nee advice on caring for extremely skinny male weim

TexasSooner

Hey all, new to the site and posting so bear with me...
I work with a weim rescue and just took in a male foster that is extremely skinny. He's under 50 lbs but I haven't officially weighed him myself, just got him Monday. He's very alert, been medically cleared, finished 2 rounds of heartworm treatment, hungry and anything but lethargic. You can see rib cage, spine, hip bones and his coat has turned dark/rough/thin in spots everywhere but his head and neck, which is a beautiful silver. He is a sweetheart, easy going, gets along with my dogs. No food aggression but he GOBBLES his food so I worry about the air he's swallowing and bloat. Some diarrhea but he's on RX med for this.
Questions are:
How much dog food per day? I'm doing 2 cups morning and night and thinking about 1 cup at lunch because he is always looking for food.
What other things can I feed to help him bulk up safely?
We are limiting his running/fetching, how much can he do?
He's really grabby with food. how can we slow down his eating and his nearly taking a finger when you give him something (this is not aggressive, he just wants to eat it asap)?
That should get me started. I'd appreciate any advice...thanks!

amazonstarlight · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 8:59 pm Post subject:

Welcome and thanks for helping this boy in need.

I'm not really helpful for giving ideas on types of food to feed him. I know that someone on here had mentioned "Satin balls" (not really sure what that is, but I'm sure you can google it) to help gain weight.

But somethings you may try to help him to stop eating so quickly are to feed him by hand. Make him wait for each handful. Have him earn it. That is what I would do. Someone else may have some better ideas.

As for the exercises, you mention he's been through HW treatment. How long ago was that? When my boy went through the HW treatment after I got him he was limited to very minimal exercise for a few months. If he's far enough out of the woods on the treatment then I think it would be safe to do a fare amount of work with him.

I'm sure that the wiser ones on the board will give you some good advice.

Good luck!

samckinner · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 9:06 pm Post subject:

I haven't ever used this, but there is a recipe for weight gain called Satin Balls. The recipe is most likely on here somewhere. You can do a search for it. You can also just type it into your search engine. I don't know how to stop dogs from gobbling their food, but there is a bowl you can use that has like columns in it so they can't gobble. Both of my dogs do it.
I would not feed too much more than is recommended, but you could feed three times a day and give healthy treats in between. Try giving treats in the palm of your hand instead of between your fingers and try to teach the gentle command. I'm sure that someone else will have more recommendations for you. Good Luck

Sam

kjnewk · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 9:48 pm Post subject:

Thank you for fostering! Are you volunteering with WRNT?

As for the weight gain, slow and steady is the best way to go. You don't want him to put on too much too fast. The amount you are giving sounds good. I would get a weight and adjust what your giving based upon weight gain/loss in a week or so. What kind of food are you feeding?

As for the grabby behavior. I usually combat this by cupping my hand under the chin as I give a treat and not letting them "grab" it. While I do this, I say "easy'. This is the most effective method I have found but, I am sure others can provide additional advice.

2kids2weims · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 9:49 pm Post subject:

I had a very skinny boy due to diarrhea problems for his 1st 2 years. I've used Satin's balls, but used sweet potatoes instead of the cereal in the original recipe. I also fed him extra sweet potatoes at the suggestions of some on the board here. He still gets fed 3 times a day.

Cooper also ate scary fast - I put a very large rock in his bowl so he had to eat around it, which slowed him some. (I later started on raw & eating a chicken back sure slowed him.)

He began to put on muscle & get to his proper weight once I used raw food - maybe b/c of the extra protein or his intolerance to everything in kibble? His coat improved too.

I'm no expert, I'm sure others will have other ideas that will work for your situation. Good Luck.

singsmom · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 9:55 pm Post subject:

Another couple of ideas to slow down the eating, I have a grabby golden I rescued from being a puppy mill momma and after 5 years she still acts as if she is starving and would get fat (and did one time, but went on a diet), so to slow her down I scatter the tiny, dry pieces of food all over the kitchen floor and she has to pick them up a few at a time. I also divide the total for the day into 2 or 3 meals to try and keep her feeling more full. I need to do 2 feedings for my weim anyway, so it is not a big deal.

