Fattening up a naturally skinny dog

borderlinemeath

I'm helping rehome a dog at the moment who is naturally very skinny, he's a little 2yr old setter and while he has a good appetite and eats well, he doesn't seem to put on any weight. His old family have said the same, he has been vet checked and he is healthy, but just so skinny. His ribs are slightly visible but not too much but I'm just wondering is there any way to put a bit of meat onto his bones.

His new owners have expressed concern about his weight and while I would be inclined to put him on a raw diet, it's a step too far for them. They already feed their existing dog homecooked food along with kibble and are wondering is this the best route to take with the new guy.

Has anybody any recipes for homecooked food to steadily put weight on a skinny boy? Or is there any particular kibble that can build up a dog? The majority of kibble seem to focus on keeping a dogs weight down rather than building them up, and I doubt that a puppy kibble will provide all an adult dog needs?

tk123

I left my pup on wet puppy food (Rocco Junior) because she was so skinny. She's 9 months old and we have at least a month of the stuff left (i bought in bulk lol). I supplement her raw food with it and she's started to fill out the last month or so.

borderlinemeath

I might suggest rocco along with kibble, there's not a chance they'd go full raw, I was showing them my pairs feeding routine last night and they were nearly gagging!

I vaguely remember a fattening type of stew that somebody used to do for underweight dogs, although I don't want him to get too much weight on, it's more to just take the very skinny look from him. I have met plenty of setters that are as skinny and it's very difficult to bulk them out.

tk123

Yeah I had the same reaction last week about RAW - "I couldn't afford that!??" - they're feeding Hills which doesn't agree with the dog and costs a fortune! I spend less than 1 bag if dry food a month for my two..

fatmammycat

To be totally honest with you, Borderline, he sounds like a perfect weight from your description and if he's healthy and fit I'd leave him be. I think folk have forgotten what a naturally fit dog looks like (I'm not talking about you here, just in general), you should be able to see some of the ribs, dogs should have a defined flank, good muscle definition and so forth. Most dogs I see these days are over-fed running to fat and it's not doing them any favours at all. My local vets are doing an Operation Transformation for dogs at the moment, and it's just amazing how many people have fat dogs around where I live.
Regarding building weight, a lady I know with a VERY active springer ( 18 months) had to put him back onto puppy food as he just wasn't getting enough from adult dried. I cannot remember the brand she mentioned, but it was a good brand.
She substituted one of his meals with the puppy food and added an egg or some mackerel or Sardines to it and the young dog put on some weight- but he is so active he loses condition very quickly.

borderlinemeath

fatmammycat wrote: »

To be totally honest with you, Borderline, he sounds like a perfect weight from your description and if he's healthy and fit I'd leave him be. I think folk have forgotten what a naturally fit dog looks like (I'm not talking about you here, just in general), you should be able to see some of the ribs, dogs should have a defined flank, good muscle definition and so forth. Most dogs I see these days are over-fed running to fat and it's not doing them any favours at all. My local vets are doing an Operation Transformation for dogs at the moment, and it's just amazing how many people have fat dogs around where I live.
Regarding building weight, a lady I know with a VERY active springer ( 18 months) had to put him back onto puppy food as he just wasn't getting enough from adult dried. I cannot remember the brand she mentioned, but it was a good brand.
She substituted one of his meals with the puppy food and added an egg or some mackerel or Sardines to it and the young dog put on some weight- but he is so active he loses condition very quickly.

No, I think he's just a bit too skinny. This is him.



He doesn't need much, but I would rather he was just a bit more meaty than that. There's lean, but he's skinny and it's not from lack of appetite, I just need to find him the right food to build him up that wee bit and maintain a healthy weight.

borderlinemeath

tk123 wrote: »

Yeah I had the same reaction last week about RAW - "I couldn't afford that!??" - they're feeding Hills which doesn't agree with the dog and costs a fortune! I spend less than 1 bag if dry food a month for my two..

Same as myself, the cost for my pair is less than feeding them a good quality dry food! I think some people have the notion they're getting fed fillet steak or something!

micheleabc

Did you try to de-worming him?

fits

I don't think hes far off ideal weight to be honest and wouldn't overly worry about it. I say this as a whippet and lurcher owner.

borderlinemeath

micheleabc wrote: »

Did you try to de-worming him?

Yep, he was wormed 2 months ago, so due again in another month. The house he came from had young children so they were fairly fastidious about it.

I have met setters from these lines before, absolutely whippet thin but never to the point where the ribs were so easily seen. I'm wondering does his food not suit him (it's not a particularly good one), although his poos are a good consistency. His old vets details are going to be passed onto his new vet so any notes on his weight will be seen.

We've just been out for a nice walk and he has plenty of energy to burn, I'm wondering because he is quite a nervous boy is he expending excess energy just being nervy and worried. He's very nervous meeting with new people, but great with other dogs and is gun shy so is quite jumpy with any loud noises.

borderlinemeath

fits wrote: »

I don't think hes far off ideal weight to be honest and wouldn't overly worry about it. I say this as a whippet and lurcher owner.

