If I feed too much, does she absorb it?

    • Gold Top Dog

    If I feed too much, does she absorb it?

    I've been increasing Emma's food intake, lately. She's getting lots of exersize (going to the park at least four times a week to run and play with her buddies for an hour or more at a time), and she'd lost a bit of padding. She's been looking like chiseled muscle and bone. Hip bones, spine, and all. Soooo.... I ended up getting to the point where I'm overfeeding her. She looks a lot better, but she's having some loose stools. Is she still absorbing her food, or is the loose stool a sign that she's not absorbing? Should I cut her back?
    • Gold Top Dog
    Feeding more does cause the gut to be less efficient, but she should still be absorbing the majority of the nutrients and calories. Can you feed less food, but more meals?
    • Gold Top Dog
    There aren't many more hours for more meals[:D] She's eating 3-5 times per day. The problem is that she weighs 17 pounds, and eats enough for a 60+ pound dog. She's eating 10% of her body weight, or better, every day.

    Liver issues = digestive issues, as I'm sure you know. I suppose I could raise up the amount of Prozyme to double, again. Maybe that'd help her get a little more out of her food.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Oh wow... yeah, if she's eating that much, it will definately decrease her efficiency. There is only so much time for the food to be absorbed, and only so many cells to do it.

    Have you tried higher calorie foods that are made to be more digestable, such as Hills a/d, or purina max cal?
    • Gold Top Dog
    She eats homemade food. She has nasty allergies, and she's epileptic.

    I can look into the canned A/D and the canned Max Cal, but she can't do kibble. When we left kibble, she was eating 4 cups a day of Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish, and she was losing dramatic amounts of weight.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I can't find any info on Purina Max Cal, online. Do you have any links to it's GA and ingredients?

    The A/D has chicken in it, and that sends her into an itching frenzy, unfortunately. It's not bad, other than that. I would try it, even with the corn flour, if I thought it might work for her (and I have a vet who would gladly sell it to me. He's all for helping Emma out).
    • Gold Top Dog
    Since I get A/D for free, I always mix it in Wolfie's food every once in awhile (since he has a ridiculously fast metabolism, lol).  I do try to not give it to him for every meal so he won't stop eating his food plain, but he goes NUTS when he smells it [:)].
    • Gold Top Dog
    It took me forever to find it, but the first ingredient in the max cal is also chicken... Its too bad your girl has a sensitivity, I'm completely out of ideas. I absolutely love a/d. Its highly palatable, very nutritious, and smells so good one of these days I'm going to sit down and eat a can myself...

    Here's the info on the max cal...

    Maximum-Calorie™/Canine & Feline Canned Formula
    Product Information
    Maximum Calorie formulas are especially dense nutritionally. This means they provide your pet with high amounts of nutrients in a small amount of food. Your veterinarian can tell you how much to feed your pet based on his or her weight and need to gain or maintain. Calories
    2,000 kcal/kg, 340 kcal/can, 2.11 kcal/ml - feline Ingredients
    Chicken, Water, Chicken By-Product Meal, Brewers Rice, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a source of vitamin E, and citric acid), Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Fish Oil (preserved with Ethoxyquin), Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Moninitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Rosemary Extract, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Folic Acid Caloric Distribution
    Protein 29%...Fat 66%...Carbohydrate 5%

    How many calories is your pup currently consuming a day? I can dig around and see if I can find anything else that might work...
    • Gold Top Dog
    I'd love to try the A/D, especially with all those calories. It's unfortunate, but I haven't found many commercial foods that she CAN eat. Even  the Natural Balance that she used to eat has added kelp, now. That causes a true allergic reaction, complete with hives.

    Palatability isn't a big issue, though[;)] Emma will eat anything, in any amount. She's a little piggy pig.
    • Gold Top Dog
    How many calories...

    Lemme go try to add it up. I'll add for this week's batch of food.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Not counting her greens, or her treats, I got 761 calories.

    I could have miscounted. I got distracted several times;)
    • Gold Top Dog
    If I remember correctly you give raw meat with cooked root veggies. Maybe try cooking the meat so it will digest a little easier?
    • Gold Top Dog
    A tablespoon of vegetable oil will add 130 calories all by itself if you think she just needs a boost of calories to help her keep the weight on, and a small can of innova evo 95% is 237 calories.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Jennie--I don't see kelp in the NB Sweet Potato and Fish kibble that I have. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    Jennie - I seem to recall Becca (brookcove) trying some ridiculously high-calorie canned food recently for one of her BC's (Ben? Cord?  I can't remember) who has a lot of allergies.  I think it was some exotic protein, like beaver, but had almost no other ingredients.  I don't know what the food was though, so you'd have to ask her.

    ETA: here's the thread where she mentions it.  It's Canine Caviar. [linkhttp://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=225673&mpage=1&key=beaver𷆉]http://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=225673&mpage=1&key=beaver𷆉[/link]
     
    ETA again:  You posted on that thread.  Duh me!  Too much vodka for me tonight.

    Kate