Weight loss

Go4Kirby · August 11, 2008, 04:29:39 PM

Hi everyone. We're new to this forum. Kirby is 1 and we just moved. He underwent serious shock when we moved and has lost 3 pounds pulling him down from 15 pounds to 12. I'm having a lot of trouble getting him to gain weight. We did go to the Vet on Tuesday and she recommended supplementing his food with California Natural puppy food. and a little rescue remedy. I'm wondering if there's anything else I can do to help him gain weight. He seems generally happy for the most part, but just worries himself to death when I'm at work, though he has two doggie buddies in their neighboring crates to keep him company. Any help would be appreciated I'm starting to panic a little for him. Thanks for reading our post.

Here's a couple of photos. One was taken in late June before we moved in July and the other was taken today.

cheryl186 · August 11, 2008, 06:07:19 PM

Oh gee...Kirby does look a little thin....I wish I could help you but I have the other problem...my Zoe is somewhat overweight. I am sure (I know) there are others on this board who can give you very sound advice for helping Kirby to gain some of his weight back. I am sure they can recommend supplements, etc. I am praying that little Kirby will settle down from the move and pick up some weight....

Hang in there....I am sure others here can help you and your precious boy :thumb:

DeeanDave · August 11, 2008, 08:20:11 PM

To help adjust to the new place, when you leave give me something that has your scent on it -- that way he'll know that you'll be back.

Doxherding Karen · August 11, 2008, 09:05:20 PM

Hi!

Welcome to the Board. My name is Karen and my little old man in The Herd is Guinness - the Ethiopian Famine Victim. All 6.4 pounds of him!

I finally got him to pick up weight by feeding him Science Diet Puppy Chicken, the entire six ounce can. At first he couldn't finish it at one sitting, so I saved it for him and gave him the leftovers later in the day. He now has filled out and you can't see his ribs any more.

If you want to try Nutri-Cal, a supplement that comes in a squeeze tube, I bought two and Guinness hates it, so I can send it to you.

Also, in addition to a scarf or blanket or pillowcase of yours, leave the radio on tuned to classical music. It helps block out noises that might startle him and cause him to waste a lot of calories barking, and studies have shown that classical music has a calming effect in kennels and shelters.

Let me know how it goes.

Karen

JetEd73 · August 12, 2008, 07:35:29 AM

Feed em the good stuff. They can't resist it.

http://www.naturesvariety.com/raw

http://www.evopet.com/

Costs a little more but they are little dogs so it's really not that expensive. But it's nutreant dense so you have to watch how much you feed because they'll gain weight quickly if you over feed. To get em to gain weight just feed just a little extra....not too much. And break him in to the new food over about a weeks time.

dig a dirty t-shirt out of the clothes hamper and put it in the cage when you leave. That'll help.

Go4Kirby · August 12, 2008, 08:00:16 AM

Wow everyone is so helpful and friendly here. Thank you so much. :thumb: I will try the sweatshirt or tshirt thing and get a radio in there. I gave him some eggs last night as a snack and one in his food this morning. I'm wondering about overfeeding and causing poop problems. If I feed him more, will that cause issues?

JetEd73 · August 12, 2008, 09:14:17 AM

people food is fine as a snack or suppliment, eggs some veggies and some fruits are fine.

but if your feeding supermarket dog food you aren't giving him the good stuff. The lady I got my rescue dog from got me going in the right direction for feeding. You really need to consider making the change. Dogs don't have a nutrisional requirement for carbohydrates but most of the supermarket brands are loaded with wheat, corn or rice. Remember were feeding dogs here, they are carnivores with a omnivore lean.

evo is 43% protein and 22% fats....supermarket brands don't even come close to this

If you feed them the good stuff, they poop LESS. Their bodies absorb more of the nutrients. Yes the Good Stuff is more expensive but you feed less of it.

