Best Product To Gain Weight On a Dog

pudzey101

Hi posting this for my mother , she has a 4 year old german shepard that cant seem to put up weight , the dog is well fed and not underweight . Shes just worried as previous german shepards she had where very well built/ broad .

DBB

German Shepherds are very prone to malabsorption problems, including EPI (Endocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency), which given the dog's breed might want to be ruled out via blood tests with the vet, before trying to fatten the dog up with what could be inappropriate foods.
There are various symptoms of such conditions (they're often very skinny, but not always), but nothing is as reliable as initial blood tests which can, at least, indicate what further tests need to be considered.
Of course, her dog might just be a smaller or narrow build of shep! There's quite a size range in the breed.

pudzey101

Thanks will let her know that , also the dog had very bad parvo virus when as a pup , but has made a fantastic recovery since , that could play a part in the weight problems too im sure ?

DBB

pudzey101 wrote: »

Thanks will let her know that , also the dog had very bad parvo virus when as a pup , but has made a fantastic recovery since , that could play a part in the weight problems too im sure ?

Yes, parvo can lead to digestive problems later in life.
Does her dog ever suffer from loose poops or diarrhoea?

pudzey101

yes she was lucky to live through it was very sick , no her stools etc are very solid

Attatched photos there but you cant really see how thin she is

DBB

pudzey101 wrote: »

yes she was lucky to live through it was very sick , no her stools etc are very solid

Attatched photos there but you cant really see how thin she is

She's lovely! Really lovely! Are they recent photos? She looks like a pup in them!
And she looks healthy too, can't see that she's terribly thin from the photos.

pudzey101

No shes 3 in that photo DBB really small for her age dont u think , is there anything out there that could possibly bulk her up a small bit

DBB

pudzey101 wrote: »

No shes 3 in that photo DBB really small for her age dont u think , is there anything out there that could possibly bulk her up a small bit

What's she being fed on?
How much exercise does she get? And what sort of exercise?
I do think your mam should get her checked out by her vet in any case. Just to make sure there's no underlying reason for her not putting on weight or filling out.

Shelli2

Once the vet has ruled out any medical issues, you could try satin balls, just google it for the recipe. It worked a treat for my GDx last year.

pudzey101

been fed pedigree chum nuts , mixed with dog food and the odd bit of boiled chicken 1-2 times a week brought on long walks and left off the lead to run once a day 7 days a week yeah well get her checked out thanks guys , might try those satin balls

DBB

Pedigree and your average tinned dog foods won't help a dog with any sort of digestive compromise, as many survivors of Parvo have. Both are stuffed full of cereals and colourants, which are a challenge for a healthy canine digestive system, let alone one which may be chronically damaged.
Your mam's dog, assuming she's cleared as okay with your vet, needs high-quality protein to help her build up muscle and condition. So, you're looking at a cereal-free food, or which has rice as the only cereal, and preferably with plenty of meat protein. This could be supplemented with eggs, fresh meat, and fish several times per week.
But again, a visit to the vet is the first thing that needs to happen.

pudzey101

DBB wrote: »

Pedigree and your average tinned dog foods won't help a dog with any sort of digestive compromise, as many survivors of Parvo have. Both are stuffed full of cereals and colourants, which are a challenge for a healthy canine digestive system, let alone one which may be chronically damaged.
Your mam's dog, assuming she's cleared as okay with your vet, needs high-quality protein to help her build up muscle and condition. So, you're looking at a cereal-free food, or which has rice as the only cereal, and preferably with plenty of meat protein. This could be supplemented with eggs, fresh meat, and fish several times per week.
But again, a visit to the vet is the first thing that needs to happen.

Thanks DBB , trip to the vet is in order during the week so , il get her to ask advice on the vet for the things you have noted , and see what he has to say


thanks again

cocker5

pudzey101 wrote: »

been fed pedigree chum nuts , mixed with dog food and the odd bit of boiled chicken 1-2 times a week brought on long walks and left off the lead to run once a day 7 days a week yeah well get her checked out thanks guys , might try those satin balls

OP – What a gorgeous looking dog!

Just to say on the pedigree dog food (dry nuts and tinned), it’s a very low quality dog food, all supermarkets brands are usually pretty terrible when it comes to health benefits and actual food quality for your dog. not having a go or anything like that just letting you know.

Take a look at the website below… it’s a dog food analysis website:

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1885&cat=all

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/pedigree-dog-food-canned/

Also I wouldn’t be overly eager in getting dog food advise form a vet either, reason is some of the older generation vets still consider Pedigree / earls from Aldi etc. ok for your dog , also many other vets sell brands of dog food themselves and will recommendation what the actually sell rather than what’s best for your dog.

Personally I would try moving her onto either of these two:

Burns – I used this for a long time on my guy, he thrived on it.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/burns-dog-food-dry/

I’ve now moved him on Taste of the wild

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/taste-of-the-wild-dog-food-dry/

It’s a good quality dry food and again he’s doing really well on it.

Also OP please keep in mind better quality dog food will seem initially more expensive BUT you will feed a lesser amount so all in all it works out cheaper than crappy supermarket food.

Also OP try adding Salmon oil into her food each day, great for the joints and coat.

its lasts ages too as all you need is a tablespoon amount each day :

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/supplements_specialty_food/hair_skin/more_skin_and_coat_supplements/139892

For extra protein for the dog try adding tinned sardines in oil once per week (my guy goes crazy for this), or a whisked raw egg etc.

I buy all my stuff on zooplus.ie:

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/taste_of_the_wild/231924

One thing to keep in mind whatever food you move the dog onto… do it over a week, mix half old food and half new food for 7 days so you don’t upset his tummy etc.

Best of luck with whatever you decide!

stusawop

Just thought I'd mention that the first two sites that cocker5 has linked to are reviews of ingredients in the American version of Pedigree food, which are different to the UK product that is sold here and although Taste of the Wild has a good ingredient list the brand is manufactured in America by a co-packer, Diamond, who have had their fair share of "problems"....if you care to Google.

cocker5

stusawop wrote: »

Just thought I'd mention that the first two sites that cocker5 has linked to are reviews of ingredients in the American version of Pedigree food, which are different to the UK product that is sold here and although Taste of the Wild has a good ingredient list the brand is manufactured in America by a co-packer, Diamond, who have had their fair share of "problems"....if you care to Google.

I have googled them before feeding my dog Tesate of the Wild they have had product recalls in the US but not in Europe.

Regardless of problems its still a far better quality of food, I didnt buy it based on the food analysis website I bought it based on recommendations.

I only showed the OP the link to show him / her there are ways to find out a better quality food for their dog.

Also Im sure the Pedigree sold here in Ireland / UK is not of a better quality than the version they sell in the US... thats nonsense talk really.

Either way the OP needs to move the dog onto better food... whatever barnd they decide is up to them but Pedigree (supermarkets brands in general) is pure muck.... and giving the dog nothing nutritionally

stusawop

....:rolleyes: