Food/supplement Suggestions For A Recently Adopted Hound

[Daks]

Hi all-

 

Looking for suggestions for my recently adopted hound Dakar. He's got pretty dry/flaky skin and some large flea bite spots on his back that are in the process of healing (he came into the foster covered in fleas). He's also a little underweight and probably needs to put on 5lbs or so, he's currently 70lbs, and did have worms so that probably contributed to the weight loss. His poops are a little soft, but not terrible- he's currently on Nutri-source chicken and rice and getting 4 cups a day (is this too much?- his foster was free feeding and didn't really know how much he was eating).

 

I'm looking into getting Nupro supplement to add to his food to help his skin issues clear up.

 

Also as a side note- his paws seem to get sore after walks on the concrete, so we've been sticking to walking mostly on grass greenways- will his paws "toughen up" over time, or should I get some mushers secret, or other balm to apply?

 

Thanks!

[Time4ANap]

His paws will toughen up but Mushers Secret or ant Paw Wax will help keep his pads pliable and protect them.

 

Depending on the type of worm he had, you may not be done with them yet. Be sure to keep testing if the poop remains mushy. The current generation of hookworms is very resistant to treatment and may take multiple treatments over many months to eradicate. A clean fecal only means that one sample was clean, not that the worms are gone, so repeat testing is needed.

 

4 cups sounds like a little much but it depends on the food. Over-feeding will result in mushy poops. Since you are trying to put some weight on him, check the bag and feed the amount for his current weight, plus maybe 1/2 cup. You may need to adjust, and be sure to factor in treats / snacks so you know how much food he is getting daily.

 

Whenever you add something to the diet, whether a treat, supplement, oil etc, you only want to add one thing at a time and give it 10 days or so to make sure that it doesn't cause issues. If you add more than one thing at a time, you have no idea which thing is causing an issue when one crops up.

 

You might try some salmon oil or similar as an additive for the flaky coat. There are lots of things that will work, but salmon oil was always our go-to for that.

[XTRAWLD]

Easy on walks as you can tell. They aren't used to walking lots on pavement just yet.

 

Omega oils are wonderful for the skin/fur. Springtime has a great line of supplements. You can start with Fresh Factors, or Joint Health or even Longevity (works best when feeding raw)

[greysmom]

Good advice already. I would just say that since he is so new to you, i would not change everything at once.

 

Make sure he's worm free first, since that will affect everything else. Once you're sure he's clean, then you can assess his body condition and see where you stand and if you need to add/delelte/switch anything.

 

4 cups might be too much. Make sure you keep a close eye on his weight and cut back if he seem to be chunking up too fast. Slow and steady is better (especially if he's still younger than 3 years old).

[cleptogrey]

NUPRO is great!!! I had both dogs on it and used to purchase the 20# tub. it makes a wonderful broth that they LOVE! and their coats looked great in just a month or two. chewy has it at a good price. where are you located? i have 5#s left, my female passed and felix is now eating strange stuff as his body is failing. i like the results much more than missing link.

[HeyRunDog]

Grace's fur was bit dull and she had bad dandruff when I first got her. I put a couple of spoonfuls of porridge oats in her bowl with a little hot water, let it cool before mixing with her other food. I also added an evening primrose oil capsule. Her coat has improved no end with no dandruff.

 

But as other have said only alter one thing at a time and let his digestive system get used to it.

[Daks]

His paws will toughen up but Mushers Secret or ant Paw Wax will help keep his pads pliable and protect them.

 

Depending on the type of worm he had, you may not be done with them yet. Be sure to keep testing if the poop remains mushy. The current generation of hookworms is very resistant to treatment and may take multiple treatments over many months to eradicate. A clean fecal only means that one sample was clean, not that the worms are gone, so repeat testing is needed.

 

4 cups sounds like a little much but it depends on the food. Over-feeding will result in mushy poops. Since you are trying to put some weight on him, check the bag and feed the amount for his current weight, plus maybe 1/2 cup. You may need to adjust, and be sure to factor in treats / snacks so you know how much food he is getting daily.