If I were in your situation, with me feeding the evo, AND suplimenting with the raw diet. using the feeding instructions on the side of the bag or off the website. just as an example.....I figure that my dogs (16-17 lbs dogs) need about 400 calories a day each...less if they are less active, more if we go hiking. That works out to about 3/4 cup of Evo and 1/2 a patty of raw diet. ...to gain weight just add a little from there.

Ok, I'll keep it simple. Get a couple of bags of this http://www.naturesvariety.com/raw_products and suppliment his current diet with it. DON'T STUFF THE DOG, feed him his regular diet and then add maybe half a meat patty.

Go4Kirby · August 12, 2008, 09:40:05 AM

Kirby eats Taste of the Wild as his regular food which is 32 % protein and registers a 6 on dogfood anaylsis.com. No wheat, or corn products. He defiately eats, but the vet seem to think that he is burning too many calories worrying during the day.

Barb · August 12, 2008, 10:26:19 AM

Are you currently feeding twice a day? I think the key is to help be less anxious during the day - the Rescue Remedy and the shirt or something that smells like you will help. It may just take some time to get him acclimated to his new home.

I had another friend that rescued a very skinny boy and she added an egg a day for a couple weeks to help get some weight on him. May just take a little time for the weight to come on. Keep us posted !

Go4Kirby · August 12, 2008, 10:58:43 AM

Thanks Barb, I appreciate that. I just started with the egg so we'll see how it goes.

JetEd73 · August 12, 2008, 11:23:31 AM

Quote from: Go4Kirby on August 12, 2008, 09:40:05 AM
Kirby eats Taste of the Wild as his regular food which is 32 % protein and registers a 6 on dogfood anaylsis.com. No wheat, or corn products. He defiately eats, but the vet seem to think that he is burning too many calories worrying during the day.

Ok I see where your coming from now.

I would concur with the boards diagnosis and recommended treatment plan.

It'll help and he'll get used to the change in living quarters soon enough. Eggs are all fat and protein so that's a good choice.

Doxherding Karen · August 12, 2008, 04:46:30 PM

Quote from: Go4Kirby on August 12, 2008, 08:00:16 AM I'm wondering about overfeeding and causing poop problems. If I feed him more, will that cause issues?

Mmmm . . . uh, yes. He'll get fat. :verdict:

Auntie Karen

Go4Kirby · August 12, 2008, 05:22:14 PM

Too true. But I hope he will at least gain back the 3 he lost. He's looking quite dilapidated. People look at me when we go places like I"m starving him or something.

Leslie · August 14, 2008, 05:56:32 PM

In addition the food issues, spend some more time with him. Teach him a new trick or two and build his confidence and therefore his confidence in his new surroundings. "make mom happy, must be a good place..I am a good boy." and he'll be smiling AND fat. In three months you'll be asking us how to CONTROL his overweight bootie. :-) He is a cutie, though even so slim.

Oh, and my smooooth B&T reccommends BACON.

Welcome aboard, these folks KNOW their stuff!!!! ANd they are a pile of fun. Wait till King Sol finds out there is ANOTHER Kirby....

Les, doorperson, giver of chewies and all around slave to by Zuzu LH "tweenie" and Loki B&T smooth standard.

Go4Kirby · August 15, 2008, 09:32:29 AM

Yum Kirb loves bacon. He had an upset stomache last night so I fed him some rice and chicken broth. Seems fine this morning. I found this recipe for doggy fat balls and made some yesterday to freeze. Kirb seems to like them though I'm a little confused about how much of them to give him. I rolled them to treat size, about the size of a nickle.

2 cups Dry Dog food
2 packs cream cheese
1½ cups Peanut Butter
½ cup Corn Oil
1 cup Cottage Cheese
1 pound Browned Hamburger (save some of the grease)

Blend dog food (crushed fine) and add remaining ingredients.
Mix till you have a doughy mixture add more dog meal as needed if consistency is too thin.
On wax paper spread some meal and roll out mixture into log shape.
Refrigerate until firm and slice as needed.
Feed them a slice or two several times during the day. Very high calorie...will put weight on fairly quick.

