# How to fatten up my dog??



## Shaunna_Jake (Oct 10, 2012)

Anyone have any suggestions on how I can put a bit of weight on my dog? Hes fed more than the average dog should yet he is still so slim his ribs are showing, he is a 2 year old Kelpie and is looked after very well, the only thing is I am worried about him just not gaining weight with my attempts to even feed him 4 times a day. Any suggestions would be appreciated,

Thanks

S x


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## zeronightfarm (Jun 15, 2011)

What are you feeding him, and how much?


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## Shaunna_Jake (Oct 10, 2012)

Pedigree started giving him 4 tins a day now


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

Shaunna_Jake said:


> Pedigree started giving him 4 tins a day now


I would put him on a better food, with higher protein. Pedigree is not a great food.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Graco22 said:


> I would put him on a better food, with higher protein. Pedigree is not a great food.


Well, if they're using "tins", their canned food isn't nearly as bad as their kibble. It's not top quality but at least it has meat in it. And canned food is usually way higher in protein. 

Is this the big 13-ounce cans or the little 5-ounce cans? If it's the large cans that really should be plenty. . .but maybe you could add some dry food (not Pedigree! Something with meat as the top ingredients) for extra calories. You could look into a higher-quality wet food, too, but I don't know what's available in your area so I can't make specifiic recommendations.


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

Willowy said:


> Well, if they're using "tins", their canned food isn't nearly as bad as their kibble. It's not top quality but at least it has meat in it. And canned food is usually way higher in protein.
> 
> Is this the big 13-ounce cans or the little 5-ounce cans? If it's the large cans that really should be plenty. . .but maybe you could add some dry food (not Pedigree! Something with meat as the top ingredients) for extra calories. You could look into a higher-quality wet food, too, but I don't know what's available in your area so I can't make specifiic recommendations.


I don't know what your definition of bad is, but IMO Pedigree is garbage and not fit for any dog. The cans are far from a decent food. The cans of "Meaty Ground" have 8% protein....yes...8%! That is very, very, very low. And the "meat" is all byproducts...which can include sweepings off the floor, etc. The "Chicken Ground" is the same...8% protein. Both are 78% water....Feeding this exclusively, its a miracle the dog has any meat on its bones. Probly well hydrated though. To the OP, change this dog's diet...stat.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

8% protein with 78% moisture is about 36% protein on a dry matter basis. Yes, it's mostly water. . .so is fresh meat, and this can help prevent kidney and urinary issues. By-products can be the most nutritious parts of the animal (organs, tripe, etc.). Not that I think that Pedigree uses high-quality by-products, and they use artifical colors which I don't like at all (although artificial colors are illegal in Europe and the OP did say "tinned", so maybe it's a different formula there), so I'm not saying Pedigre canned is high-quality. But I am saying--the canned is far better than the dry (which has basically NO meat in it), and lack of protein is not the issue here. Are you against any feeding of canned foods? You won't find one with lower moisture or higher protein (maybe one or 2 percentage points), even if the protein sources are higher quality. 

I am against the use of rendered by-product meal in a dry food. But "fresh" by-products (not rendered into a meal) aren't so bad, IMO. 

However, canned foods are know to cat owners to aid in weight loss (higher moisture content=less caloric intake), so if the goal is to get weight onto the dog I think a high-quality kibble is probably best. Mix it into his canned food really well and I think he'll be OK with the taste.


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

Honestly when the concern is putting on weight and not wanting to eat enough, you're looking at fattier foods. More fat = more calories in less food.

Pedigree canned is certainly better than their dried food. Not quite 36% protein though. Yes it's 36% dmb but to compare to dry, you're looking at 10% moisture so it's more like 33% protein. Still not too bad on a crude protein count. It'd be about 25% fat which is pretty high when you compare to dry foods.

When it comes to strictly protein and fat analysis on canned foods, the numbers aren't as clear. Purely looking at protein levels, stuff like Pedigree and Purina One are about the same as TotW, Blue buffalo, and plenty of other "good brands". Of course ingredient quality is higher in the better brands but purely looking at numbers, it's not much different. Evo IIRC is something like 8% protein 10% fat which I actually consider too much fat even if the ingredients are better than pedigree. You'd actually be feeding a lot less less protein on canned EVO cause you'd be feeding less food.



Willowy said:


> I am against the use of rendered by-product meal in a dry food. But "fresh" by-products (not rendered into a meal) aren't so bad, IMO.