 

Whenever you add something to the diet, whether a treat, supplement, oil etc, you only want to add one thing at a time and give it 10 days or so to make sure that it doesn't cause issues. If you add more than one thing at a time, you have no idea which thing is causing an issue when one crops up.

 

You might try some salmon oil or similar as an additive for the flaky coat. There are lots of things that will work, but salmon oil was always our go-to for that.

Good to know about the hookworms- I looked through his treatment records and there was no mention of hookworms and he was free from girardia, but I'll do a retest if the poops don't firm up.

I did decide to reduce his food by 1/2 a cup. Per the bag for a dog at his weight should be getting 3- to 3 1/2 cups of food. I'm definitely going to keep him on this food for awhile and do gradual changes so as to not upset his stomach.

 

 

Easy on walks as you can tell. They aren't used to walking lots on pavement just yet.

 

Omega oils are wonderful for the skin/fur. Springtime has a great line of supplements. You can start with Fresh Factors, or Joint Health or even Longevity (works best when feeding raw)

He's still pretty young (just turned 3)- so keeping him well exercised has been a challenge. His separation anxiety and sleeping through the night are definitely improved after he's had a good bit of activity.

 

Thanks everyone for the reply's! I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions as time goes on.

[lifeingrey]

His paws will toughen up but Mushers Secret or ant Paw Wax will help keep his pads pliable and protect them.

 

Depending on the type of worm he had, you may not be done with them yet. Be sure to keep testing if the poop remains mushy. The current generation of hookworms is very resistant to treatment and may take multiple treatments over many months to eradicate. A clean fecal only means that one sample was clean, not that the worms are gone, so repeat testing is needed.

 

4 cups sounds like a little much but it depends on the food. Over-feeding will result in mushy poops. Since you are trying to put some weight on him, check the bag and feed the amount for his current weight, plus maybe 1/2 cup. You may need to adjust, and be sure to factor in treats / snacks so you know how much food he is getting daily.

 

Whenever you add something to the diet, whether a treat, supplement, oil etc, you only want to add one thing at a time and give it 10 days or so to make sure that it doesn't cause issues. If you add more than one thing at a time, you have no idea which thing is causing an issue when one crops up.

 

You might try some salmon oil or similar as an additive for the flaky coat. There are lots of things that will work, but salmon oil was always our go-to for that.

 

 

As always, wonderful advice!

 

I'm only coming up on a year since having my first grey, so I can't say I have as much experience as everyone here. But we found when we tried to feed her the "best" food (we thought)(Blue Buffalo, grain-free), our girl could not digest all the nutrients and she had mushy stool. We never tested her for worms, but we switched her to another brand of food that was better on our wallet but still had the same nutrients. Still mush. I scrutinized the label and realized the food must be too rich for her (30g protein, it was a sport type of food). Since we've switched her to a lower protein food (22/24g), she has solid stools. We also give her salmon oil, by Zesty Paws on Amazon, because she is a picky eater and it seems to make her interested in her kibble. After a few weeks on this her coat is now very smooth and shiny. She still has some dandruff, which is noticeable because she has a black coat, so I'm still trying to work on that.

 

I'm only commenting on this, despite my lack of experience, because in our case, our girl was having mushy/soft stool due to too rich of a food. To my knowledge, when the stool is firm and/or there is less produced it means they are digesting most if not all of the nutrients and you have found a good balance. Every dog is different. I do however think this is only true if you've already ruled out worms. I've also seen recommended on here adding some oatmeal to kibble. Our girl loved that, but it irritated her kidneys and she started exhibiting signs of a UTI (she is prone) so for us we have to keep her on a low protein diet (I never knew oatmeal had protein in it!).

