Under weight Rott. Help/advice needed.

unclebill98

Hi guys,

Need some help. I've rescued a pure breed Rott, she is around 11 months old.

Some history.

Adopted when 3 months old.
Came to me when she was 6.
All meds up to date.
Came to me with a bag of Lidl dog food, so assume she was put on this.
Snipped after 1st heat.
Weight is 25kg. You can she her ribs.
Being feed Beta 400g in 2 sittings per day.
From last visit with vet she said she was a little under weight but its fine.
Brought to boarding 2 weeks ago and we where told she was very underweight.
Up'd her food to 550g
I catch eating stones and the other dogs poo

Left her into boarding 4 days later, on 1st morning she got bloat and was in a different vets for 3 days. No operation needed. Laxatives where given and she returned to normal. Vet said they are prone to that and GDV and has said getting her stomach stapled to prevent it might be a good thing to do. Also this vet said she is under weight.

She's home now and on Hill's prescription diet ID food and a course of meds. Kesium 500mg & Zantac 300mg. Meds course finishes today.

So, with the above in mind and the depending on who I talk to its either her weight is fine, she's under weight, don't feed her that food, use this food etc. I need to sort her food and weight out and I'm wondering what you guys think?

All advice greatly welcomed. Thanks in advance.

Nody

Would you consider raw? It's probably the best option out there; if not a high quality (i.e. not Lidl, Hills, Royal Canin etc.) dry would be the route to look at.

unclebill98

Nody wrote: »

Would you consider raw? It's probably the best option out there; if not a high quality (i.e. not Lidl, Hills, Royal Canin etc.) dry would be the route to look at.

Thanks for the reply.

Can you explain raw? I've only ever given dry food.

I've a St. Bernard on Beta Sensitive and another St. Bernard and Rottx on Beta adult. The Hills is just going to be too expensive to be a realistic option going forward.

Nody

Raw is exactly that; a diet of raw meat etc. This thread here should explain it a whole lot better then I can (inc. results from dog owners who've done the change) and in terms of sourcing it if you decide to switch this page can help (at the start if nothing else).

unclebill98

Side pic to give a better idea.

Thanks for the links, will read up.

andreac

Can i ask why from 6 to 11 months that you didnt up her food if she was thin?


Did the vet say how long she was to stay on the Hills diet?

I would suggest getting a better quality food, than Beta, and feed her that and feed her little and often. Try increasing what the normal daily allowance should be and if you need to add meat etc to help bulk it up, along with pasta then you can do that.

I def recommend the raw diet esp if shes prone to Bloat now.

unclebill98

andreac wrote: »

Can i ask why from 6 to 11 months that you didnt up her food if she was thin?


Did the vet say how long she was to stay on the Hills diet?

I would suggest getting a better quality food, than Beta, and feed her that and feed her little and often. Try increasing what the normal daily allowance should be and if you need to add meat etc to help bulk it up, along with pasta then you can do that.

I def recommend the raw diet esp if shes prone to Bloat now.

From when we had her I've asked about her weight and each time my vet said shes ok, a little under but nothing to worry about. So just left things as is.

Vet did not say how long she's to stay on hills. Have been unable to contact them but I am following it up.

I can add pasta no worries however before I change i'm looking through the RAW tread etc. on page 4, I'm sure the answer is there but how much RAW food do you give a dog based on its weight?

andreac

If you google raw it will give you the specifics.

Most dogs take 2% of the bodyweight per day in food. But like your dog who is underweight you might need to increase the amount she gets until you get her to normal weight.

borderlinemeath

If she's 25kg then anything from 625g to a kilo of food per day, that's 2.5% to 4% of her current weight. If you go onto dogsfirsts facebook page and contact him through there he might give you a heads up as to what to feed her and how much to feed her - ie chicken/beef will have a higher fat content than fish.


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dogs-First/154235037973214

DBB

OP, at any stage in all of this, has any vet pulled bloods to make sure there are no underlying health issues? Aside from checking the health of her organs, the thyroid also needs to be checked.
She's skinny, she's hard to put weight on, she's eating non-edible items... there would be alarm bells here for me that I would want to definitively factor in or out before simply upping her food.
Once you've had her bloods done (if you haven't already), then I'll +1 the raw diet too, my own dogs have been on it for a few years now. If you've got the freezer space, and you can buy in bulk, then feeding raw is cheaper than any of the mid-range dry foods, and infinitely better for her. I would not, personally, use pasta or any form of cereal to put weight onto a carnivorous animal: more meat, and maybe a little more veg and spud... but not cereal.
For the record, there is a lot of variability in how much raw to feed: if I feed my 2yr old, 40kg GSD any more than an average 2% of her body weight per day, she piles it on! But a growing youngster may need as much as 5% per day... it's always a bit of an experiment to see what suits each individual dog:)

Shelli2

I have been using home made 'Satin Balls' to increase my 10 month old GS x Collie's weight, however, I had him checked by the vet and there was no underlying problems, so I might be worth checking with the vet before feeding them to your dog.

They have worked miracles for my lad. His coat is so thick and shiny, and he finally looks a normal weighted dog. Like your girl he was so thin and his ribs were really visible, even through his think longish coat.

Link here to recipe I used:
http://www.njboxers.com/satin-balls-recipe.html#.UXBQDKK-r44

toadfly

unclebill98 wrote: »

How much RAW food do you give a dog based on its weight?

I have to feed around 4% as its very hard to keep weight on Lexi. She lost 30% body weight on dry food and after 3 months on raw she was back to ideal weight and has kept it on a good few months after.

The general rule is 20% a week so roughly 3% a day but you may need more than that.

unclebill98

Thanks for the advice so far.

She is booked in to have blood tests done to rule anything else out. Really interested in starting RAW so will get the items over the weekend. Will keep the tread up to date with progress.


Thanks guys.

tk123

My dog was kind of lanky/no condition but the difference in him since switching to raw - his muscle tone is great and I even weighed him the last week at the pet shop because I thought he was getting fat - it was just his coat getting thick lol!! :pac: What ever you do put the weight on slowly - she's still a baby and you don't want to put stress on her joints while her bones are still growing.