# Ideas for weight gain in my dog.



## mom24doggies (Mar 25, 2011)

One of my dogs, Sam, is always on the skinny side, and since the temp is now getting cooler, she's gotten a little bit thinner. (In the summer, she gains, in the winter, she loses...just how she is I guess) Does anyone have any ideas as to what I could do to help her get a little extra fat? I have her on TOTW...would a food with some grain in it help? OR maybe I could just add some rice or oatmeal (cooked, of course) to her food everyday? Any ideas would help, thanks!! BTW, she's eating 3-3.5 cups of food a day, she weighs around 40 lbs, and is pretty high energy.


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## Tofu_pup (Dec 8, 2008)

I will be keeping tabs on this thread because I'm in the same boat with Kaki, my catahoula mix.

She eats TOTW and is finally up to 45lbs but it seems like I have to try so hard to keep that weight on her. She's a finicky eater but I still have her eating way more than the bag suggests for her weight range(anywhere from 3-6 cups a day+other things that I throw in). But she also poops more.


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## Hallie (Nov 9, 2008)

You could feed a higher fat diet, even if it's just a little higher. Also, TOTW, compared to other foods, isn't very calorie dense. You could definitely try a food that is more calorie dense since your dog seems to have a high metabolism. She's probably using up all of the calories in the food because she's high evergy. 
To you, Tofu, I would definitely suggest a higher calorie food since you don't want your dog to poop more. 

Orijen is an example of a calorie dense food. Good luck!


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

I add cooked (boiled) chicken liver in small amounts to the kibble ( only because of a picky issue)......and also chicken gizzards and sometimes beef liver to my dogs food, all cooked (boiled). I did not mean to add weight to my dogs but my dogs did start to get pudgy! Lol! I had to cut out some of it to maintain a healthy weight.  Those organ meats are inexpensive too.


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## Selah Cowgirl (Nov 14, 2009)

careful with how much organ meat you feed, not good for your dogs liver in high amounts.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 25, 2011)

Thanks for the advice everyone!! So, how do I tell the difference between a calorie dense food and a "lighter" (for lack of a better word!) food? It seems to me that TOTW _would_ be a more calorie dense food, since it is mostly meat/potatoes. Do I just look at the cals/cup?


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## +two (Jul 12, 2011)

You can look at the calories per cup, but I would also consider looking at fat content. You may want to consider something with a little higher fat. Some dogs also do better on different meat sources, so you could try switching formulas. 

If you are looking to put weight on your dog rather quickly, you can look into feeding a Satin Ball supplement. Satin Balls aren't usually fed over a long period of time but I think feeding for a few days (plus kibble) and then switching to feeding once every week or so would help keep weight on. There are a bunch of sources for the recipe if you google it.


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## katielou (Apr 29, 2010)

Adding oily fish and eggs a few times a week is what i have done with Abe. Helps him gain weight without feeding him "junk food".


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## mom24doggies (Mar 25, 2011)

katielou said:


> Adding oily fish and eggs a few times a week is what i have done with Abe. Helps him gain weight without feeding him "junk food".


Oily fish as in mackerel? I can get canned mackerel for cheap here. Do y'all think that that if I started using the High Prairie formula of TOTW that it would help? It is 18% fat as opposed to the 15% of their other formulas. It also has more meat/less potato. I'm thinking she needs more fiber too...sometimes her poop is a bit soft. I think I'll start adding a little pumpkin to her diet. Any other suggestions? I've thought about the Satin Balls...honestly, I'm not looking to put weight on her fast...I'd rather she gain it at a steady rate, then keep it!! That's my problem...she tends to fluctuate, depending on what she does and the temp. Some weeks she looks really good, not much rib...other weeks I can see most of her ribs.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

If her poop tends to be soft you may be right at the limit of a comfortable meal size for her. Do try the mackerel and all but maybe make up a third meal a day instead of increasing the size of the current meals.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

I am not sure if this is useful.......but I just started transitioning my two little dogs to TOTW Pacific Stream Grain Free........and the calorie count is 360 kcal/cup. 

I was feeding 4Health and it was only 328 kcal/cup. But I also added some organ meats( like someone said be careful and not use too much) and I add cooked oatmeal and white rice every now and then . It was putting weight on my dogs. They were getting too pudgy.

I also feed vitamin E and fish oil (human grade purified to eliminate mercury)

I also sometimes add a little baked potato if we have it for dinner.

Just trying to think of everything I use that has added weight. ......and kept the weight on. 

All of these things are added to the daily requirements so it is actually extra food and that is where the extra calories come in.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 25, 2011)

Kathyy said:


> If her poop tends to be soft you may be right at the limit of a comfortable meal size for her. Do try the mackerel and all but maybe make up a third meal a day instead of increasing the size of the current meals.


 I only feed her once a day. She won't eat twice, I tried that! If I add some other stuff, I will go ahead and feed her a little less kibble...that should keep her from getting runny.  Thanks!

Thanks Abbylynn, I'll keep all that in mind.  I really appreciate all the help. Sometimes lots of brains is better than one!!


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## firehawk (Jul 31, 2011)

This is one of the reasons I'm reluctant to fully transition Charlie over to TOTW, which is what my mal eats. He's been eating Life4K9, which is 400 calories/cup. He gets 1cup 3x a day, plus another cup of TOTW used for training treats and his treat ball. It seems like a crazy amount of calories to me, considering he's only 34 pounds right now, but he's only got 2 speeds: furry torpedo and area rug. He's the busiest puppy I've ever had. Not sure that I'd be able to feed him enough TOTW to keep his calories up without giving him the runs from too much food.


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