What can i feed my dog to bulk him out

dawnie1972

My dog is ill at the moment (you may have seen previous thread) with liver/gall bladder problems and we need to get him to put on weight (he's lost nearly 5 kg in the last 5-6 weeks but has put about 2.5kg back on, so i wondered what I could add to his food to help with his weight gain. It cannot be anything too high in fat or protein or anything that will put extra pressure on his liver?

Thank you

krlyr

I would speak to the vet on what's best, I wouldn't particularly want to suggest anything myself since he has a medical issue, and I don't have the knowledge to be sure it's safe.
You can get high calorie foods, and supplements like Nutrical which are calorie-dense pastes, I would ask the vet if something like that would be suitable.

IHD

If im correct i believe brown rice or rice in general is good for a dogs weight gain, but as above please check with your vet if he is ill. It may be with his illness he may not put weight on again. Oh dont just feed rice ,use as an additional to his normal food!

Caroline_a

Many years ago I rescued a Dane who had been starved. He was pitiful to see, just a huge skeleton with skin over it. First port of call was the vet who took one look at him and said 'I hope you haven't got him in this state!'. I reassured him, but he then went on to suggest a diet of tripe and bran to put some weight and condition on him. The tripe was pretty yucky - I bought it in bulk frozen, but had to defrost in microwave because I couldn't bear it around slowly defrosting...

However, it worked a treat, he put on weight, looked magnificent after a couple of months. I was initially puzzled about the bran - the vet said just use the stuff that horses have - because one of the Dane's issues was that everything I fed him went straight through him... very quickly! But the bran seemed to help with this.

And additionally, it's a really cheap diet!

pawsies

Was going to say tripe too

JennyW_2

Best speak to the vet as this isn't a simple weight gain issue. If your dog has liver problems then I do know that a diet richer in fat will add stress to the liver. This needs to be done under medical advice.

IHD

Bran? that suprises me as i would have thought it would have been hard for a dog to digest! Plus it also acts as a laxative in horses and has very little nutritional value. Tripe is great for dogs with upset/sensitive tummies as well, but it does stink and gives them wind!!!!

skintmacflint

Thought tripe was protein rich? Used to add coarse bran to dogs diet when feeding naturally for roughage. Passes straight through.

Wouldn't try to rush the wight gain with your dog. If he's put 2.5 kilos back, then he'll regain his weight over time. And agree with everyone the vet needs to be involved before adding things to his diet. Last thing you want to do is create an imbalance in his diet when he's been ill.

dawnie1972

Just to updated, the vet is involved constantly, he was seeing Milo weekly until 3 weeks ago, and Milo has been going back to be weighed, plus I am friends with the snr vet nurse (vets partner) on facebook so have their full support. Milo has put on a kilo since he became ill at the beginning of May - he is still 3kg underweight, when he was ill with the same disease 18 months ago he put on 2.8kg in 6 weeks, so the weight gain is not as progressive as last time. Vet has told me what not to give him ie fatty foods like sausages etc, high protein meats etc, tea, but apart from that the most important thing is to keep him eating or his kidneys will start to fail. He's back at the vets on Monday when he will be having further blood tests and then we will know more - I am not optimistic.

savingjenny

Good luck for Monday!

If he is putting on weight, then I think you are doing the right thing. Tripe is horrible and stinky - and dogs woof it down! So if he needs tempting to eat then that would be good.

Low fat foods for dogs sounds a tough one. I had a gallbladder problem myself a few years ago. Turkey mince is very low fat, you could try that. You could try giving him a treat of some birds custard made with skimmed milk - that is surprisingly low fat. When I had a dog he would have loved that.

savingjenny

two more thoughts: mixing rice with raw prawns - low fat but may tempt him more than plain rice. And weetabix made very mushy with skimmed milk.

perhaps you should ask your vet about all the idea people have said - it's more helpful if vet says YES to something than telling you what to avoid!