Foster Needs To Gain Weight

[Guest crazy4greys]

If the she gets the Big D, you could try using Soy milk instead of regular milk.

[Wonder]

I spent $35 at the grocery store tonight and the only thing for me was a $4 steak.

[Guest meandmygreys]

Sounds like me at the feed store !!..By the time I buy horse feed, dog food...chicken feed, bird seed for the outdoor feeders...They are eating better than me !!

[JerseyGirlInOz]

Some greyhounds just tend to be skinny and that may be Olga's case. I would screw with her digestive tract too much lest she gets the Big D. 4-5 pounds is really not that much.

I'd have to agree here. I've tried everything to get weight onto Mokkah (he had some serious medical issues that ended his racing career---and nearly killed him---so he was *really skinny*), and for a while there, I was SO SURE it was working---people kept commenting on how good he looked, and how well he was "filling out".

 

I stopped at the vet one day on the way home to dog park to find out exactly how much he had gained (I didn't want to overdo it )---and he weighed exactly the same as the day I got him

 

For the life of me I still can't figure it out---the only thing I can surmise is that I take him out for some really big runs sevral times a week, and his muscle tone has improved. I only wish I could stay that lean without trying

 

[Guest pennys_mum]

i came here looking too because penny seems to have lost weight since we changed her food (curse me for buying buy one get one free on cheap food) i have ordered her a high cal food which is #40.00 (approx $80 usd) for 15kg bag, and ive been trying to give her snacks etc but she gets the big d so bad that she messed indoors last week (that has only happened one other time when i gave her onions by accident)

 

but all raw meat gives her the big D- would fish work or is it too lean??? i was thinking tuna in sunflower oil. do bones have any calorific value??

[MP_the4pack]

Egg nog or real ice cream.

 

My girls love both and they are all on diets now!

 

I gave Olga a frosty paw and she got Big D, wonder if she would with egg nog???? I know I don't need to drink it if she can't

 

 

Egg nog has protein and calories. But since it's rich, you would need to introduce it to her a little at a time to keep any digestive disorder at a minimum.

 

 

 

But, it was the last thing my Topaz was able to or wanted to eat before she went to the bridge.

 

 

 

[Guest mleg2001]

Some greyhounds just tend to be skinny and that may be Olga's case. I would screw with her digestive tract too much lest she gets the Big D. 4-5 pounds is really not that much.

 

 

I am going to agree as well, plus there is no way you can healthily put 4 pounds on in only a few days, and if all the new additions result in a big blowout of Big D you could end up turning over a greyhound to the new owners who is 3 or 4 lbs lighter than she currently weighs now, a bad bout of big d can result in majorily quick weight loss in only a couple days, plus with all the treats and additives you risk creating a very picky dog who won't eat for their new owners.

 

This was something the group I fostered for stressed, they did not want foster parent creating unnecessary extra vet bills to treat big D nor did they want the dogs going through any extrra additional stresses as they are already going through so much in such a short period of time with spaying, vaccines, deworming, heartworm, transporting going into foster home, having a diet change then going to a new home, even with that alone some dogs systems can not handle all the combined stresses in such a short period of time and can cause a hepatis type eposide which can result in hospitalization and sometime permanent liver damage occurs , they have had this happen with 2 greyhounds, so the last thing they wanted to see to dogs is dogs having additional stresses for having all sorts of afood dditions given to them which then could cause additional problems for new owners as well when they can't their new greyhound to eat because it became too spoiled with treats in the foster home, so basically their point was it is not fair to the greyhound and also possibly dangerous to the their health especially at a time when they are already undergoing a lot of stress of all different types, and one of the symptoms of stress can be weightloss and failure to gain weight, most will start to gain weight once they have settled into their new home and become more relaxed usually a month or 2 later

 

Recommendations for the new owners if the greyhound is after 2 months still failing to gain weigh have a fecal sample done to ensure no parasites/organsim are present, don't start feeding everything in the kitchen to get her to eat more, often all you succeed at doing is creating a dog that will turn it's nose up at kibble and it make it harder then to keep the weight on, feed more if you can , if necessary, do a slow transition to a new food that is more nutrient dense such as EVO, Orijen or Barking at the Moon, Natures Variety Raw Instinct around 2 1/2 to 3 cups a day, watch the weight and cut back if necessary most greys only need 1 1/2 to 2 cups a day of these types of foods, but because you feed less it is often easier to overfeed for weight gain( easier to get a dogs to eat 3 cups of this food than 6 cups of another type that is not as nutrient dense, or 8 cups if you were feeding a food like Ol'Roy)

[Wonder]

I've been giving Olga pork necks and fatty meatballs along with her kibble. No big D at all.

 

 

[Guest simile]

When I got my pups they were pretty skinny, and I was having a hard time getting them up to weight. It was a bit of a struggle since they were growing in leaps and bounds at the same time. I added canned green tripe to their meals and wasn't stingy with the high calorie treats, but all treats were either salmon or peanut butter crunchies from our local feed store. I noticed a difference in both of them in about six or seven days. It took about a month to get them where they needed to be weight-wise, but I was competing against growth spurts, too.

[Guest VelvetEars]

Carbs. They work for me!

 

Keep in mind that she may gain weight when she's at her forever home --- if she's "at weight" when she gets there, she could end up overweight.

[Guest Dinabird]

bacon lightly fried and the grease along with cottage cheese mixed with Canidae did it for mine

[Guest GreysAndMoreGreys]

Add in some Puppy food and carbs like macaroni are good too

[plepkowski]

I like Jack Mackerel!

[Guest SquanHound]

Puppy food