very underweight

[jillbobaggin]

I have decided to adopt a stray rotti that a couple found but cannot keep. She is severely underweight (tiny waist, can see ribs and feel bones when you pet her) and is in the process of shedding her old yucky coat. I think the couple has been feeding some sort of puppy food with vegetable oil (which their vet recommended). They said she has put on some weight since they've had her. Oh, and she's 4 yrs old. The lady said she probably weighed 60-65 lbs now and were told she could use another 10 to 15 lbs.
I will be getting ready for her to come home in the coming week. Just wondering what your suggestions would be to feed this poor girl. Wish I had some photos to show, she looks happy but so skinny.

[judy v]

Whatever you decide to feed, don't make an abrupt change. Change gradually by starting with the current diet, and adding a bit of the new, and then a little more, then more until you completely replaced the old diet. I think you are about to be faced with many excellent choices.

[Argos]

I know some people on here hate to feed dairy to their dogs, but my boy wouldn't eat much and wasn't gaining wieght when I brought him home, so I started giving him some extra rich buttermilk with his meals about 3 times per week. He loved it and lapped it up instantly. He began gaining weight and eating his regular food again in no time. The buttermilk is also good to aid in digestive tract health, providing necessary enzymes and bacteria that aid in digestion. It is like feeding yogurt which is a good idea for a dog of any age. Yogurt only takes about a tablespoonful mixed with dry kibble every other day. I gave him about a half cup of buttermilk with his food. I hope finding a good home is all it takes for your new one to get to a normal weight, but if it doesn't I hope this can help.

[AngelBunny]

jillbobaggin:

I know that changing a dog's diet gradually is the best thing to do, but sometimes we don't follow our own advice.

When we got our 5 mo old private rescue girl, she had been fed a diet of supermarket kibble. No way I was going to wean her off that; we changed Tula's diet cold turkey. The first 3 days we had her she wouldn't eat because she didn't like the taste of what we feed (Wellness). I wasn't worried at all, since I knew that when she was hungry enuff, she'd start eating. She did.

With your girl, I wouldn't worry about having her gain weight quickly. I'd just feed her a good quality food twice a day and let her gain weight naturally and slowly. I can sympathize with your wish to do everything that's best for her, but I think it'd be better for her if you let her gain the weight she needs naturally. I'd feed her an adult food.

You might try giving her raw beef marrow bones from the supermarket. The marrow will help put a gleam in her coat and help polish up her teeth. We buy packages of marrow bones and put them in the freezer. We don't bother thawing them, but give them to the dogs rite from the freezer. Our dogs are nuts for them.

Consider making an appointment for her with your vet asap to get her checked out. Bring a stool sample so she can be checked for internal parasites. And spay her if she hasn't ready been spayed.

[mscez]

My now 11 mo. rottiX was adopted from animal control at 7 mos. The poor guy--he was just a sad bag-o-bones when we got him. You could see every single rib, every single vertebrae in his back, and his hip bones were "sharp: enough to nearly cut!!! (just 46 lbs. then, now ~65lbs.)Apparently, he'd been "dumped" off in a "nice neighborhood" -- so he'd end up with a good home, I assume! We have no way of knowing how long he was roaming around with no diet whatsoever!! (probably eating garbage...)

We got a prescription dog food from the vet for the first 10 days, also fed him Pedialite for a couple days to get the electrolites back up, then, the first big bag of food we also mixed in about a 1/3 of a can of wet food when we fed.

The second big bag of kibble we started supplementing with cottage cheese sometimes, yogurt (plain), and tidbits like raw hamburger, apples, carrots, bananas, hotdogs, etc.

Now we're into the third big bag of food (feeding Canidae brand) and I like the supplements and vitamins they include with the product.

I've heard of also using a tablespoon of olive oil, or cod liver oil (I'm not sure of the vegetable oil -- the corn in it would not go well with my dog.) Also garlic.

The weight he has gained has been gradual, and his coat is looking FANTASTIC! (No hot spots, no mange, it's shiney and even got a bit of natural wave in it!)

I'm jealous! http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/wink.gif

Don't expect results overnight--let her metabolism adjust her own weight, I gues is what I'm suggesting.

Connie Z. & Luke
http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/biggrin.gif

[jillbobaggin]

Thank you so much for your suggestions.
I was just wondering though, is the puppy food the way to go to get her weight up? I guess because of the higher protein?
Also, I don't quite understand the oil. Is vegetable oil a good idea or maybe another type would be better? I think their vet recommended it for her coat. I just really want this girl to be as healthy as she can be.
I've heard about feeding a little yogurt, I think I'll try that.
Just one more week and she'll be here. Can't hardly wait.
Thank you all for your help. http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/smile.gif