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For dogs who need to gain weight, don't stuff them. High calories will only put on fat and the dog needs to replace muscle.
Figure how many calories he will need when he reaches his ideal weight and feed just that. His wreight will float up gradually until he meets his ideal weigh. Weight put on will be proper muscle mass and not lard. You won't risk unbalancing his diet or risk triggering an attack of pancreatitis.
I would feed 3 times a day, but at least 2 times if 3 times isn't possible.
Make sure the dog gets plenty of exercise. The exercise will help with replacing lost muscle mass.
I work from home so luckily can feed him three times a day. I am guessing that on straight kibble, at his "fighting weight" he should be on about 2 1/2 to 3 cups of Taste of the Wild per day. I've been giving him 4 cups as well as about 1/3 lb of satin balls (just what I had on hand, 80% ground beef, whole milk yogurt, molasses, egg yolks, oatmeal and coconut oil and I just got some Missing Link to add in) and he devours it all. I am going to cut his kibble back to 1.5 c per serving plus the satin balls and see how that works for a week or two.
As far as exercise, I don't have a lot of time for him. I might manage 10 minutes of playing "catch the ball" with him and maybe a quick walk. He's so sweet. I feel bad for him but hopefully someone will fall in love with him who can be a proper loving owner for him. A shame this town is overrun with unwanted pit mixes. :/
Quote:
Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke
For dogs who need to gain weight, don't stuff them. High calories will only put on fat and the dog needs to replace muscle.
Figure how many calories he will need when he reaches his ideal weight and feed just that. His wreight will float up gradually until he meets his ideal weigh. Weight put on will be proper muscle mass and not lard. You won't risk unbalancing his diet or risk triggering an attack of pancreatitis.
I would feed 3 times a day, but at least 2 times if 3 times isn't possible.
Make sure the dog gets plenty of exercise. The exercise will help with replacing lost muscle mass.
Another update: now that I have Smokey, I realize Harry actually is very nicely muscled - just on the thin side. But very, very strong. Mercy now that he is feeling better the boy can pull me on the leash. (We are working on it). Smokey is not quite as thin as Harry was a few weeks ago but has little muscle tone. I wonder what crap his people fed him. Well, at least now I know what food to feed Smokey to help him bulk up some. Poor little guy.
Keep working on the loose leash, but for better control try a sense-ation harness, if you can spend the money for it. There was a thread on it very recently here. It makes a world of difference.
One of the hardest things for me with rescue dogs, especially dogs in the condition you described, is the possibility of overfeeding them. I mean, you look at them, and you have such pity that you just want to stuff their little bellies and make them happy. You think about all the horrible things they've been through and you just want to give them something you know will make them happy - food. You do have to be careful though.
My GSD is like that. She was skin and bone and badly abused when we found her. To this day I have the urge to slide her an extra dog treat, give her an extra pat on the head, or hug her a little longer as if to say "You're safe now." I'm guilty of it at times but I have tried extra hard not to give in to those compulsions because I know it's only going to hurt her.
My point is that you're feeding that dog plenty of food. I think you'll probably want to throttle back on the amount of food the dog eats when it reaches its target weight (something the vet can tell you). They're really good at looking at you with their big brown eyes as if to say "Look at the hell I've been through. Please, just add a few more cups of chow to my bowl." But, do try not to give in to those eyes once your dog is healthy.
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