Weight gain diet - Page 1

Wonder if anyone can suggest things that have worked for helping GSD gain weight. I have a female rescue GS that has been check for parasites and recently treated for H/W. She came to us after coming off a litter and was very thin. She was basically on crate rest and leash walk only while recovering from H/W and did put on some weight during that time but now that she's active again (and I mean super high drive active) I can't seem to keep weight on her. She has grain allergies. I feed raw but I have even tried a quality grain free kibble as well. I do give probiotics. I have other GSDs and everyone else thrives on the raw diet- lean and healthy. This gal feels great and has energy unstoppable but she sure would look nicer with some meat on her bones. I appreciate any suggestions for our skinny mini.

Satin balls, aka fat balls, are the go-to for dog weight gain. This page has several different recipes from around the internet (http://www.dogforum.net/dog-frequently-asked-questions/5191-how-make-satin-balls-fat-balls.html). They're basically homemade meatballs full of calories. The basic recipe is usually:

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 quart freezer bags and freeze.
Thaw as needed and feed raw!

If she h as grain sensitivities I would not use that formula;  total cereal is grain, oatmeal should be ok.  no wheat germ and veg oil is basically soybeans. the rest is OK.  I used kibble instead of the Total cereal ground up;  no wheat germ and I used olive oil instead of veg oil along with some coconut oil.  Made all into l/2 pound patties;  and YEP they did work for weight gain.  Very healthy also.  Best of luck  Nan

Although I like to feed raw and grain free kibble myself, for weight gain, I would suggest not feeding raw. During trial season my female looses weight fast, and raw only makes it worse.

I like to use Dr Pitcairn's health powder as addition to a grain free kibble if my dog needs more energy:

https://sites.google.com/site/auburnmeadowfarmrecipearchive/dr-pitcairn-s-healthy-powder-recipe
 

If you want to stay away from yeast you can also only feed an addition of phosphorus/calcium with

1/2 teaspoon of seaweed (for calcium) and lecithin granules. Egg yolk is another good source of lecithin.

Or, another good addition is also a Kelp/Calcium/Magnesium combination to beef up her muscles.

In the grain free kibble I would look for a protein content of at least 30%.

Hope that helps :)

Lucky girl, thanks for taking on a rescue. :) Make sure to take some before and after photos!

Our procedure with competition performance horses that needed more weight was mutiple meals a day, to get the extra calories in them and not overload their digestive systems. Have used this same principle with dogs sucessfully. So add meals to go 4-6 a day.

We have used a raw diet with underweight dogs too and it will work. We also keep Natures Logic kibble around for snacks and treats & their canned for a fast meal; a very good company. Cost runs about the same as all the other premium brands; chewy.com has fast shipping and good prices. NL does not aggrevate our sensitive GSD skin or stomach at all and all the dogs all love it. We just make sure to feed it away from a raw meal by several hours. Better food than us sneaking in a Big Mac...

Using higher fat content meaty bones and whole raw goats milk (if you can get it, Meyenberg will work too), regular cottage cheese, etc. will get extra calories in her as well (how nice they do not have cholesterol issues like people do! ;) ) You can also get canned whole powdered goats milk on Amazon and make it up as you need. Dissolves pretty well if you shake, let it sit and then shake again. We use goats milk for all our puppies & kittens.

Working up to 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil a day over several meals will help calories and coat. Once she is at a good weight you can back it down to maintainance dose of ~1 tbsp a day. We have used fish oil and flaxseed oil in the past, but we swtiched after someone, here I think on the forums, mentioned these may cause increased inflammatory responses. Within a few days of going to coconut oil, our sensitive dog was much less itchy and moved better.

Since you do raw, you probably know your new girl will have some detox reactions, i.e. diarrhea and mucus as her body heals and expels the toxins from the parasites and medications she needed. Chicken wings always seem to help firm up stools alot and a good grassfed beef knuckle bone wiil too.

Usually "rescue animals" will heal from the inside out, so the extra protein & calories may be used internally first before putting on the weight. So long as she is bright eyed and happy, give her muscles some time, the ribs will cover over last...

Hope some of this help! Best of luck with your new girl. :)