Vitamin or supplement suggestions to help an emaciated foster dog?

Question

I've recently brought home an emaciated dog from the shelter where I'm a volunteer. I'm going to be her "foster mom" until she's well enough to be adopted, and I need some suggestions on how to get her healthy and beautiful again. She is most likely a pure bred Yellow Lab, probably around 2 years old. She has very, very little body fat, and pretty obvious muscle loss as well. Her undercoat is all but gone, except around her neck. Her top coat is coarse and dull. Her teeth are in pretty good shape.

The good news is, she has a good appetite, and she now has somebody to care for her. I'm going to start feeding her a combo of canned and dry puppy food tomorrow to help her gain weight, but does anyone have any suggestions for some additional vitamins/supplements to help with her coat? Or even some suggestions on bulking her up would be great! Thanks! Here are a few pics of her:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=61jg5cy
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=6bwthcx

Answer 1

Nutrical is good,but in my experience with underweight and emaciated dogs,Bil -Jac frozen dog food ,fed in addition to a good puppy food,puts weight on a dog faster than anything and most dogs love it.An egg a day ( poached or soft - boiled ) will do wonders for her,too.Eggs are the perfect food for dogs as they contain the perfect balance of amino acids and fatty acids.A good supplement is "Missing Link." Salmon oil is great,as is a salmon or mackeral ( canned is fine). Good luck and how nice of you to foster her.Poor thing.

Answer 2

I have had this problem with quite a few fosters. I start with feeding a mix of a holistic dry food and some good quality canned puppy food. Don't be afraid to overfeed. In the really bad cases, I will feed an adult dog three times a day. Puppy food is full of protein and will put on some weight. For coat and skin, alot of it has to do with nutrition, so the holistic foods will work on that as well. There is also an immune system booster vitamin called Duralactin that you can get from your vet. Most shelter dogs in this condition will have a compromised immune system, which can result in demodectic mange or other skin conditions.
With this kind of diet, I have been able to rehabilitate a dog in as little as four weeks-not perfect optimum health, but much better looking and feeling as well.
Good luck with your new guest and thanks for fostering!

Answer 3

I rescued a nearly starved to death dog in April, he was so far gone that the vet thought he would not make it. I fed him four or five times a day, small meals because he really had almost shut down and could not eat without vomitting initially.

He had hookworms badly and diarrhea constantly, so couldn't hold much nutrition in, but I just kept feeding him small meals while he was recovering from the deworming. At first he was so unused to eating and weak that we had to feed him a special canned food from the vet, but started mixing it with a little dry until he could hold it down.

Once he was better, I started him on high potency vitamins, Life Tabs in this case, but any good dog vitamin will do.
This was the worst case of starvation in a dog I have ever seen, but he is healthy, sleek and happy now. He gets Canidae chicken and rice, mixed with a little canned and chopped white meat, boneless, skinless chicken and a bit of brown rice mixed in. No one can believe it is the same sad dog - he's so full of energy and looks great.

It's good of you to take this dog to foster, I am sure that, with love and care, she will also blossom. Between a high quality dry kibble with meat as the first ingredient, some canned, and maybe some chicken and rice, your foster will gain weight soon enough. A good vitamin supplement will get her coat in good condition again. Good luck, and thank you for caring for her.

Answer 4

Nutrical or Nutristat. Both are good, nutrionally complete, high calorie pastes taht most dogs love. About a half teaspoon a day to start, and maybe after she is used to that amount, go to a half twice a day. Great stuff. She's a pretty girl.

Answer 5

In the refrigerated section of Drug Mart or a pet store would know where to get Bil Jack. It should help your dog gain some weight. AWW, poor baby, I looked at the pics. A friend of mine knew every animal question and this is what she fed her dogs, border collies, because they were always slender. She wanted to keep them healthy and not let them lose any more weight. Please see if you can find this product. and keep us posted.