I also saw them feed a starving dog on Animal Precinct and they put canned food chunks in water to slow the dog down.

How about getting one of those puzzle balls and letting him work/play to get the food out? My dogs enjoy them.

TexasSooner · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 9:58 pm Post subject:

Thanks for all the advice!
As for HW treatment...I think that finished late September. I just gave his first HW pill today...they told me to watch him to be sure he didn't have any adverse reactions to it.
I'm feeding Nutro Max puppy for large breed. Having said that, now I'm concerned about feeding that brand due to all the illnesses related to feeding this brand of food. However, I've fed Maggie (9 yo weim) the Nutro Lamb and Rice formula for several years with no issues.
Can't remember your name, you are from San Antonio...but yes, I'm with WRNT. Great people! We have our first foster casualty...we are 95% sure we are just going to adopt her. She's a mess! Wink

singsmom · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 10:22 pm Post subject:

I also read for feeding an underweight dog you are to feed them the amount of dog food for the weight they are supposed to be and spread out the meals. I guess that puts the weight back on in a safe manner.

amazonstarlight · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 10:32 pm Post subject:

PamK · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 11:07 pm Post subject:

Welcome from another Texan.

This is the recipe for Satin Balls that I use. Derek LOVES them and it made him gain weight fast. I also use Pro Plan Performance. That will add weight too.

SATIN BALLS
This recipe is one for putting weight on an animal quickly, as some use it for putting a couple extra pounds on a show animal prior to the big day, or an animal that may have been ill and needs a weight gain program. It has also been reported that this recipe will help with some forms of hair loss, such as when your dog(s) blow their coat, to keep the coat healthy and shiny. This recipe is intended to be fed raw.

10# hamburger meat
1 jar wheat germ
1 lg box of oatmeal (uncooked)
1 1/4 Cup vegetable oil
10 eggs
10 sm pkgs unflavored gelatin
1 1/4 Cup unflavored molasses
A pinch of salt
1 lg box Total cereal (2lb's)
(You may also add a pinch of garlic powder to add flavor)

Mix all ingredients together well, much like a meatloaf....put into separate freezer bags and freeze, thawing out as needed. It puts weight on in a very short time, not to mention the gloss in their coat. You can use it every day when they have a show to do and it does not produce diarrhea. It can be fed alone or with kibble.

This recipe was originally received from Dianne Carreon

singsmom · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 11:17 pm Post subject:

Can you use olive oil for the vegetable oil?

PamK · Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 11:01 am Post subject:

Sure. Sometimes I have forgotten the oil and he still loves it.

tamer · Puppy Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 5

when we first got our foster, she was about as underweight as yours. she'd inhale the food too. here's what we did:

1) we fed her puppy food for one whole 20# bag worth.
2) we broke the feedings up into 2 per day and then further into 3-4 bowls per feeding with at least 5 minutes between bowls.
3) we put a rock in the bowl (totally didn't work)
4) sometimes we put the food into a plastic bottle with a slot near the bottom cut out of it, so she'd have to figure out how to get the food out.
5) we added lots of veggies those first few weeks--apples, cucumbers, broccoli, etc.
6) we added fish oil capsules every night.
7) we were not at all stingy with the treats, esp peanut butter.

hope that helps!

freespiritmom · Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 2:13 pm Post subject:

CherrystoneWeims · Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 3:57 pm Post subject:

As was posted before slow and steady weight gain is the best way to go.

I have used Eukanuba premium performance to aid in weight gain for rescue dogs. He can get about 6 cups of food a day IMHO. Spread that out between three feedings a day and he should be good to go.

Sometimes the Satin Balls will give diarrhea to dogs due to the high fat content.
Adding the pumpkin should help to firm up his stools. Does he have giardia and that is the reason for the meds?