lukasmom Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 My boy Luka just turned 7 years old. He was retired and adopted by me at 18 months of age. He has always been thin, he typically stays around 63 pounds. He lost some weight while at Mountain Hounds and today while at Petsmart I weighed him and he is down to 58.8 pounds. When we do meet and greets people always think he is just off the track. Besides cookies (Luka's idea not mine) what could I get him to eat that isn't junk or high in fat that could put some weight on him. He is typically a nibbler, will never just eat a bowl of food at one time. Both my hounds are free fed. He won't eat veggies. He is a very picky eater and a cookie snob. My girl gained 17 pounds after retiring (she is not over weight). Any ideas or suggestions? My hounds eat Paul Newman's Organic Chicken and Rice kibble and Blue Buffalo Lamb and Rice (3 to 1 of the Newman's food). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryJane Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 give him some toasted challah with a bit of butter (or peant butter) on it - it's what I used to get weight on my fosters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbullwinkel Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 (edited) pasta helped garry gain weight..plain with nothing on it. or boiled potatoes. I fed those as snacks in between meals Edited June 28, 2012 by dbullwinkel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Energy11 Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 WISH that was my problem! I feed my boys, all seniors, half "light" food and half regular. Some people feed puppy food to put on the extra pounds. As long as his blood work looks good, why not? And, wowee, there are many yummy, high calorie treats out there, too. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Just feed him MORE of what he likes I guess! Or how about some kind of stew added to his kibbles? Something with meat or chicken, some pasta or rice--I bet he'd love that! My dog weighs less than he did when he raced, and he weighs less five years after adoption than he did when I first got him. I attribute that to some loss of muscle, as I do not consider him underweight. If he's in good health with energy and his bloodworks is all good, it is probably normal for him. Just like people, some dogs are naturally thin and it doesn't mean they're not healthy and fit. Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnnziggy Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 (edited) When my little girl was getting thin, I gave her a half of a bottle of Ensure every day. It worked for her! Also, try giving him some cottage cheese. Dawson will dance for peanut butter! Edited June 28, 2012 by Dawnnziggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KsFrets Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Lisa (my avitar) was terribly thin her first year with us. She had been vetted and everything was declared good and healthy. Her ribs and hips stuck out more than our other two. One day I was totally grossed out when I saw the wiggly little rice crispies in her poo. Yep, tape worms. No idea when or how she got them. We wormed her with stuff from the pet store, and she started gaining weight almost immediately. She checked clean for parasites at her last vet yearly. We’ve had her two year on Mother’s day, and she’s a little overweight now if anything. It was our second bout with tape worms. One of our fosters had them, and she too started gaining weight after we wormed her. Just something to be aware of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3vagreys Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Whenever my little Echo needs to gain weight, I just give her 1/2 of a peanut butter sandwich at lunch. Needless to say, I have to give tiny bites to the others also but Echo gets the big bites and in a few days, she has gained enough that I can return her to her normal meal schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJNg Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 My girl gained 17 pounds after retiring (she is not over weight). No offense intended, but unless your girl was very sick or malnourished when you got her, I have a hard time believing this. Are you sure your boy is underweight? I find it's very common for people to have a difficult time assessing proper weight for a greyhound. 58.8 lbs does sound low for a male, unless he's tiny, though. Do you have any photos? My female is now 7.5 years old and has always stayed right around her racing weight of 56 lbs. My male, who will be 7 in a couple weeks, has lost a lot of muscle mass since he retired and is a good weight at 5-7 lbs under his racing weight of 71 lbs. I find that some dogs will self-regulate and seem to have a 'set' weight they maintain that is under what most of us would consider ideal. If the dog is healthy and maintains that weight, I don't worry too much about it. Since you mentioned Luka lost weight while at Mountain Hounds, maybe he just needs a little more time to put it back on? If he doesn't, or continues to lose, I'd recommend a vet exam and bloodwork to make sure there's not a medical problem. Quote Jennifer & Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On), Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukasmom Posted June 30, 2012 Author Share Posted June 30, 2012 My girl gained 17 pounds after retiring (she is not over weight). No offense intended, but unless your girl was very sick or malnourished when you got her, I have a hard time believing this. Are you sure your boy is underweight? I find it's very common for people to have a difficult time assessing proper weight for a greyhound. 58.8 lbs does sound low for a male, unless he's tiny, though. Do you have any photos? Unfortunately I am computer challenged so haven't figured the photo thing out. You can see most of his ribs and his hip bones stick out. Maybe this is just his ideal weight but I worry if he ever got sick and lost his appetite for a few days he would look really bad. He is a tiny boy, he is constantly mistaken for a girl. My female is now 7.5 years old and has always stayed right around her racing weight of 56 lbs. My male, who will be 7 in a couple weeks, has lost a lot of muscle mass since he retired and is a good weight at 5-7 lbs under his racing weight of 71 lbs. I find that some dogs will self-regulate and seem to have a 'set' weight they maintain that is under what most of us would consider ideal. If the dog is healthy and maintains that weight, I don't worry too much about it. Since you mentioned Luka lost weight while at Mountain Hounds, maybe he just needs a little more time to put it back on? If he doesn't, or continues to lose, I'd recommend a vet exam and bloodwork to make sure there's not a medical problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruitycake Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Kind of a joke, but then again not: "your dog wants steak." At least that is what Monty would tell your boy (we had a freezer failure and had some steaks in there and added chunks to his food). You should have seen the joy in his eyes and the enthusiasm he had for his food then. That said, as others have mentioned some dogs just tend toward a thinner body type than others. There are your "easy keepers" (put on 5 lbs even thinking about dinner) and your "naturally thin" types that could eat an entire bag of dog food a day for a year and have more output and not gain a pound. If he's been cleared of all worms, has energy and looks healthy [though thin] it might just be that he's that type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest june Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 My best results in keeping good consistent weight on my dogs is to feed meals instead of free feeding. They get two meals per day (anything not finished is picked up after 15 minutes and they don't get anything until the next meal) and a light snack at bedtime of a couple treats. Their weight is stable and if one does start to have problems with not eating I know immediately and can watch to see if I need to get them to the vet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.