Dog was sick, got skinny, need to put weight back on!?

Question

Hi, I wanted to see if I could get any ideas on what to give my dog. She was sick and now she is better but she is really skinny and all she wants to do is eat, but if I give her too much she throws it up, since I am assuming her stomch shrank. The vet said to give her beef and rice, is there anything else that I could give her to bulk her back up. Thanks !

I have been giving her beef and rice and adding to her dog food, diamond dog food for puppys and or science diet, natures best!

Answer 1

YOUR VET IS RIGHT! You cook the hamburger meat, and then put it in a strainer, and run hot water over it to get a lot of bad fat off of it. Put it in a container. Cook White Rice like you normally would. 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water, bring to boil, simmer for about 20 minutes. Let rice cool, mix beef in with rice. You can put all this in a container in the refrigerator. Take out a Cup at a time (depending on how big your dog is). Put a little hot water in it to warm up the food. And let her eat.

ATTN: AVACADOS ARE TOXIC TO DOGS, THE WOMAN THAT ANSWERED EARLIER IS EITHER JUST STUPID OR TRYING TO KILL YOUR DOG. SEE WEB SITE BELOW

The reason the vet suggests this is because this mixture helps "settle" the dogs stomach. When she was sick her stomach lining was inflamed, and is now sensitive. Slowly introduce her regular food with the beef and rice until she holds the food down. Make sure she gets plenty of water as well.

It will take time to "bulk" her up, but you don't want to hurry it, just take it slow so she will be healthy.

Good Luck to you.

Answer 2

From (the most popular online pet food retailer): Kibbles & Bits Chicken & Veg 35 lb bag $26.99 = 77 cents a pound First 11 ingredients: Corn, soybean meal, ground wheat flour, beef & bone meal, animal fat (BHA used as preservative), water sufficient for processing, corn syrup, wheat middlings, soy flour, animal digest, wheat gluten Canidae All Life Stages 40 lb bag $33.99= 85 cents a pound. First 11 ingredients : Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, White Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Herring Meal, Flax Seed, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Chicken Good quality food doesn't have to be expensive. And these 2 foods are miles apart as far as nutrition. You can actually feed less of a high quality brand than a lesser quality because it is so nutrient-dense. The reason to compare these 2 foods is that, she is not going to put on healthy weight and muscle eating a food like Kibbles & Bits that has the major ingredients being grains.

Answer 3

Our dog is STILL recovering from surgery and TERRIBLY skinny as well (so sad to see his big beautiful head and then see his skin hanging and his ribs).

We also supplement rice and once a week I make a roast and blend it up and add the meat and rice to his normal food. He doesn't eat much BUT he seems to be bulking up a bit......though I it will be MONTHS to get him back to his powerful self.

Oh and when he first got home I watered down ENSURE and put it in his water bowl. Don't know if it helped but I was grasping for straws.

Good luck.....Oh and be happy your pooch has her appetite back...that is GREAT NEWS.

Answer 4

Many of the ideas given above are great, but please don't add the extra fats as some suggested..It can cause serious or deadly pancreatitis...especially in a convalescing dog.
Avocado would not be a good idea at this time either.
Premium quallity dog food, such as Canidae, Innova, Solid Gold, or Wysong would be a great investment in your dog's health, for now, and in its old age....Primium kibbles cost more per bag, but about 45% less per month.

Answer 5

Put her on a good quality puppy food for a while, it has higher amount of protein and fat content without her having to eat so much. Add in some canned food with it and I'm sure she'll gain weight no problem.

Make sure she doesn't 'gorge' herself as that could lead to bloat.

Answer 6

You mentioned a vet, so I ASSUME the dog had worms... and is worm free now. Right?

Any kind of food is good for the dog now... rice is good because it is bland, high in carbs and easy to digest, Beef has protein and minerals... ANY balanced feeds are good, limit the dog's running around.... give it time to build itself back up and keep those worms out... test for worms every month. Table scraps in a good mix of dog foods (NOT Ol' Roy or Iams) I have fed Pedigree for years and the dogs maintained a good weight and smooth coat... good health.

Answer 7

My suggestion would be to put her on puppy formula food. Puppy food has higher protein and higher fat levels that will help her gain weight, in a healthy way. Now the good foods for her would be : Wellness Puppy, Evolve puppy and anything that has alot of natural products. Don't go with grocery store brands they are filled with by-products and fillers, nothing healthy about that.

Answer 8

If your dog is throwing up or having diarrhea, don't introduce anything new to her diet (except what the vet advises) or it will only get worse and she will not gain weight. Your best bet is to give her many small meals of her regular food and whatever the vet reccommends throughout the day--this should be easier on her stomach and will allow you to get more calories in her without overloading her system or stretching her stomach too much.

Answer 9

She's probably throwing up either because she can't handle the type of food you are giving her or because she is eating too fast. Try switching to a higher quality food like Natural Balance, Evo, Candidae, or similar and feed it to her in smaller amounts 3-5 times a day.

Answer 10

I think beef and rice is good because my mom tried to put some weight on my dog and she fed her beef&rice and it worked great, if not try canned dog food?? I hope your doggies all better (: dont feed her too much at once maybe like a small bowl at breakfast lunch & dinner, so she has time to digest it first. Hope i helped! good luck!

edit : heres a website with some recipies of dog food you can make for them to fatten them up!

http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/health/diet4.htm



oh (: and avocado is a great fattener! u can add some to the food shes eatting, mix it in! (: