Safe weight gain for older dog

[JD102175]

I need some ideas to get some weight on Misha(12yr.old Husky) safely. She,by choice, spends the majority of her time outside. My mom said she spent almost all of last week outside in the backyard. They have to practically carry her inside, even on very cold days. My dad is in the process of building her a dog house, it will be completed this week. I want to know what my mom can give her to safely gain some of the weight back that she has lost(5 lbs,maybe more, in the past year) to help get her fat reserves up since she insists on spending so much time outside this winter. Thankfully this has been a fairly mild winter, there have been a few cold snaps, and next to no snow. She has a bad liver, which she takes meds for, so I don't want to overdo things and have her get worse. Also, she is going in on Monday to have some growths removed so I will get an updated weight on her from my mom then. Any help will be greatly appreciated!!!


Jaime

[moondog]

I remember you were trying to find a suitable diet for Misha a while ago, but I don't recall what you settled on. It may be helpful to know what she's eating and if her appetite is still good. What medications is she taking?

One of the problems with decreased liver function is the liver's difficulty in converting ammonia (a toxic byproduct of protein metabolism) into urea (rendering it harmless). Because of this, dogs with compromised liver function do best on diets with a high ratio of highly digestible carbohydrates to protein. A higher ratio of carbohydrate helps by promoting insulin secretion and reducing the amino acid conversions to glucose.

It's important to add only high quality, highly digestible carbohydrates because carbohydrates of lesser quality wind up sitting undigested in the intestine and contribute to the production of ammonia, which the liver has trouble converting. If her blood tests show high ammonia, you could also add some cooked vegetables, which would help keep things moving along her intestines and reduce ammonia levels by simple evacuation, too.

Highly digestible carbohydrates include boiled white rice and potatoe, the rice being higher in calories. Mixing some rice in with her regular meal will bump up the calories a bit and help reduce the amount of work her liver has to do. That may help her keep her weight up.

Just a sidenote: Dr. Strombeck's studies have shown that dogs with liver disease do better using milk and soybean sources of protein as opposed to meat proteins (cottage cheese and tofu).

Check this out with the vet. I hope it helps. :)

[JD102175]

It was decided that Misha's liver problem was not one that warrented a change inn diet. I guess i should have said tha Misha has a slightly comprimised liver, not a bad one. For meds she is taking 2 tablets once a day of Denosyl(S-Adenosylmethionine) SD4 225mg. She is still eating what she has eaten all her life. Kibbles-n-Bits. She eats roughly 2 cups throughout the day(she is free fed) and 2-3 times a week she gets some of leftovers from what my mom cooks. She always eats everything that she is given. Her appetite is still good. She does not really llike veggies. She would probably eat rice and I know she will eat Potatoes, I always give her my potatoe skin and some of the potatoe when we have baked potatoes. Would cooked pasta be a good thing to give her? She loves any type of cheese and will also eat cottage cheese. Should I have my mom give her a few spoonfuls of that everyday if it will help?


Jaime

[spidey]

I'd add a better quality food to her regular food. Half and half or so. Kibbles N Bits is very processed, and is full of refined sugar and grains and that sort of thing, it's not particularly nutritious. I wouldn't take her off it, but I'd add in a super-premium (Innova, Wellness, Canidae, etc) to give her more easily-accessible nutrients.

[moondog]

Pasta isn't as easy to digest as potatoe or rice, and since you don't want carbohydrates sitting in her intestines undigested, I think I'd try adding some baked potato or rice mixed with cottage cheese in a ratio of 3/4 potato or rice to 1/4 cottage cheese and see how she does with that. If you use potato, she'll be getting more fiber which may or may not agree with her. If potato winds up making her stools too loose, try the rice instead and see how that goes. It should help put some weight back on. There's no real need to give her veggies unless she needs more fiber, and the potatoe will take care of that. Bless her little heart! :)

[JD102175]

I'll check and see if there is anyplace near by that handles any of the super-premium foods and have my mom get a bag to mix in with her current food.

How often should she be given the rice/cottage cheese mixture? Would it be ok to have a potato mixed in with the rice and cheese mix every once in awhile? Also, how much of the mix should she be fed when given?

Sorry for all of the questions.

Thanks for all of the informative replies.


Jaime

[moondog]

She could have the rice/potato/cottage cheese mix every day. One cup comprised of 1/4 cup 2% cottage cheese and 3/4 cup cooked white rice would add about 210 calories; one cup comprised of 1/4 cup 2% cottage cheese, 1/3 cup (rounded) cooked white rice, and 1/3 cup (rounded) baked or boiled potato would add about 144 calories. The potato could be added in all the time or just 2-3 times a week. As long as you keep the 1/4:3/4 ratio of protein to carbohydrate fairly close, she should be fine with however you decide to mix the potato/rice.

I'd give her a cup of the mix each day, maybe divided in half (1/2 cup in the morning and 1/2 cup at night). If everything agrees with her, she could have the whole cup for a midday snack, too. It will take a little while for the weight to show, but I think you'll see a change over a few weeks time. When her weight is back to normal, cut it in half and see if she maintains her weight with that. If not, keep giving her the whole cup each day or several times a week, if that works better for her weight. :)

[JD102175]

Thanks for all your help moondog. I printed out your last reply and gave it to my mom. She was getting rice ready as I left their house this evening:). I also found a couple of places near them that sell Innova, Wellness and Canidae(thanks for the suggestion Spidey). One place has all three of them:D so she's going to go comparison shopping within the next few days and buy a bag to mix in with Misha's K-n-B's.

Jaime

[moondog]

You're welcome! :) I hope it does the trick. Give Misha a scritch behind the ears for me.

[JD102175]

Found out from the vet yesterday that Misha is not doing well. I have another post going in the vet forum titled"Need some help from the vets on the board" that explains what is going on.

Jaime