I'm curious why you think this. Because meals allow 4D ingredients? but then that's because the rendering process sterilizes it. What are the standards for "fresh" by-products? 

Dry foods are certainly more dense than canned food. Since water helps fill the stomach and make the dog feel full, I can certainly see how a dog might eat more calories on dry food than canned. You do lose the "urinary health benefits" of more water but you should always make sure your dog is well hydrated anyways. When it comes to high calorie dry foods, EVO is always the first thing that comes to my mind.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

> I'm curious why you think this. Because meals allow 4D ingredients? but then that's because the rendering process sterilizes it.


Partially the 4D thing, but mostly because of a totally unscientific personal idea that they can hide a lot more nastiness in a meal . Hard to hide styrofoam bits in a canned food (there are some sources that say that expired grocery store meat is thrown into the rendering vat, styrofoam, plastic wrap, and all. Even for named meat meals like "chicken meal", not just by-product meals. Some of that may be skimmed off but I'm sure some still gets into the food). 



> What are the standards for "fresh" by-products?


Now that's a good question. There's an analyst on my cat forum who has a hobby of researching pet food ingredients (very thoroughly! She says she's an anal-yst ), and that's one thing she can't find. The industry is very specific about what can be called rendered meals/by-product meals and named meats, but "fresh" by-products are sort of a mystery. If you know where to find the info I'd be glad to know where you find it.


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## marsha=whitie (Dec 29, 2008)

I have had the same issue with my dog, but she is fed a kibble based diet ATM. She was getting 3 cups of 4Health dry, but for the last week we have been giving her a mixture of 2 cups kibble with 1 whole can of Authority puppy food (509cal/can). Its plumped her up a bit, enough to cover her ribs. 

Maybe you can replace 2 tins with their puppy formula? puppy food generally has more calories. It also wouldn't hurt to upgrade to a better food.


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

Willowy said:


> But I am saying--the canned is far better than the dry (which has basically NO meat in it), and lack of protein is not the issue here. Are you against any feeding of canned foods? You won't find one with lower moisture or higher protein (maybe one or 2 percentage points), even if the protein sources are higher quality.
> 
> I am against the use of rendered by-product meal in a dry food. But "fresh" by-products (not rendered into a meal) aren't so bad, IMO.
> 
> However, canned foods are know to cat owners to aid in weight loss (higher moisture content=less caloric intake), so if the goal is to get weight onto the dog I think a high-quality kibble is probably best. Mix it into his canned food really well and I think he'll be OK with the taste.


I am not against canned food at all, but I dont think its always the best thing to feed exclusively. Especially one this low quality, IMO. Cats are different when it comes to water intake, as they dont drink like dogs do and need to be encouraged to drink enough. Canned food can be a great supplement to a good diet of quality kibble or raw for a healthy dog.


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## beretw (Sep 25, 2012)

One thing to consider is that some rib showing is not a bad thing. For many dogs, not seeing ANY rib is an indication that the dog is overweight. Do you have pictures? 

Also, I would ask your vet to do a fecal analysis to rule out the possibility of a worm or parasite. These can often interfere with digestion and lead to malnutrition.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

I second beretw, we need pictures. It's possible this dog isn't even that thin, in which case adding more weight would be a bad thing.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

me too, i had a thin dog, even on a high quality kibble (earthborn primitive naturals) so i started feeding her a supplement called 'satin balls' (google it just like that) & a few recipes come up, the one below is the one i use. but i would switch kibbles first to something like even bluw bufflo or taste of the wild is better then pedigree anything. ditch the canned food & once you find a good kibble that goes well with you dog (remember your dog might detox off the pedigree for a while, so you dont want to be feedingg something like satin balls while the dog is getting used to a new kibble) www.dogfoodadvisor.com is a good place to start looking up foods, i personally wont feed anything below 4 stars.

once you find a kibble that you & your dog like, then you can do the satin balls, the recipe is below, i omitted the molasass because i thought it added too much sugar:

Satin Balls - Original Recipe
Ingredients
10 pounds hamburger meat [the cheapest kind]
1 lg. box of Total cereal
1 lg. box oatmeal
1 jar of wheat germ
1 1/4 cup veg oil
1 1/4 cup of unsulfured molasses
10 raw eggs AND shells
10 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
pinch of salt
Mix all ingredients together, much like you would a meatloaf.
Divide into 10 parts. (approx 1 lb each)
Divide each of these 10 parts into 3. 
Roll into fist size balls.

if you dont want to make this much you can always half the recipe the first time.


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