Trying to put weight on a dog

[winstonsgrrrl]

I'm currently dog sitting my brother's boxer while my brother is in the hospital. The dog is 3 yrs old, and has always been very thin. He has recently lost a lot of hair and is emaciated. We thought it was a food allergy, so we switched his food. He was also flea-infested, so we took care of that. What's the best thing to feed him to get him to gain some weight? Like I said, he's always been very thin, and my brother has been working to try to put weight on him for a long time.

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

This is a high quality food supplement to get weight quickly on dogs. It says in this recipe that its only a supplement, however, I do know people that have only fed this to a dog for a few weeks to get weight on really fast. Works well. You can omit the Solid Gold Seameal if you can't find it, not neccesary for the recipe.

Satin Balls for Dogs

5 pounds ground meat
5 cups Total whole grain cereal
5 cups oats (slow cooking type)
2½ cups raw wheat germ
¾ cup oil
¾ cup molasses
6 egg yolks
5 packets gelatin
2 ½ tablespoons Solid Gold Seameal supplement

Mix up, form balls, freeze, feed as treats or food supplement.

Mix all ingredients together thoroughly like you would a meatloaf.
Roll into balls no larger than 1 inch diameter.
Divide into at least 6 separate containers or bags. Freeze. Thaw as needed for feeding.

 

[journey11]

Has he been checked for worms? Hair loss or dull coat often indicate that....

Also, boxers are a high energy dog. They are a little harder to fatten up because they are always on the move, especially so young.

Jaime's recipe sounds really nutritious. I would also add that I had very good results with my chow-mix when I gave her a twice a day powdered garlic and brewers yeast supplement with her moist food. She was badly neglected and flea infested when I took her in as a puppy. Not only does it make their coat healthy, but it also repels fleas naturally. A dog in bad shape is often not a good candidate for topicals like frontline, and especially not flea dip. A heavy flea infestation will also make a dog anemic and severe enough it could even kill them.

Good luck!

 

[onthespot]

I second that. If he had fleas, he has tapewoms.

 

[thewarriorchild]

Yep worms would be top on my list to check and I would get him on some DE also.

 

[Redyre Rotties]

I would want a general physical before I started trying to put weight on the dog, with blood work and fecal, and someone in the know to listen to his heart. And as others stated, he almost certainly needs to be dewormed.

What brand of food is the dog eating right now? Sometimes just changing to a better brand can do the trick.

I completely agree with adding Digestive Enzymes or Enhancer. This helps many dogs to use what they are being given more efficiently.

 

[winstonsgrrrl]

Thanks for the suggestions. Is there any way to tell if has worms other than taking him to the vet? I need to talk to my brother to find out which vet he uses. But in the meantime, these are very good suggestions.

 

[KDbeads]

Satin balls are awesome for getting weight on dogs, to give you an idea of how well they work:
http://www.krausdesigns.com/Kelvin.html
Also, feeding several times a day will help as well. Not more than his normal ration, just split it up. Like Kelvin was getting 3 cups of kibble before the kidney food, instead of all at once we split it into 3 meals of a cup each.

But definitely have a fecal test for worms. If you see rice grain like pieces in the stool there is a tape worm and it's shedding. He can still have a tape worm if you don't see the pieces, it's just not shedding at the moment.

 

[duckboatprincess]

One was to tell with some types of worms is to check his poop. You'll probably see some. There are wormers sold over the counter at Tractor Supply. These work pretty well. I think though that some strains of worms won't respond to the treatment. My personal favorite for wormers is called D-Worm. It works well. I like the liquid kind, but the power is cheaper. Good luck.

If he doesn't have worms, put him on a food that is high in protein.

 

[Brindlebtch]

I would go ahead and worm him for tape worms and roundworms and have him checked for heart worms.

His condition sounds really abnormal. I would use Jaime's satin balls and gradually switch the dog over to puppy kibble of some sort, along with kelp, which will help with hair growth.

The dog really needs to be checked out by a vet.