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-   -   I need my dog to gain weight! :) (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=82321)

Forest&Bear September 23rd, 2012 09:05 AM

I need my dog to gain weight! :)
 
Good Morning!

I have a question about my dog Bear. He is a one year old (approximate, we do not know exact age since we adopted him) Border Collie X. When we adopted him, he was underweight. He was 44 lbs when we brought him home. I was SO excited when he hit 50 lbs, and he looked great! But, unfortunately Mr. Bear got very sick about three/four weeks ago :cry: It was the hardest week of my life! He had to be rushed into the vet, where he was dehydrated, and very lethargic. To make a long story short, he had something in his tummy/intestines which had to be removed surgically. He is back to his old self, and that is great!! The bad part....from being so sick, my poor baby Bear lost about 8 lbs or so :( It breaks my heart because he looks so skinny, his little hip bones are visible. I NEED to get his weight back up.

My question....should I just keep on feeding him normally and let it gradually come back, or, should I be adding something to his diet to make him gain faster? Both of my dogs are on Horizon Legacy Salmon formula.

I had someone suggest putting him back on puppy food (I would use the Horizon Legacy Puppy) for a bag or two, since it has a higher fat content....so I wanted to ask on here since I know there are some very knowledgeable people on here!

Thank you so much!

Loki Love September 23rd, 2012 10:10 AM

I wouldn't switch foods, but you may up the amount you're giving him each day by 1/4 c or so. You could also add some olive oil or coconut oil to his meals for a bit more fat content :)

hazelrunpack September 23rd, 2012 02:22 PM

I'm with LL--I'd just up the amount a little bit. Give it a couple of weeks and see if it helps--if it doesn't, you might want to try a supplement, or maybe something like satin balls. ([URL="http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=53050"]Satin balls[/URL])

Dog Dancer September 23rd, 2012 11:14 PM

Poor Bear, glad to hear he's okay though. See I have a lab and gaining weight has never been a problem for her (it's genetic she gets it from my side of the family:D). I have to agree changing foods would likely just cause trouble. If it's kibble do they sell canned, you could maybe add a bit of the same brand canned to his food. Of course you then risk him turning his nose up at the kibble when you stop the canned. I've heard great things about satin balls too but never had to use them.

Barkingdog September 24th, 2012 09:14 AM

[QUOTE=Loki Love;1046863]I wouldn't switch foods, but you may up the amount you're giving him each day by 1/4 c or so. You could also add some olive oil or coconut oil to his meals for a bit more fat content :)[/QUOTE]

[url]http://nutiva.com/articles/healthy-dogs-use-coconut-oil/[/url]


This web site tell how much coconut oil you give at o dog according to it size.
I would start off giving a very little as the OP dog was ill and I would check with the vet ,

mastifflover September 25th, 2012 09:49 AM

Satin balls work well I would maybe give one every other day but I agree don't switch food.


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