How To Pack On Some Pounds?

[Guest Houston1219]

My first greyhound, Houston, is a smaller 6 year old male. I have had him for one year and he has been off the track almost 2 years. He raced at 65 pounds (about the size of a large female i guess). He has a healthy appetite and eats Nutro Nautrals fish or venison kibble (same brand, two varieties that we rotate/mix) plus whatever else mom can manage to sneak him when dad's not looking . He is a very laid-back low activity kind of guy. He has been off the track almost two years and is at or slighly below his racing weight!

 

Usually this would scream "get that dog to the vet!" but we have! Multiple times! His fecal test was negative for worms/etc, blood work more normal than normal, urinalysis and culture also great. We are beginning to suspect he simply has Michael Phelps' metabolism! When we go to meet and greets he looks like the starving child in the bunch! I know 3 visible ribs is healthy, but he has 3+ well-defined ribs, hips bones, and some spine showing! Eeek!

 

So here's my burning question- do any of you pros have any tips/tricks to pack on a good five pounds? Meat? Eggs? Big Macs??? hahaha We really don't want to change his food entirely because it took SOOO long to find one we both could live with (he cleared rooms... then re-cleared them...) yuck...

 

Thank you all so much!

 

- Nervous first-time Mom

 

P.s. will try to post pictures soon

[KF_in_Georgia]

Just increase his normal kibble. You know that won't upset his stomach. You can give an extra meal at bedtime, if you like.

 

But he doesn't sound underweight. Both my dogs weigh less than their racing weight--the girl is under by a pound or so, the foster boy raced at anywhere between 67.8 and 72 pounds, and currently weighs in at 66 pounds and looks great.Race weight includes a lot of muscle, which weighs more than fat, so if your boy has dropped a bit of muscle by being less active, you'd expect his weight to drop some, too.

[JJNg]

As Kathy mentioned, it's not unusual for some of them to be under their racing weight due to loss of muscle. This in itself doesn't mean the dog is underweight. One of my males raced at 71 lbs and is healthy now at 64-65 lbs.

 

However, if he looks bony, then he could probably stand to gain a few pounds. Looking forward to seeing pics. How much do you feed? Might just need to bump up the dog food a little. If he's healthy and maintaining his current weight (ie. not losing weight), I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'd rather see a dog who is a little underweight than overweight.

[Burpdog]

Where are you located?

[MP_the4pack]

Eggnog!

[Guest Houston1219]

I'm in the Detroit, Michigan area. His racing name was "I'm Houston" after the "I'm Houston Mctear" memoir of the 90's "fastest man on earth" olympic sprinter.It would be nice if we were neighbors! lol

[Guest Houston1219]

Eggnog!

 

As in the holiday drink eggnog? Tell me you are joking lol But as I said, willing to try anything! hahahaha

[krissn333]

Have you had his thyroid tested?

[Guest DeniseL]

My girl is a little below her racing weight and I love it, I am obsessed with having slim hounds. She doesn't seem underweight, she just lost all that hard heavy muscle. Your baby might be at a good weight.

When we brought our galga home she was underweight. we just fed her extra kibble and threw in an egg every other day or so, she filled out...

[Guest Houston1219]

i was under the impression that thyroid issues would make them gain weight??? at least that's how i understood the vet's rationale. She said his coat and skin looked fine and since he showed no other signs she didn't feel it necessary. As soon as I can recoup some of the cash I shelled out on the last round of testing I am going to have it done anyways because it was just about the only thing we didn't do (we did all the tests we could afford that week and thyroid was triaged last per the vet.)

[krissn333]

If he has hyperthyroidism he will lose weight.

 

One of my IGs is hypothyroid and was losing weight. The thyroid is weird. Worth getting a full thyroid panel run. You can't diagnose a thyroid issue with just a T4.

[Guest jetska]

I agree he is too skinny. He really doesn't look like he has much muscle mass around his shoulders at all, and doesn't have much of a greyhound butt either.

 

So how much kibble do you feed and does he have breakfast/dinner ? when I am feeding up foster hounds I just give them an extra cup of kibble for breakfast and if they are not keen on eating it I'll give them sardines on top. That usually does the trick.

Edited January 13, 2014 by jetska

[FiveRoooooers]

If after ruling out anything medical (thyroid, worms, etc.) and determining that you just have a dog who tends to be lean but you'd like him a bit more plump, feeding canned puppy food can help. It often helps my seniors keep up their weight and has helped with skinnies who needed a boost.

[Batmom]

Why not just feed more of his regular food?

 

Most of the Nutro foods are fairly low in calories per volume, so you may need to feed a good bit more than it says on the bag (which is a guideline in any case).

 

I wouldn't rush to spend money on testing, other than a fecal if he hasn't had one lately, until you've tried feeding more.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Batmom

[cleptogrey]

Why not just feed more of his regular food?

 

Most of the Nutro foods are fairly low in calories per volume, so you may need to feed a good bit more than it says on the bag (which is a guideline in any case).

 

I wouldn't rush to spend money on testing, other than a fecal if he hasn't had one lately, until you've tried feeding more.

also you may consider adding some plain old white(1c cooked) and a hamburger in each meal. it takes time for dogs to gain, so be patient. if you don't see a change in 4-6 weeks then run a fecal.

