please help just got a st Bernard?

Question

i just got a st benard 3 days ago i found an ad in the ad weekly and went out to see him he is 4 years old and when i seen him i had to take him he was tied up by a tow chain weeds up to my hips now the probblem i need help with is he was under fed how can i get him back up to weight what is the best dog food for him to eat to get his weight up i was think about pedagree but im not sure i have olroy but he dont like it its the hard dog food i wont buy the can or anything like that if you could help i would appraciate it i have rasied st bernards before but never had this probblem

i just took him to petsmart and had him groomed so i know he dosnt have fleas i plan on taking him there once a month i am taking him to the vet on monday to have him checked out for everything he has already became part of my family i intened to keep him in good health

Answer 1

Ol' Roy and Pedigree wont help at all. You need a high-quality food such as Innova, EVO, Canidae, Solid Gold, Eagle Pack, Wellness, GO Natural, California Natural, and so on.

When you buy a higher quality food, the weight will come back on by itself. Don't force-feed him as he will start to gain more weight then you want him to.

You also might get him checked for worms, if you haven't already. It's a common ilness in dogs who have been mistreated, and if he doesn't gain any weight then it's likely that he has them.

Answer 2

Good grief that sounds awful - report those owners! OK they at least rehomed the animal - finally - but you want to make sure they don't have any more pets! I hope you didn't pay money for the dog.

If you just feed him on regular high quality food, wet or dry, he will gain weight in time so long as he doesn't have any other illnesses/conditions that might stop him gaining weight as normal. Supplements are not really a good idea, they can cause more harm than good - I met a cat with ricketts (lack of calcium) because he'd been brought up on tuna alone, and he was not to be given calcium supplements, just regular cat food. Anway, certainly get doggy fully checked by a vet - explain the situation to them. You're probably aware that 4 years old is at least middle-aged for a St. Bernard, and after being kept in these conditions I'd be surprised if he didn't have some problems.

Good luck, and well done on rehoming the poor dog. Makes me very sad to think of him tied up like that, I'm glad he'll at least be happy now!

Chalice

Answer 3

You didn't say what his current weight was. That factor would help us give you the best information.

As an adult St. Bernard, I suspect his average weight would be possibly about 120#. He's a relative of my Great Pyrenees, and so feeding him would be similar to feeding my pyrs.

An adult pyr eats about 2 cups of kibble twice a day... 7-9am and 6-8pm. approximately. Large breeds really should NOT eat Old Roy dog food. The "hard dog food" is called kibble.

He needs daily vitamins, and he needs a vet check to ensure his health is ok and hopefully he won't have worms of any kind. He needs his shots updated, most likely.

An option you may not have considered is to feed him a partial raw diet. I buy chicken, beef and other meat when it's on sale. Each morning I feed my male pyr 1# raw food and every evening a full 2 cup scoop of kibble. I give vitamins in the morning. If he seems to have joint problems, get some glucosamine/chondroitin at Sam's Club to give him relief.

When feeding raw, give him as much fat as you wish, and this will help his energy level and will probably help his weight increase. Don't worry about how much he gains daily. Judge how he's doing by his activity level and his attitude. If he seems happy and playful and active, he's doing fine and will be gaining weight.

For Kibble I like Diamond, but there are several good large breed dog foods.

Good Luck.

Answer 4

I think the "saint" here is you! You've done the right thing by getting him out of that situation. Now the real job comes of getting him back in good health. Ol' Roy isn't going to do that. You are going to have to get him on a good dog food. There are several that would be excellent: Canidae, Wellness, Innova, Eagle, Pro Plan, PMI Exclusive. The important thing currently is to use dry dog food. The massive recalls are primarily canned/wet food so avoid those for the time being. I think a large breed puppy food would likely do the most good the fastest. BUT, you really need to take him to the vet for a health check. Good food by itself will only do part of the job. You need to be sure he doesn't have any internal parasites, you should also check for fleas, etc. And a heartworm check. You may be forced by law to get him a rabies vaccine but I would wait for any additional vaccines until you can get him cleared of any parasites. Don't do too much to him all at once. Personally I would like to see you feed him Innova or Wellness. I don't use it for my dogs but I've heard lots of good things about it. I use PMI's Exclusive but I have smaller dogs and they are in good condition. You have some work to do before he's ready to cut back to another food. But for heavens sake don't do grocery store dog foods! Be a responsible and caring dog owner and keep him on a good food purchased from a pet food retailer.

