Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 9:05 pm Post subject: Fern's weight gain - update P2
Ok so Fern is still stupidly thin (even I think she is thin and I like thin dogs but I mean worringly thin). I was at the vet with Grouse the other day for her immunotherapy injection (I always take both dogs because Grouse is such a wuss) and the vet suggested feeding her pasta to fatten her up.
She has a very sensitive stomach so various things are out of the question.
Her current food is the only thing I have found which does not cause 'cappuchino bum' !
3 meals a day had little effect.
More food just makes her poo lots !
I could not even consider more protein as she is bouncing off the walls already!
So pasta it is.....how much should I feed her? Should I do it with one meal a day (out of two)?
Last edited by Chow on Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:05 pm; edited 1 time in total
I wouldn't give her Pasta if you want to put some weight on her without the whippy bum. I would encourage you to go for protein and don't worry about the reports of hyperactive dogs made worse by protein. I think those are somewhat over played and innacuccurate!
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As she has a sensitive tum, I'd probably introduce it very gradually, over a number of days. Pasta can make for loose poos in many dogs, as it's pretty much all wheat and many dogs can't digest wheat. So I really would just add a few bits to one meal and wait to see if anything happens, before giving a little more the next day. If she is ok after a few days, then I'd probably give her a handful in each meal and adjust the amounts from there until her weight is right.
Do you know if she can have potato, as generally that is tollerated better and it still has the carbs in, which help put the weight on?
Oh a*se - I gave her some tonight! I look forward to the joys of tomorrow morning I am not sure her problem is wheat, it seems to be anything very meaty - which is odd for a dog! I will try potato though if the pasta does not work, good plan.
My worry about higher protein is both dogs are on basic chudleys 'classic' food and they are full of it. I put Grouse on chudleys 'working' once and vowed never again - she would just spend the walk jumping at head height, running up and down and acting like a knob she was absolutely uncontrollable. I put her back on chudleys classic and my normal dog was back, fizzy but sensible.
Fern is a complete and total nutter - she is like Grouse was on working food on the basic stuff! Think border collie on speed she really does not need a great deal more energy, in fact, I think that is her problem, what goes in, goes straight back out into sillyness....I don't mind that she is very 'green', it's what she is like but she needs to hold some weight.
I'm glad you posted this Celine because looking at your beautiful pics of H and the dogs I was shocked at how thin Fern looks. I'm afraid I thought it was your policy about liking thin dogs that caused it and I had a private thought that keeping a dog so skinny was borderline cruel.
I'm really relieved that you're eager to see her fill out and look less skeletal and obviously you've been consulting your vet.
Is wet dog food out of the question? Chappie, say? They do seem to love it and perhaps that mixed with another 'good' carb, boiled rice, might help.
Carbs do do a good job of putting weight on, but you have to remember that adding any extra calories will add energy too. I think just like people and horses some are Burners and some are Storers. The Storers simply store any excess calories as fat, but the Burners just run about more to burn off the excess calories/energy.
Think Thoroughbreds and Cobs. Have you ever seen a fat TB....Probably not, but I bet you've seen some highly strung, flighty, nervy ones, just bursting to burn off whatever fuel is put in the tank. Then look at the average Cob, put him out in a field with a tiny covering of grass and he'll get fat, yet he rarely uses up more energy than necessary.
What you've got are the TB versions of a Labrador. The more calories/energy in, the more they hooly about to burn it off. You will have trouble putting weight on this type, no matter what you feed it.
I know Poodle people swear by Carbs for weight gain and they have certainly worked for my dogs in the past when they have needed a little more weight on them. Protein is great for muscle bulking, but never seems to put that layer over their ribs, like Carbs do. The other old trick, with horses anyway, is to add oil to their diet, as it's a slow release energy, so you tend not to get the fizziness, but you get some fat laid down under the skin instead. You could always try adding a little oil (sunflower/vegetable/olive, etc) to see if that helps.
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I'm glad you posted this Celine because looking at your beautiful pics of H and the dogs I was shocked at how thin Fern looks.
It's funny how different eyes see different things, isn't it. I just looked at your photos too, yet only saw a young, fit and lean dog, which is pretty much how I like to see them at that age. I certainly never saw excessively thin or skeletal.
Try not to beat yourself up over Fern's leaness and remember, keeping a dog on the light side has huge health benefits. It's proven not only to be far better for their joints, but, for whatever reason, it seems to add longevity to the dog too. And we all want our dogs to live forever, don't we.
After reading one of the other posts I just had a look at the pics of Fern with H and I have to say I see the same as Jules - a very fit looking lean young dog who looks incredibly healthy, happy and full of life. She looks very similar in physique to Murphy, my four and a half year old Lab. He suffers with a sensitive stomach too and you just cannot put weight on him without upsetting the stomach through extra fat, too much excess food in the system etc thus long term actually causing weight loss and more of a problem stomach wise. He also has severe ED and arthritis so his leaness can also only help him in that respect!
Don't bust a gut over this Celine..you could try the odd bit of cooked chicken/hard boiled egg added to the feed if you really want to "fatten" Fern up but as the vet said to me - there are so many overweight and borderline overweight dogs out there that a fit, lean one now looks too thin to many people. My German Pointer is very lean but again feed him excess and a runny bottom is the result..I think its like humans - some are naturally on the slim side whatever they eat but others are predisposed to weight gain..
P.S Love the pics of H and your two dogs - absolutely beautiful!
Some great ideas here - I like the idea of giving oil to fatten her a bit. The only thing she seems to stomach is tripe - I am giving her some of this now, chappie etc at the moment seems to be out of the question (result - yellow soup ).
I will try and get a profile of grouse and one of fern (easier said than done!). Grouse is lean - tucked up tummy, covering on the ribs but easily felt - a nice shape to me for a dog coming up to 4. She is 22kg. Fern has a hollow waist - which does not show in many of the photo's - I can get my hands round it easily. When standing without exercise one can see every single one of her ribs. I LOVE lean labs - I have no desire to own a thick set or fat lab or even a medium one to be honest, I like slim but not thin. She doesn't need muscle bulking, her thighs are just muscle, she just does not store any fat anywhere on her body. I think you hit the nail on the head Jules - fern is a TB version - she does not stop. My husband even thinks she is thin - when he thinks something is thin, it's time to start feeding them up
I'll try and get a pic.
I was going to suggest adding olive oil too, if she'll tolerate it. We've used it - for a different situation, where older dogs have been losing weight, along with splitting their meals into smaller, more frequent amounts.
Celine when you say a third meal has no effect do you mean no squits or no added weight, cos if you are'nt getting the cappuchino bum, then I would stay with a mid-day feed, and the sardines in oil are popular with my two.
I can't remember Ferns age, but I found the ribs started to cover when Mischa hit two, but it was so subtle it took a few more months for me to realise that she was tipping over the weight I prefer [if you know what I mean] I would put her in the TB catagory.
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