Not Gaining Weight - Page 2

rbarlow,

a female at 65 pounds....... whats wrong with that picture ? Ulli

Ulli,

Nothing is wrong with a female at 65 lbs when they aren't boney.  I'm concerned because I can feel and even see her spine and feel her hips to easily when I pet her.  I also can see all her ribs even when she isn't panting. 

I also didn't say they didn't like raw they loved it.  My female did great on it but my male did not do well.  I had them on it for about 3-4 months and his stools never changed plus he did puke up sometimes.  I could have not added the right amount of different nutrients but I read a lot of different information and tried to do the right amounts.

I can't get a picture on this maybe someone could help but the pic on my post is of my girl.  I will try and post a pic on a different thread later this evening of both dogs.

Thanks for all the help so far.

I had problems with some of my dog's keeping weight on as well. I mixed their dog food with puppy food and they put on the weight and have kept it on without any more puppy food. You could try getting a bag of puppy food to see if that will help. Raw is the best way to go but if one of your dog's is having problems with it (which every dog is different) then it's best to go to something else that works for your dog. To put a picture on here you will have to download to photobucket and then click on the little mountain image just after the anchor above here and copy and paste from photobucket to there. hope that makes some sense.

I have something very simple for you. I have always done this to put some weight on my dogs. Mix 2 teaspoons of ensure plus in water and give it to your dog. This has always worked from me.Dogs like the vanilla flavour aswell.

Hate to be graphic, but living in the desert leads me to an insight. There is an optically illusion. Just because the obvious amount of fresh stool is large doesn't necessarily mean there is a lot of "filler" in the diet. The larger volume may be due to better water retention.

After the stuff has dried up, the volume may not be different by much. 

Sometimes "filler" is good stuff. It can be fiber that helps elimination. Filler does not necessarily interfere with absorption in the small intestine. 

Have you though about trying another grain free kibble?  Maybe one with more calories per cup. TOTW is pretty low in calories at 370 for two of the formulas and 375 for the third

I have heard of other folks dogs being to thin on TOTW also.

If they are pacing in the house...then kennels.Hmmm what do you do with them in the meantime?..in between.You are saying that you are more concerned about the female.What is the age difference between the two?Did you get the female first or the male?

Howdy, your dog will not have problems with raw, your dog will have problems with the in gredieance of your raw diet.

It has to contain mucsle, intestiens (heart, lung liver); bone, and  even more important tribe, not washed, we call it white tribe, it has to be be green tribe.

once your dog gets this, it will take him 3-4 days to adjust his digestif system to normal. And yes, he / she will puke it, because the stomach is only used to artificial food. And they gulp down the real food....... rejecting the amounds. But if you let them, they will eat it up right away.

Right now, I have a female which will whelp whitin the next 30 hours..She was fed only raw for the last 8 month. She was blood tested before mating her, ultra sound done at 23 days after the mating, bloodwork again at 25 days after the mating, besides that, this females was never before in a better shape than now. Fur glossy, and me not adding fishoil this & that; just suppling what nature would offer. All the nessecery parameters wer just awsome. Just did annother ultrasound, to determen how many Pups to expect ...... all healthy. some where between 5 - 7 Pups.

I will let you know how it works out, what i am trying to say is, lets recall what nature is and act acordingly. Regards Ulli

Hey barlow,

I did not means to be offensive, I truely hope you did not put me into that catogory. Thing is, stop to fiddle around with food. You tried raw with your female, you have the impression that she does gain enough, despite the fact taht she has 65 pounds. My advice would be, if your raw diet is in order, give her more food ! Just as simple as that. Only on raw she will stop when she has enough. She will puke it, dont worry about it, but once she learned that this will be avaible every feeding time, she will stopp this behavior.

Our animals are affected by our lifestyle, with all the good & bad coming with it. 30 + Years ago we worried about what to eat for ourselfs, we did not consider the food of our pets as a #1 priority , did we ?? They strived, or not, on what we had left for them. And still, they survived.

regards Ulli

Ulli,

You didn't sound offensive at all.  I appreciate your advice and everyone elses as well.  I just want to thank you.  I when I feed raw I really didn't know what I was doing.  I was wondering what you but in.  I did do one chicken leg and a little liver every day along with the TOTW kibble and both dogs loved it.  I did worry a little to much especially after reading your post on here about stop fiddling around with there food.  I just want the best for them that I can afford.  If I was rich I would love to do even more. 

Oh, about her weighing 65 lbs.  That is what she weighed the last time I weighed her.  She might not even be that now.  Her weight  has been up and down every since I got her.  Some months she looks good and healthy and other months looks like a boney thing but she is always happy and full of energy.  Plus she loves bitting the helper.  Can't ask for a better bitch.  If you look at the little pic on my post that is my female wanting a piece at one of my club's helpers.  Thanks Again.

Rainhaus,

I am more concerned about the female because she is the more hyper one.  Always wanting to move around.  Both dogs do rest, don't get me wrong but when other dogs or people walk by the house she is the one who paces even well after they leave.  My male settles down quicker.  The male is the younger one.  My female just turned two couple of weeks ago.  I'm just concerned because when I pet her I don't feel any coushion just bone and skin. 

My dogs are exercised daily.  My wife and I both run in the mountains and we take the dogs with us, every other day.  I also train them in Schutzhund.  I try to train a few short session every day.  I start with things they know and move into something new.  I am new at this but want to do everything right. 

I got the male first when he was 10 weeks old and I got the female when she was a little over a year.  The male was about 9 or 10 months old when I got her.

Again thanks for everyone's comments.  They helped a lot.