Answer 5

First take him to the Vet !!

You need to find out if he has any major health problems which are causing him to be so thin.....underfeeding is likely, but it may not be the only reason.

Also you need to put weight on him slowly and gradually so the new diet does not shock his system. Dogs that have been starved can die from a rich diet fed too soon.

Pedigree and Ol' Roy are NOT good foods. They have a ton of fillers in them and the dog can't even use most of the food and you end up picking it up when he goes potty.

Also you need to find out how his hips and elbows are. Saints are prone to both areas being problems and he may not be able to carry full weight and may need to be kept lean, not skinny but lean.

He may have a problem eating dry food if he has bad teeth. See a vet ! If the owners had been feeding wet food he may have kidney problems from the recall foods.

St. Bernards should normally eat dry food that is wetted down and with a large rock in the bowl to slow them down to avoid bloat. Also raise the bowl to help keep them from bloating.
Feed 2 -3 times a day to avoid large meals that can cause torsion.

Answer 6

did the previous owners tell you what they fed him? Dogs do get used to certain foods. Can foods are fine with some dry food to supplement it as big dogs eat a lot. You may need to encourage him to eat a little more but go easy he needs to gain weight slowly to stay healthy. He will need a vet to check him and have his shots for protection from sickness as if he is under weight he could get ill very easily. The vet can advise you on his food as well so good luck. He is definitely a big responsibility.

Answer 7

There are dog food special for Giant breeds like the Saints. Find it and give it to him. He needs to put on the weight. If you cant find that particular kind of food then get some Canidea it is wonderful all natural dog food with no corn or wheat or by products.
Pedigree is crap food and it has all kinds of fillers in it and it will only make him poop alot. O'Roy is the very worst dog food on the market! Throw it away and never waste you hard earned cash on it again.
Get him into the vets for a check up to bring a stool sample to check for worms.
The poor Guy. Thanks so much for getting him into a good home.

Answer 8

First stop buying cornmeal dog food. I use Authority dry, the PetSmart brand, it's not on the recall list. I also have Nutri-Stat high calorie food supplement with Omega Fatty Acids & they like the taste. It comes in a tube. I got it a PetSmart. I don't know if it's sold anywhere else.
Monday get a vet to check him for worms, etc.

Answer 9

feed him puppy food it's often time more tasteful to dogs and be very careful about feeding him all he can eat if he's truely starved he needs small meals often, to much at one time can make him sick and worse kill him. If he's all bones then only give him a cup or two that's allowed to soak, because once a dog has been starved his stomach gets really small and can not handle rich foods, it might be best to stay away from canned because it has so much water anyway. He may dislike hard because his teeth may be sensitive so just soak everything and feed him like 4 or more times a day so he can get enough food but not too much at one time.
Oh an careful he may be food aggressive many stavation dogs are so no reaching for the food once he has it just in case.

Answer 10

try to improve his health...not keep it bad with underlying problems. Feed him something good like Natural Balance or Innova. Feeding a cheap brand of food will cause him to recover slower and then cause internal damage. Pedigree caused my grandpa's dog to die (also it is made by a chocolate company....MARS....not a company that specializes in animal health and ol roy....is a wal mart brand. Both very not nutritious but cheap to make). Innova, California Natural and chicken soup are really good (innova being one of the best) but if you can't get to a feed store, the bests for you would be Natural Balance (found in Petco) or Life's Abundance (online).