanya]

When we adopted Frank he was severely underweight. We didn't do anything special, just fed him his regular meals. He went from 55 pounds to 70 pounds. He gained the weight at a nice steady pace without a special diet. I think your dog would be the same way now that he's not vomiting anymore. I personally would just feed his regular meals in their regular amounts and not do anything special.

i did this with fosters as well. If they were particularly skinny I may add a third meal each day.

you can feed even just 1/4 to 1/2 cup more per day for a few weeks once he's on the new food and he'll be back to normal pretty quick.the key is stopping the extra food once he gets to a good weight I find a lot of my skinny fosters found a nice normal weight and then adopters just kept going and let them get fat!

I would personally monitor the vomitting - that doesn't strike me as a normal "don't like the food/food isnt' sitting well" symptom as far as I know. If the dog maybe eating too fast? any changes in energy? other issues (coat changing, eye discharge...?)

[daisylubob]

Ulcers or colitis, I am not sure about. He is eating his new food (Wellness Simple) and keeping it down. He is not trying to eat grass anymore. He never had any other symptoms (diarrhea, lethargy, eye discharge, excessive shedding, etc.) and he has never been a food gulper. It was weird, he would not keep either PP kibble down, but likes the canned PPSSS. I am mixing a bit of that w/ the Wellness.

[JenC]

Eating grass has nothing to do with being sick or not feeling well. My dogs LOVE to graze on grass and rarely vomit.