What is the safest way to put weight on a half starved puppy?

Question

I have a 5 1/2 month old pit bull puppy that when I got him back from his former owner had no weight on him at all. He was so thin that his testicals had not yet dropped. Oreo looked as though he had never been given any food or water and had not been allowed out of the cage that he was kept in when the owners were gone or sleeping. When I brought him home 48 hours ago he was shakey and so thin that you could count every bone in his body my family didnt think he was going to be ok but with in 45 minutes of feeding him he started to play and walk around better. I gave him a big bowl of food and a big bowl of gatoraide to get him back to a little bit of something. Was I right in feeding him or did I do something wrong? He is showing signs of being alot better and seems to have picked up at least 5 pounds in that short time frame.

Answer 1

Thats so wonderful that you rescued a dog and are now helping it get healthy again!

You need to find a dog food that is packed with protein, which is helpful in getting your dog to put on weight. Feed him 3 meals a day and feed him 3/4 of a cup of food at each meal. Don't give him Gatorade, though. Just give him water from now on. Call a vet and ask what his weight should be at this time. Be sure and weight your puppy each day and when he starts to get on track, feed him only 2 meals a day and make sure he gets plenty of love and exercise!

Answer 2

I have a pit as well , I got mine back in Jan 07 , she was very under weight , she was rescued from a puppy mill , I fed her Chick- Fil-A daily , along with regular feedings ,and the ocassional serving of Alaskan Snow Crab legs she really loves them too , also just keep it's favorite foods in the bowl all the time . that is what I did and after getting her heart worms gone , and fixed , ad a few other things done by the vet , she went from 36 lbs to 68 lbs in a about a month to a month and a half .. It cost around $2000.00 for the vet , but I do recommend getting her checked for parasites and worms also there is a few sites here to help you with this breed , it will help to promote positive outlooks on this wonderful breed of dog...you will also be able to show others that 98% of dog attacks that are said to be pit bulls are not pits at all ....this breed is the best breed of dog I have ever had , it is a pure bred American Pit Bull Terrier ...
You will never have a more loving pet , mine crys if I do not lay with her on the sofa and pet her all day long , these are people dogs they have to be around people to feel safe , just read the pages on link below , you will learn a great deal from it I did ...

http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/breedinfo.php

this one is fun to try ...http://www.coldsteelpits.com/coldsteelfindthepitbull.htm

Good Luck with this pup you have a dog that requires lots of time ,and energy , and find something besides store bought chew toys , those do not last long as you will read in the first link I sent you , the bully sticks are good , and they do love those things...

Answer 3

Just feed him 4 small meals a day,like you would a small puppy.It's best to feed a puppy food,but I would add some Bil-Jac frozen food as well,about a 1/3 of a cup per feeding,in addition to the dry puppy food.You really need to take the puppy to be wormed and vaccinated,and then the vet can check him over to make sure all is well.Congrats on saving him,and shame on the former owner.

Answer 4

NEVER give a hungry dog a large amount of food. It can cause all sorts of digestive problems. And no more gatorade either.

Make sure he has lots of water available at all times.

Feed him up to 6 SMALL meals per day. Start with a base of good dry dog food. You can add canned dog food, chicken breast, cooked ground beef, cottage cheese, brown rice, or eggs. (I would stick to one or two extras at a time, don't throw them all in together.) Fast weight gain is BAD. It means the dog is gaining fat, not muscle weight. Small meals and slow gain is the best way to go.

I would hold off on any more feedings until he poops- there is a chance the overfeeding could cause bloat or colic, which can be fatal.

Answer 5

Yes feed him a holistic puppy food that contains rice. The holistic food has more nutirents and less perservatives. Give him wet and dry mixed. Don't just feed him dry as this will dehydrate him and there are less nutirents. Feed him Wet/ dry combo three times a day until he is in good shape then reduce it to two.

Also don't give the dog gatorade. Plain water will do just fine. I would also have him de wormed and vaccinated and checked for heart worm. He sounds like he is in good hands. Also start training him. It is better to start while he is young then wait to long and have an uncontrollable dog. Good Luck with your puppy and thank you for saving the starving little guy!

Answer 6

Kg22 was right, I had a dog that was just slightly underweight and my vet told me to feed this 4 year old dog nothing but puppy food because of the high calories in it. He also gave me this bottle of pet tonic, which I gave to the dog once a day. It helped to make her eat more, it was only 12 dollars. You are a wonderful person for saving this puppies life! I could only imagine what might have happened had you not taken this dog in. You are a very good person.

P.S. Take him to the vet for a worming a his shots.

Answer 7

do it VERY SLOWLY!!!!

Give him little servings every hour or so, not a constant supply or huge helpings all at once, as that will make them very sick if they are too emaciated. Keep plenty of water at hand for him to drink on all the time, and you will most likely want to soak all of his food in water for the first week or so. (easier to digest)

You can add little shreds of bread to his small meals. Give him things like doggy treats to eat as well. Anything that will slowly add up calories. I would not take him for walks until he starts to gain weight, either. Take him out to do his business, and then he goes right back inside. This will help him to save his energy.

Don't give him gatorade!!!! He needs water, not people junk. Things that are made for people can be bad for dogs. He just needs water to help purify his little system.

Keep feeding him lots, but not too much at once or he might eat more than his tummy can handle and end up vomiting on your floor!! *gross*

Answer 8

The last thing that you want to do is feed it too much at one time. Dogs need to be able to digest thier food and if they aren't able to because they are skinny they could have trouble going to the bathroom and there is a possibility that they could up chuck. Just take it slow and don't feed him a lot of food in a small amount of time.

Answer 9

well, it sounds like you did okay, since he seems better. You still need to take him to a vet to get checked. Starving an animal can do things to them that cannot be seen, like change chemistry, so he needs bloodwork to check him out and make sure all things are functioning normally.
There are several good products that your vet can recommend that will help him out.
But mainly, you don't want to give him too much right away. Start him out with small amounts frequently and work up to a normal feeding pattern. His stomach is probably shrunk.
Hope he turns out ok!

Answer 10

I would get a high quality food (canidae, nature's recipe, Chicken Soup for the pet lovers soul etc) and I would feed him SMALL meals several times a day. Too much at one time can make him very sick. His stomach is probably very small due to being starved so long. Good luck to you and a big hug for taking in such a needy fella.