Patches is skinny
I think it may be because our older lab is VERY protective of her food. (Also I didn't realize how thin he was until we shaved him) How can I get him to eat more? and how can I tell how thin he is(with all his hair) besides using a scale ? (If that makes any sense  ) Thanks
ps. I just registered and so far this site is sooo helpful.  |
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| Welcome to the forum
Perhaps you could feed him in a different room or in a crate? Somewhere he feels safe? You can feel for weight by feeling the rib cage. You should be able to find the ribs, but not feel them too easily. |
| thanks I'll be sure to do that |
| Welcome! |
| Welcome! I was going to suggest the same thing (separate room). Good luck! |
Hi and welcome 
To see how he is weight wise, wether under weight or over weight the general rules is Feel along the back bone/spine, feel the withers, feel the top of the hips for the bones there, run your hands gently along the side to, to feel the ribs. If they are protruding and you can feel them quite easy then too thin and weight needed to be gained. If you can just feel them then weight is OK if you can't feel any then too tubby. Pretty good guide this way without the need for scales. 
In relation to having trouble feeding him, firstly put him well away from the other dog. Feed seperately. Add things to his food to make it appealing till he starts to show an interest. Bit of cottage cheese over the dry food, fresh meat, cooked chicken even oily sardines. Grated raw carrot, cooked sweet potato any thing to tempt him to eat. Sometimes just warming the food too can be enough to tempt them. Best wishes and I hope all goes well if he does need a weight gain, be patient and consistant and I am sure he will start eating more for you and feed him separately in a quiet area with no distractions. |
| I have tried that somewhat but he doesnt liek dairy products (though he does have a thing for veggies.) Thanks for the other food suggestions |
| Mine like there vegies too and fruit
Carrot, potato, sweet potato, celery, brocoli, spinach and sometimes even add a bit of cooked pasta or rice. I steam them and add to the dry. Treats they love banana, apple (no pips), oranges, water melon and mandarines. Go bonkers on that in summer  |
| The first thing is to make sure there is nothing physically wrong that has made him loose his appetitie and weight. If he's been vet checked you can try some different things... you've gotten good advice and some of this will be a repeat. Here is a good link to determining if your dog is at a proper weight- http://purina.com/dogs/health/BodyCondition.aspx
We had a heck of a time getting weight on our littlest sheepie- Kaytee. It took over a year for her to get to a decent weight with a bit of fat. As a new puppy, we free-fed her for a while and she gained some weight but she was still too thin. We found that she was turning up her nose to the food so we went to a schedule of 3 meals a day to increase her appetite so she would look forward to eating. At about 1 year, we went to 2 feedings a day... the switch was much later compared to our others when they were pups. Be careful that Patches doesn't fill up on low calorie foods right now if you're trying to get some weight on him. Once he's gained weight you can add them again. You might consider adding a bit of steamed chicken, beef or turkey to his kibble... shred it and mix it in. Or try some canned/cooked Salmon or Mackerel. As Lisa mentioned, warming his food slightly in the microwave will make it smell more appealing. We tried so many different brands of dog food (she was on Diamond when she arrived, then- Purina One, Iams, Nutro, a Science Diet canned variety from the vet for low weight dogs/cats, Chicken Soup, Wellness, Solid Gold, Beneful, Mighty Dog, etc.) and later went to home-cooking for a couple of months. One of the ingredients that we added to a big pot of food we cooked was a can of sardines in tomato sauce... they love that smelly stuff. (You can try adding a tablespoon or two to his food.) But Kaytee eventually turned her nose up at that too. We finally found a commercial food that was appealing to her and she's been with it since around January of this year. At almost 2 years old now, she's a little bit of a pudge at 48 pounds (she's my dog with an unrepaired partial cleft palate... it's only partial so she has been able to eat moist food without infections). http://www.pomeroys.com/EmmaDarby/AboutU604.jpg We feed her a mix of Purina ProPlan for Sensitive Skin and Stomachs (dry food that has been soaked in a little bit of water) and then add any of the Purnina ProPlan canned varieties. She is fed in a separate room and left there for about 5-10 minutes... she eats slower than the rest of the pack. I know how you worry when they aren't at a good weight. I hope something here will help. Good luck! Jaci |
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