Putting Weight On

corbinam

corbinam

Moderator
It seems counter-intuitive for shelties, I know! I've always had to take weight off of my dogs--never had to try to put weight on them. But Enzo is holding steady at around 17 lbs. and I would really like to see him closer to 19.

He eats Acana, which I'd like to think is a high-quality kibble. We've upped his portion sizes, but he ends up just pooping more. I had a couple Stella & Chewy's samples and we've been giving him a few morsels of that, but didn't know if anyone had any suggestions for putting weight on in a healthy way (but avoiding just adding fillers & bulk which = poop).

I'm happy to cook something, buy something (or buy a real bag of Stella and Chewy's), whatever! I'm not really looking to change his diet, and would like to not do anything super high protein.

Thanks in advance!
 
I'll be interested in the answer as well. Jocu has always seemed a little on the skinny side but like you, more food=more poo. Vet hasn't been too concerned as most dogs go in there overweight so he's not worried about a skinny active dog.
 
Tell him to stop moving so much ;). I had the same issue with Cruz.. switched him to raw and he has been at a good weight since. I know you don't want to switch food but is giving a raw meaty bone every once in awhile an option? ie. once a week or every other week? They usually have more fat to them and good for teeth!
 
The key to putting weight on a young dog like yours is to pack in calories without adding volume. As you know already, adding extra kibble won't work; he'll burn it off too quickly. Keep in mind that I'm coming from the "old school" dog breeders/handlers, so I don't know if these will pass the contemporary test of "healthy" (but I've known dogs who survived such diets and lived to ripe old ages).

1. You can feed vanilla Ensure poured over the kibble. Start with enough to cover the kibble, one meal a day. Give it a week and see if he needs more. Dogs love it, and it delivers a lot of calories without additional fiber.

or 2. You can make satin balls. (If anyone uses the linked recipe, for heaven's sake divide it by ten! Preparing it as written would make a mountain of the stuff.) This concept goes way back; the link is for one recipe, but there are as many recipes out there as there are handlers with poor-keeping dogs. The meat mixture is extremely palatable, and it is very calorie-dense. Again, start with a small amount each day, and re-evaluate after a week.

This probably goes without saying, but his metabolism will eventually catch up. Don't try to bulk him too quickly, and don't plan on keeping him on either of these "supplements" in the long term. Use only as much as you need for the desired effect, and continue to monitor his weight so you can decrease supplemental feeding once it's no longer necessary.
 
When Tully was younger I used to add in extra meat, didn't make a huge difference with the poop. But I know what you mean about the pooping, when I did increas Tully's intake she just seem to poop the extra out. At one point I was feeding her the same as Deska, which was way too much for her little tummy. It was other dog people that suggested just upping the meat - they just mixed in mince meat with the kibble. Glad I did reduce the amount in favour of more meat: Now she's older she needs a lot less food.
 
I would change off Acana. That 17% or 18% fat is not all that great for the sheltie pancreas / gallbladder. I made a post about some options in the food forum.
 
S&C actually made Bailey lose weight. I've had trouble getting her to gain weight in the past. Even now, when I increase her food, she just gets lose stool. Maybe try adding a little cooked meat or eggs to his food? Sorry, I'm not much help, just want to let you know that I was in a similar situation. Good luck!
 
At my holistic vet's suggestion, I buy a one-pound package of ground chicken (you can also get ground turkey or lamb if you want to rotate), boil it for 10 minutes covered in water and drain. I add a few spoonfuls to Pixie's food at each meal. It's a simple fix but has really helped keep her weight up since she eats a limited ingredient kibble.
 
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Savannah here- get's you to a Chinese restaurant and beg for a bag of fortune cookies. They will give you the broken ones. Then sneak the bag off the counter and eat the whole thing...keep sneaking the extra food, especially the treat bags at regular intervals and you will pack on the extra lbs. My mom doesn't let me roam in the kitchen much now. :unsure:
 
corbinam said:
It seems counter-intuitive for shelties, I know! I've always had to take weight off of my dogs--never had to try to put weight on them. But Enzo is holding steady at around 17 lbs. and I would really like to see him closer to 19.

He eats Acana, which I'd like to think is a high-quality kibble. We've upped his portion sizes, but he ends up just pooping more. I had a couple Stella & Chewy's samples and we've been giving him a few morsels of that, but didn't know if anyone had any suggestions for putting weight on in a healthy way (but avoiding just adding fillers & bulk which = poop).

I'm happy to cook something, buy something (or buy a real bag of Stella and Chewy's), whatever! I'm not really looking to change his diet, and would like to not do anything super high protein.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Anything related to Grizz especially an intact male, has a hard time putting on weight. I never had success with grain free food or Raw with this line or my intact males. We have come to the conclusion they need high quality carbs- the glucose it produces is used for their energy which is abundant! They simple can not convert fat and protein from their food, fast enough to keep up with the need for fuel. We chose to switch to a diet containing high quality grains. The satin balls that Megan mention sort of does this-meat for flavor and interest and molasses, cereal and oats for the carbs.
 
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