needs fat.

[doechow]

i cant seem to get roxy to gain any weight she is very skiny. i can feel every bone in her body and i see all her bones when she is wet. is there some safe foods that i can add to her diet to get her to gain some weight?

[GretaJack]

Contact your vet and see how they feel about her weight. They might think that she might benefit from a maximum calorie diet, which is usually issued through a prescription diet. Also, dogs' diets are different than humans and it is not necessarily fat that puts weight on dogs. You must be concerned about proteins, but fibers also help a lot. See if they have any advice for you. Otherwise, is she controlled fed or does she free choice feed? If she is controlled fed the obvious answer would be to feed her more, if she is free choice vet, consider adding some oils to her food to up her caloric intake. Mine all get veggie oil. Not for calories persay, but to help their coats. But oils add calories to the same amount of kibble that is normally fed, if that makes since.

She has been dewormed lately, right?

[Dobified]

I agree with worming her and a vet visit. If she is getting the required amount of food she should not be loosing a lot of wieght. Up her food and give her some olive oil, flax oil or even canola oil is good for adding weight.

But get her health check first.

[doechow]

she was just dewormed about 3 weeks ago. the vet didn't say that she was to skinny but i think that she is. i free chocie feed her but it seems to just keep her hyper and skinny. maybe its the bred? she weighs 20 lbs and is 6 months old and 16 inches tall.

[Dobified]

What food are you giving her?

[Moo]

That does sound skinny, and Autralian Cattle Dogs are of a rather stalky build.

Reading that they are 17-19 inches; 32-35 pounds.

That being said, nobody needs fat. What she seems to need is muscle. I would consider going on to a meal schedule so that you know how much she is really eating. Yoghourt or cottage cheese would be a good additive as well.

[GretaJack]

Cottage cheese and yogart are wonderful solutions!!

Also, if I remember correctly she came from a shelter not that long ago. Give her a bit of time to get adjusted and settled. It may seem that she has at this point but in reality it can take up to 6 months for a dog to feel 'permanent" in their new home. And with free feeding, they may always feel a need to "save some for later", especially if she is the only dog in the house. Strange how dogs adapt from being scavanegers in nature to being preseravators in their real world now.

[Dobified]

Yup, all good suggestions. Yogurt is awesome and aid in digestion, very good for dogs and people. The flax oils will give your dog Vit E and essesial fatty acids, omega 3. Olive oil has Omega as well.


Moo is right your dog probably is lacking muscle. Exercise is great but make sure to feed your dog more according to the amount of exercise the dog is getting.
Try feeding some cheese and raw eggs too.

[doechow]

really raw eggs...that wont make her sick my mom is always telling me that raw eggs will me sick if i eat the cookie dough. should i get her just plain yogurt? she has a lot of energy she likes to run a few laps around the pasture when we get outside b-4 she goes and sees the horses. how much of these foods should i give her a day?

[Fran27]

Weird, I thought raw eggs were not advised.

For the food, you should see what the package says, and if she tends to run a lot take the higher amount they advise for her age and weight. Also, you can consider feeding her at regular times, and remove the food after 15 minutes. That way you have a better idea of what she really eats. Sure, she won't eat much at first, but after a couple of days she should eat faster, because she will be hungry.

In any case, I wouldn't worry as long as she eats and is active. It's better for a dog to be a bit slim than fat.