It's very easy to say he's the perfect weight as a whippet and lurcher owner!!
I've two setters myself and they've never been this thin. Even when my female was younger and I found it hard to keep weight on, I never thought she was as thin as this. But that said, they're all different lines, I've met a couple that are this size and they eventually do put on a wee bit of weight, usually when they grow up a bit and calm down:o

fits

Yeah but a lot of the setters I've met are naturally very thin as well. If he's eating well and healthy (and he has a lovely glossy coat) why worry about it???

borderlinemeath

fits wrote: »

Yeah but a lot of the setters I've met are naturally very thin as well. If he's eating well and healthy (and he has a lovely glossy coat) why worry about it???

The new owners are more concerned about it that I am tbh. I'm organising the rehoming and they're coming to me with their concerns and I want to give them advice rather than just tell them he'll be grand. Their setter is very similar to my pair, from working lines, muscular and a bit broader than this guy. I think he'll put on a bit of weight naturally with just good food, whereas they would be inclined to bring him to the vet to make sure he's ok.

I just don't like the view from above, the ribs are clearly visible and he's just a teeny bit too boney. He needs a tiny bit more on him, not much at all, just enough that the ribs aren't so visible.

muddypaws

If they want to stick with kibble, the Royal Canin Sensible is high in fat, its for sensitive tummies, but, as I say is high in fat, its given as prizes a lot in sled dog races, alongside the high energy working food they do.

Some rescue organisations use something called Chudleys Meaty Crunch, which is dehydrated meat and animal greaves, my lot love it, and as it comes in a bag like kibble, it may be more manageable for them than raw, you add warm water to it, leave it for a few minutes and feed. It is very high in protein, so a little bit goes a long way, but it can be mixed in with normal kibble. http://www.petzilla.co.uk/chudleys-greyhound-meaty-chunks.html Not sure how easy it is to find in ROI, but Jollyes etc in NI sell it, and there is someone in the midlands that sells greyhound food that has it.. Chudleys also do a Greyhound Crunch, and a Working Crunch, which are obviously higher in fat than 'pet' foods.

The other thing is to make their own stock, if they have a roast chicken etc, there is always a layer of fat that settles on top of the stock that can be mixed in with the kibble.

VonVix

To be honest, he looks exactly like ever other setter I've met! They've all been very skinny, rib showing dogs.

jimf

maybe a little hippy with ribs slightly showing but looks like a nice coat and a clear clean eye imho not much weight needed they tend to be that way inclined

had 1 for years put on a little weight in his twilight years when he became less active they tend to expend a lot of energy on short runs

borderlinemeath

I just weighed him (after his dinner!) and he's only 19kg, which is very light for his height, he's the same as a setter pup who was here last week and her vet has deemed her underweight, but she's a livewire, never sits down, this guy seems to have a good bit more downtime than that pup.

aonb

19kg for an adult setter seems light, and I think he looks a bit on the thin side too - if the owners are concerned about how he looks, I think its important that they should try to fatten him up a little to make them feel better about their dog. Hes a rescue dog and I think that its important for the new owners to feel good about the job they are doing with their new rescue - and not feel bad or uncomfortable that their new dog looks too thin/looks uncared for/unloved. There is an emotional bond to be made with a new pet, especially a rescue, and in some people eyes the fact that their pet doesnt look well cared for could impact that bond. The human need to have a well-fed/well-tended pet can have an impact on that bonding.

Having said all that, I found home cooked food when I had a very under weight rescue made a distinct improvement pretty quickly. My uncle was a breeder of fabulous greyhounds. He made what he called 'soup' - boiled meat (on the bone) with barley, bit of veg, and water until very tender. Deboned meat and added crumbled brown bread to the 'soup'. Then a nice bowl of that topped with a raw egg. He also used heart & liver meat that he would fry up once/twice a week & feed that on its own too. Ive found this worked well.

If worms are not an issue, and he is just one of those dogs that wont put condition on, then maybe smaller meals twice or even three times/day might help?

borderlinemeath

I've been feeding him 3 times a day for the past couple of days, he's going to his new home tomorrow, and I suggested to them yesterday that three meals a day may work to build him up.

SingItOut

I haven't read through the other comments so appologies if this was already suggested. Have you tried feeding him on a puppy food with a high fat content ? When putting on weight on my terrier I found this to be the best help. There is also a product called Nourish-Um which is basically a high calorie paste designed to help with weight gain. You can mix it into his food or put it on his paws so he'll lick it off. It is definitely in maxi zoo and other good pet shops.

My new rescue puppy, a 7 month old springerXcollie, was desperately thin when I got her. I started her out on clinivet puppy for two months and she did put a few KG on but seemed to always be hungry on it so I switched her to select gold puppy and she's fine on it and has put on weight a lot quicker on it