[MP_the4pack]

 

As in the holiday drink eggnog? Tell me you are joking lol But as I said, willing to try anything! hahahaha

 

 

My girls LOVE it. Start with just a coating of his bowl because you don't want to shock his system. But he'll tummy will get used to it and you can up the amount quickly. It's got eggs, which is good for him and calories for the weight gain.

 

I also gave my older girl Onyx when she was 15 Ensure for weight gain when she would decide she wasn't hungry. Just to keep weight up. But I think they like the eggnog better.

[Guest DogNewbie]

If he has hyperthyroidism he will lose weight.

 

One of my IGs is hypothyroid and was losing weight. The thyroid is weird. Worth getting a full thyroid panel run. You can't diagnose a thyroid issue with just a T4.

 

My cat had hyperthyroidism. He lost a ton of weight and his muscle mass. His spine was showing and then he started pulling out his fur! But, we got it under control and then he was much better.

[Guest Houston1219]

Great ideas! when you mention meat and eggs, do you cook them or feed them raw?

 

He eats 2 to 2.5 cups of Nutro Naturals limited ingredient (fish and brown rice or venison) twice daily. I say 2 to 2.5 because rescue told us to feed 2 cups and mom gives more of a heaping scoop while dad is more by the book lol He was originally on the Kirkland chicken and rice but the vet said likely chicken was likely what made him gassy... same with lamb, turkey, etc... So we turned to more alternative meats and have had luck with Nutro.

 

He had a very long and very miserable Alabama racing career (exhibit one: first picture. That scar was NOT from surgery!) He was very good but accident-proned. Every time he would injure himself (each time worse than the time before) they would patch him up (very poorly!) and give him a few weeks off and run him again... far too soon based on the short gaps in his racing and the extent of his injuries.The last time he came back he was over 4 years old and could barely keep pace, so he was picked up by a group from Michigan and the rest is history.

 

He was a very muscular guy, and has lost so much muscle mass there is not much left to him. I need to replace that muscle with fat to keep those pointy bones padded! He has a healthy appetite but I wonder what outside of just more kibble i can give him because a guy can only eat so much dry kibble, right? I want him to enjoy his retirement, fattening snackies and all!

[Guest jetska]

2 cups of kibble obviously isn't enough. That is a maintenance diet for my dogs who are about the same age as your guy... and they get heaps of training treats like cheese and things like pigs ears etc. You could probably double that and he would eat it no probs... 2 cups in the morning and 2 cups at night. I would add sardines for interest.

[Batmom]

Just feed him more. The kibble is a balanced diet. He doesn't *need* anything else. If he's been maintaining weight on what you've been feeding him, increase the kibble by half a cup per feeding and check his weight again in a week or 10 days.

 

Caution, tho: You don't want to replace muscle with fat. That wouldn't be good for his health.

[krissn333]

 

My cat had hyperthyroidism. He lost a ton of weight and his muscle mass. His spine was showing and then he started pulling out his fur! But, we got it under control and then he was much better.

My kitty too. We're still trying to get it under control and get her back to a good weight. She'll gain a little and we check her thyroid levels and they're good, so, we continue at the dose we're at, then 6 months down the road she loses again, we test, and she's high again, so we up her dose.

 

She didnt pull out her hair but it FELL out!

[Guest Houston1219]

Caution, tho: You don't want to replace muscle with fat. That wouldn't be good for his health.

 

Well I don't intend to replace it, per say... his athletic days are over and he needs at least something between his bones and his fur! Just wanna get some padding on Mr. Skinny. I'm a little nervous to drastically increase his food too fast, so i think we'll go to three cups twice daily for a week or so and add some sardines (if the sodium's not too much) and try to get up to 3.5 cups from there. I like the egg and meat idea but I would love to know if those who suggested that approach cook or give it raw (i've read both ways)

 

I appreciate everyones help so much!

[Batmom]

I cook any meats/eggs from the grocery store.

 

Some dogs need more food the first 2-6 months at home -- it just takes extra energy to adapt to new circumstances -- and then their requirements drop.

[JJNg]

Batmom, the OP adopted Houston a year ago, and he's been off the track for 2 years. So I'm wondering if he's just one who's just naturally thin, or maybe he's a 'hard keeper' who just needs more food. Based on the photos, I think he could stand to gain a few pounds, but not a whole lot more than that. It's healthier for them to be a little on the light side compared to a little overweight, especially if he has a history of past orthopedic injuries.

 

I agree with just increasing the amount of regular food. Has he been on 2-2.5 cups twice daily since you adopted him? If so, I would just increase to 3 cups twice daily and see how he does after 2-3 weeks. One thing to keep an eye out for is loose stool. It seems that some greyhounds will get loose stools if fed too much kibble in a single meal. With my fosters, if I need to feed more than 3 cups twice daily, I actually add in a 3rd or 4th meal, mid-day and/or at bedtime, rather than keep increasing the volume of the 2 main meals.

 

I'm curious about the circumstances surrounding how he got that big scar on his side at the track? And what kind of other injuries did he have that weren't treated appropriately? Were you, or the group, in contact with his trainer at the track to get all the details?

[Batmom]

I didn't realize he'd been home that long -- bad reading on my part.

 

I would feed him more, as it looks like OP is going to do. There's no standard amount that a dog needs to maintain weight -- that varies from dog to dog.

 

Some dogs do tend to stay lean, no matter how much you feed, but you wouldn't know if he was one of those unless you fed him more for a time.