 

Since your boy had a history/recently had worms, I would definitely take everyone's advice on having him tested a few times. Take it slow, try not to shock his body (as I'm sure we must have done to our poor girl) and to be repetitive of everyone above, change one thing at a time. Also, Mushers paw wax should help to not only moisturize but help him toughen up his paws. Good idea to keep him on grass as you are until he can handle asphalt/harder surfaces. You're doing great!

Edited October 23, 2018 by lifeingrey

[Daks]

 

 

As always, wonderful advice!

 

I'm only coming up on a year since having my first grey, so I can't say I have as much experience as everyone here. But we found when we tried to feed her the "best" food (we thought)(Blue Buffalo, grain-free), our girl could not digest all the nutrients and she had mushy stool. We never tested her for worms, but we switched her to another brand of food that was better on our wallet but still had the same nutrients. Still mush. I scrutinized the label and realized the food must be too rich for her (30g protein, it was a sport type of food). Since we've switched her to a lower protein food (22/24g), she has solid stools. We also give her salmon oil, by Zesty Paws on Amazon, because she is a picky eater and it seems to make her interested in her kibble. After a few weeks on this her coat is now very smooth and shiny. She still has some dandruff, which is noticeable because she has a black coat, so I'm still trying to work on that.

 

I'm only commenting on this, despite my lack of experience, because in our case, our girl was having mushy/soft stool due to too rich of a food. To my knowledge, when the stool is firm and/or there is less produced it means they are digesting most if not all of the nutrients and you have found a good balance. Every dog is different. I do however think this is only true if you've already ruled out worms. I've also seen recommended on here adding some oatmeal to kibble. Our girl loved that, but it irritated her kidneys and she started exhibiting signs of a UTI (she is prone) so for us we have to keep her on a low protein diet (I never knew oatmeal had protein in it!).

 

Since your boy had a history/recently had worms, I would definitely take everyone's advice on having him tested a few times. Take it slow, try not to shock his body (as I'm sure we must have done to our poor girl) and to be repetitive of everyone above, change one thing at a time. Also, Mushers paw wax should help to not only moisturize but help him toughen up his paws. Good idea to keep him on grass as you are until he can handle asphalt/harder surfaces. You're doing great!

 

 

I've heard that before with some of the higher protein foods can cause stomach issues with greys. My last dog was a working line German shepherd who only did well on high protein, grain free foods. I'm going to stick to what he's on now (it's a brand new big bag) for now and give it a few weeks to let everything settle. I do plan on taking him into a vet to get a fecal recheck.

 

Keeping the pavement walking to a minimum seems to have alleviated the limp, so we'll continue walking on the greenspace for now and slowly build up the time on the sidewalk, I bought some mushers secret as well.

[HeyRunDog]

I use ExmaRid Deep Cleansing Dog Shampoo to clear Grace's dandruff. I noticed a big improvement even after one use.

I use ExmaRid Deep Cleansing Dog Shampoo to clear Grace's dandruff. I noticed a big improvement even after one use.

[pbell862]

Hi!

 

 

I am actually not a Grey owner yet...(Sunday is the day)

 

 

However I do have a wiener dog that I do from time to time supplement with Omegas.

 

 

CARLSON Fish & Cod Liver Oil is some of the best around. It is cold pressed and nitrogen flushed and free of all heavy metals and excipients. They've been around for 50 years. They sell the fish and cod oil pretty much anywhere that is a little more upscale (GNC, Whole Foods, Fresh Thyme, Marianos...Amazon) so you can get some there. I like to put in a teaspoon with their food.

 

 

 

 

[MoGreyMom]

I swear by The Missing Link supplement (on amazon.com). I get the variety with both omegas and glucosamine. My last greyhound, Flynn, had arthritis in one shoulder and did so much better walking after I started this. It also made his coat gorgeous. I just adopted my 3rd greyhound. He is 7 years old and seems quite healthy, but he does have the bald areas on his thighs from the track kennel and a little bit of dandruff. Started him on Missing Link today and I expect good results with him also!