Mike · August 15, 2008, 10:45:59 AM

Quote from: Go4Kirby on August 15, 2008, 09:32:29 AM
½ cup Corn Oil

You might want to use a different oil as corn is a major allergan for dogs. Othewise they sound pretty tasty...

Go4Kirby · August 15, 2008, 11:41:25 AM

well how dumb is that? Why are the dog people putting corn oil in then? I found it on this website.

http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/HEALTH/diet4.htm

But on this website it says
Corn oil: Corn oil has a high content of polyunsaturated fats and has fatty acids that assist in fighting cholesterol. It is considered a good source of nutrition of fat for dogs. A substitute for corn oil is canola oil.

http://www.seefido.com/html/processed_food_that_can_be_use.htm

JetEd73 · August 19, 2008, 09:38:28 AM

How's the little bugger doing?

Go4Kirby · August 19, 2008, 09:57:05 AM

aww thank you for asking! Kirb is doing better he was looking a lot better by Saturday. Though we had a slight relapse due to what I think was from chewing on a rotten bone (which noone knew existed) that had been sitting in the rain for 3 days at a friends house over the weekend

or too many doggie fat balls :scratch:. Serious doggie poops and major diarreah and kept me up half the night on Sunday night. Yikes! :sad4: But we got something at the vet for his stomach and he seems to be ok today.
Abby and Kirby

papbouv · August 19, 2008, 10:49:30 AM

When adding any kind of new food remember to give tiny amounts so they will not get diarrhea if they do get diarrhea they will not gain weight for sure. Canned Pumpkin is also good for diarrhea not the pie filling but plain canned Pumpkin maybe a teaspoon for that size of dog at each meal.
Papbouv

Doxherding Karen · August 19, 2008, 01:58:46 PM

Quote from: Go4Kirby on August 19, 2008, 09:57:05 AM. . chewing on a rotten bone (which no one knew existed) that had been sitting in the rain for 3 days at a friends house over the weekend

This concern is for an animal that will feast on the rotting carcass of two-week-old road kill, given the chance?

Quote. . . or too many doggie fat balls :scratch:. Serious doggie poops and major diarreah and kept me up half the night on Sunday night. Yikes!

There is a lot of fat in fat balls. That much fat will probably cause diarrhea. Cream cheese, peanut butter, cottage cheese, oil, and hamburger grease. That's why they're called fat balls! Yum! Yum! Yum!!

Karen

Go4Kirby · August 20, 2008, 07:35:29 AM

I hear ya. Kirb is doing pretty good this week now. The vet gave him something for his tummy. No more poopy problems. And he's eating well. I think we're back on the right track.

But I think he did have too many fat balls. We limit them to a very very small one of those a day now.

Kathleen · August 20, 2008, 03:20:16 PM

I missed this until today. Winston is two and I've finally just found a food that will put weight on him. I've tried nearly everything, too. EVO made him very thirsty and he was peeing constantly (too much protein), Taste of the Wild didn't work, Canidae didn't work, nothing worked until....Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit. Who knew? They hated it at first-would spit it right out, but once they got used to the taste, they were fine. Winston no longer feels bony! I'm thrilled to bits with it. Interestingly, it's not made my other two fatter, and my foster seems to be slimming down a bit on it (although portion control has something to do with that!).

Go4Kirby · August 20, 2008, 05:22:34 PM

Kirby eats Taste of the wild normally. His vet reccommended adding a little of California natural puppy food. I added the most minimal amount for about a week. it was about 2 to 1 Taste of the Wild to California natural. But he got the major poopies still. I am still thinking it's too many fat balls.

JetEd73 · September 09, 2008, 01:47:54 PM

Hows Kirby doing?

Gaining weight?

Getting used to the new digs?