putting weight on a puppy UPDATE!

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pahntr760

Active member
I recently (1 week ago) got a Chesapeake puppy from some people that apparently didn’t care for it too much. She is a good bit underweight for her size and age. (6 months)

I want to know what is suggested to safely help her gain weight. I am currently feeding her Purina One puppy food. I realize there are better options foods wise, for her, but that is what I have for now.

Could I add something to her diet to gain weight? I.e.; lard, beef suit, etc?

Any advice / techniques are appreciated.
 
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Originally Posted By: pahntr760Recommended de-worming product?

I use interceptor for my dogs, it's a bit more expensive then some other methods but i only have 2 dogs. 1 pill every month and they are good.
 
How thin is the pup ?
Deworm first, then put weight on.

When trying to put weight on a dog you need to do it very
slowly. You want muscle, not fat.

We use a couple methods with our dogs and rescues we take
in. 1 is to feed them a peanut butter sandwich or 2 daily.
We also use a product called Dyne. It's a liquid you pour
on their food.

Molasses on their food helps but I can't stand the smell of
it so rarely do it.

A method I haven't tried yet is to feed them satin balls.
It's something you have to make and various recipes can be
found on the net or if you PM me, I'll find it and send
it to you.

Make sure you are feeding a pretty high quality food.
For our big dogs, we feed Diamond Naturals Large breed.
Check the ingredients of the food and make sure that corn,
grains, etc are not at the top of the list. Most foods will
tell you the calorie content per serving. Younger dogs need
as high calories as you can get. Our guard dogs require
4000+ calories a day just so they don't lose weight.
There are foods especially for active dogs like yours will
be.

It's tough to put weight on a dog this time of year as they
tend to eat less when the temps are higher.

We deal with underweight dogs fairly often. We have 1 that
no matter what we've tried won't put on weight. She's just
a large thin dog.


PM me if you need more info.
 
Take the advice, and do what these guys are telling you by worming first and foremost.

However, if that does not do the trick, here is a recipe that will work for sure (that is if the pup is not sick).

This is the original recipe:
10 pounds hamburger meat (the cheapest kind)
1 lg. box of Total cereal
1 lg. box oatmeal
1 jar of wheat germ
1 1/4 cup veg oil
1 1/4 cup of unsulphured molasses
10 raw eggs AND shells
10 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
pinch of salt


However, if you just want to try them out or have a small dog, I recipe this scaled down version (1/10th or the original).

1 pound cheap hamburger (for high fat %)
1 1/3 cups Total cereal
1 1/2 cups uncooked oatmeal
1 raw egg
6 tablespoons wheat germ
1 package Knox unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses
Pinch of salt

The only thing I suggest you change is the oil; vegtable oil has no health benefit, so substitute it with an oil that does (like flax seed oil which is high in healthy omega 3s).

Now keep in mind that when you use this mix, do not do it for to long. Within a couple of days you should see a big change. If you give this to the pup for a few weeks, he/she will become fat. This should do the trick.

Tim
 
He gave this same recipe to my sister to help a dog who was nursing pups, and they were drawing her pretty hard. She used it with great success.

Just keep in mind, its harder on a dog to be overweight than underweight.
 
I truly appreciate all of the advice. I'm not trying to 'bulk' her or anything like that. I just want to know the be route to ensure she is growing healthy. Since I could not get a good start for her, being she is 6 months old. I just want the safest was to 'undo' the wrong doing of her previous owners. Right now I have wormer in hand and will do that. Honestly, I am noticing an improvement in her coat and build already. Not much, build wise, just that she looks healthier.

Again, thanks for the advice!
 
She is a great dog. And a wonderful compliment to my choc lab. I'm sure she will work out great, I just wanted to be safe about things.
 
Cottage cheese. Old neighbor guy fed both of his German Shepherd pups cottage cheese for the 1st 6 mo's of the pups life. They both grew to be very large, in stature & weight.

I might add, "both of those pups were runts" at birth. I never seen the 1st dog he owned. But I did see the second one. Dog was huge, 125 lbs. Old guy swore their large growth size was because of the cottage cheese he fed them. Because he otherwise feed them puppy dog food.
 
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Originally Posted By: Jesse lackeyHow bout some pics of her pahntr?
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First two are from the night we got her home. Her belly was sunken in and you could easily see ribs.
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These two are from today. Her coat looks eons better. The food is hitting her well. Belly and sides are starting to fill in. I think she's doing much better.
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I got her wormed today. Got some Agri-max. We will see how it works. Thanks again everyone.
 


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