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What is the best food for..,...

Posted : 12/30/2006 3:37:56 PM

weight gain???

My 3 yr old mastiff, Bentley, was sick recently and lost a lot of weight - about 22lbs. He's never been a hefty boy and has always been ribby, but now his hip bones are poking out. (He has been to the vet numerous times , in fact he's been at least once a week for the past month and a 1/2). He looks terrible and I have nicknamed him "Skeletor".

His illness has cleared up just fine. Nothing showed up in the blood work my vet had done and my vet can find nothing else wrong with him.

The issue is that Bentley won't eat. He did injure his leg and has been on prednisone for pain and also to try to induce an appetite. He has never been a big eater and it has been hard to get him to eat, especially his dog food.

I've been going to the grocery store buying food for him, but all he wants to eat is meat. I've tried mixing all kinds of things in with his dog food to get him to eat some of it, without much luck. (Today I did get him to eat some of his dog food by cooking some sausage links in some olive oil, threw in an egg, and some fried rice and mixing in in his dog food..even so I had to spoon feed him).

Can anyone give me some names of dog foods that are highly palatable as well as high in calories? I'm at my wits end as to how to get him to gain weight and he's breaking my bank with all the groceries I've been buying for him.

My vet is at the point that he told us to feed him just about anything he will eat, just so that we can get some food into him. But it has really been one big, stressful struggle.

Any help or advice would be appreciated. He was picky as a puppy, but I did the tough love thing and since then he would eat whatever food I put in his bowl -granted he's a grazer and prefers to eat small amounts throughout the day - but since his illness he doesn't want to eat much of anything - except chicken.

tony

Posted : 12/30/2006 4:49:08 PM

Bil Jac works well for picky and light eaters.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 12/30/2006 4:49:40 PM

I'd tough love him, again. When Emma got sick and quit eating, the spoon feeding ended up making her a thousand times worse. I had to tough love her, then. She started eating well, and gained enough weight to be ok.

You might try googling 'satin balls' and making up a good batch of those, as long as he breaks down fat ok.

Edie

Posted : 12/30/2006 8:39:45 PM

Can anyone give me some names of dog foods that are highly palatable as well as high in calories?

Naturesvariety-http://www.naturesvariety.com

Timberwolforganics(particularly the wild n natural)http://www.timberwolforganics.com

EVO,try mixing their 95% meat canned foods with a kibble-http://www.naturapet.com

Natureslogic-http://www.natureslogic.com

Evangers- [linkhttp://www.evangersdogfood.com/]http://www.evangersdogfood.com[/link]

Wysong-[linkhttp://www.wysong.net/page/WOTTPWS/CTGY/CA]http://www.wysong.net/page/WOTTPWS/CTGY/CA[/link]

And the pese da ristance(or however you say it) for picky as well as underweight dogs is Green Tripe! You can buy it canned from Solid gold,also another brand called trippett,or you can but it fresh from a placeforpaws.com. NO dog can refuse green tripe,plus it is so good for them,chock full of enzymes that will help you're dog take up as much nutrients as possible from his food,i really do urge you to give it a try along with the kibbles i mentioned which IMO are all highly palatable(smelly),plus have the high calories you need.

papillon806

Posted : 12/30/2006 8:48:15 PM

I would go with abbysdad recommendation (Bil-Jac) or Royal Canin. Both are the most palatable foods on the market (trust me, I would know, lol) and are very calorie-dense.

I can tell you from the one's Edie mentioned above, mine didn't like: Nature's Variety, EVO, and especially Timberwolf Organics Wild and Natural...so if yours is picky I wouldn't try those.

brookcove

Posted : 12/30/2006 10:34:14 PM

I had a cat get extremely picky after a severe illness and finally figured out she associated eating with being sick so strongly that she just wasn't interested in going there. Siamese. [8|] I hate to say it, but Royal Canin WAS the answer for her. It got her over the "hump" - that stuff is like crack for pets. Cord had a similiar issue - he was just plain bored with eating, because it was so much trouble with his overbite. I used a special RC food for picky eaters and he got over it quick! I switched him over to Bil-Jac because it also has a softer texture and easy to pcik up shape, but doesn't cost nearly $2 a pound [

] like the RC Mini formula did. He has been eating enthusiastically since. My cat was similiar - after we went through a couple bags of the RC, I was able to go to a holistic kibble, and eventually switch her to a partly raw diet.

My vet recommends Satin Balls for putting weight on. It works really well and combines good hard science (numerous nutritionists and vets have determined it to be complete and balanced) with fresh ingredients and the ability to adjust it according to your dog's needs. It's frankly a diet to put good ol' fat on your dog as it is very high in carbs, but what your dog probably needs right now is enough reserves to stimulate his appetite again, and raw energy in whatever form will give him that. This is why I make my dogs take a tablespoon of honey (15 mls - I actually use a little syringe) and a tablespoon of molasses (15 mls) when they are sick, unless they are vomiting. Satin Balls is a HUGE pain to make and pretty expensive, too (mastiff, yikes!), but I'd predict you'd only need to use it about a week if he really is simply "behind" and not eating because of that.

Good luck!

Misskiwi67

Posted : 12/30/2006 11:33:13 PM

Science Diet a/d from your vet mixed with his kibble. Its very nutrient rich, and very few dogs, even sick ones, will turn it down. Its formulated for dogs recovering from illnesses. Its one of my favorite prescription foods...

Roxie865

Posted : 12/31/2006 12:24:44 AM

Roxie's not really picky, but she refused TWO's Wild & Natural. Wouldn't even touch it. At least she nibbled on Canidae before refusing it ...

Luvntzus

Posted : 12/31/2006 8:55:31 AM

From what I've heard and read, if I were in your position I would try Bil Jac and green tripe.

willowchow

Posted : 12/31/2006 9:35:00 AM

Willow is extremely picky about what she eats. The two things mentioned here that dogs never refuse, tripe and A/D, she won't eat.

But, she loves Evangers Hunk of Beef, Wysong Beef and Turkey Au Jus and Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish kibble.

Amber Miller

Posted : 1/1/2007 3:34:32 PM

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I have good news in that yesterday Bentley decided to eat. He ate 2 bowls of dog food (about 2 1/2 cups in the am and 2 1/2-3 cups in pm.) - though it did have about of cup of hamburger/fried rice, and a can of tuna mixed in also.

At least he's eating now, even though he still has to be spoon fed. This morning he ate well also.

Since his leg injury seems to be better and he isn't limping, I will take him out for a 10 minute walk or so, as the vet recommended, to further stimulate his appetite.

Hopefully now he will start gaining weight.