Dear Think Tank
Meet the newest Dogs Today dog. This is Isla, a small, sweet young Lurcher from Scotland originally via Dogs Trust's Newbury kennels. She has settled straight in, loves everyone and has been remarkably good.
Isla arrived with a bag of dry food, which she was not terribly keen on. While Lurchers are known for their slim figures, Isla is very underweight and needs to put on about 1kg ideally.
How should I do this? Isla loves ham and human food, but dry dog food does not seem to interest her at all.
She already has two meals a day, now tarted up with very finely chopped ham, but she's not got a great appetite.
What tips would you pass on for putting some meat on her long elegant bones? She was spayed just before she left Dogs Trust and is about to have her stitches out.
She is painfully thin, even for a Lurcher. I am worried if she were to fall ill she would have no reserves. She has very little stamina and tires very easily.
My partner Kathryn cooked her liver and bacon but also included a worming tablet, which may explain why she didn't tuck in!
Not much is known about her life in Scotland, the staff at Dogs Trust thought there was more chance of her putting weight on in a home than in kennels which is why she's come to us so thin.
What should I try to build her up? Beverley has suggested trying lots of small meals with more carbs than protein. I've just made her some macaroni cheese and she's licked the plate clean and is now soundly asleep on the sofa. Anyone got any Lurcher-specific hints or indeed recipes?
Kevin Brockbank, Dogs Today illustrator
PS Both Kathryn and I fed her three bowls of pasta/potato/ham with thin coating of leftover cheese not realising the other had already done it. She ate the lot but had an upset tum the next morning. Too much, too soon. The vet agrees she needs to put on about a kilo.
Vets, including those at Newmarket, and behaviourists have always recommended Chappie to me for my dogs. It smells so disgusting (the tinned variety) that dogs seem to love it. It's wonderfully economical and best of all, seems to avoid all the stomach upsets and skin conditions which some of the so-called wonder foods (the most expensive!) can trigger. Might be worth a try.
ReplyDeleteDo a search for silk balls for dogs, a recipe for helping dogs gain weight.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any advice, but I do have a lurcher-type mongrel with the same problem so I'll be reading the responses carefully!
ReplyDeleteI would recommend go for a junior food, you do need the protein as well as the carbs because her body needs to build up her muscles as much as anything, you can add some wet chappie to make it more appealing and feed at least four times a day.
ReplyDeleteThe chappie is easily digestable and shouldn't upset her too much.
It could also be worth adding a little probiotic help for her either in her food or as a frozen live yoghurt in a kong (mixed with mashed banana and honey is nice) which gives a nice treat and helps boost her tummy too.
Good luck she is beauty.
Mutthouse xx
My weimaraner is thin and a lurcher owner told me to give less protein and melt butter over specialist lurcher food , available in Mossley LAncashire
ReplyDeleteHow cute is that lovely Lurcher, I have a great fondness for Lurchers as I have 3!! I would go along the lines of allowing her to settle in and find her feet, there are many reasons why a dog does not have an appetite one of which is stress. As you do not know the history of your dog, it is difficult to know how her appetitie should be. My Lurchers all eat really well, but they are settled and have been living with me for a long time now. I would get her checked over by a vet just to be on the safe side, and then perhaps consider a therapy like Bowen Technique to help her with any stress issues. This kind of approach is a good holistic one and when backed up with care and love and short walks she will also build up muscle too, which will really help to improve her weight. I always think some mental stimulation is good too, and you can interest her with some easy games (like hiding some extra special treats under old coffee cups) or investing some time in the garden doing some nose work and laying trails for her with some very smelly food like pilchards would actually start him on the path towards a happy healthy appetite and start to build all essential muscle too.
ReplyDeleteI'd recommend have a holistic vet check her out thoroughly, first. It sounds as if she may have food absorption problems & might need supplementation of enzymes. Stuffing her full of poor quality carbs like macaroni is more apt to give the runs or bind her digestive system up, than build her body & muscle mass. After the thorough vet check, if no abnormalities are found, I'd next consider her psychological health. Was she being held in a shelter where she's under a high level of stress? Many high strung dogs have difficulty recovering from these shelter environments. Best of Success, with getter Isla back on the road to good health!
ReplyDeleteI bet by the time you read this she is beginning to thrive! I wouldn't just want dry food either - would you? A good quality dry kibble may be helpful as a base but I always feel sorry for dogs who don't get any variety [providing their constitution can take it, obviously some dogs do have more specialised problems]Adding pasta, grated cheese, fish, vegetables etc should all stimulate her apetite. We have used a pancreatic enzyme (with vet advice) on a previous dog and this helped greatly too.
ReplyDeleteAbout 3 years ago, my greyhound was really ill and ended up in intensive care at the local vet hospital. Her weight went down to below 20kg from about 30kg. When she was discharged, the vet advised me to give her high energy foods. I purchased "Complan" which is a human meal supplement drink, high in calories and vitamins (although not all essential for dogs). She had this as well as puppy food On her first check up (two weeks after discharge) she had gained 5 kilos. I continued her on this regime for another 2 weeks. You could try this. I used vanilla flavour, which smells similar to puppy milk.
ReplyDeleteI have had my lurcher for 4 years now, and she stobbornly refuses to gain that last pound to cover her ribs. I have had her checked for everything imaginable, and she is extremely healthy, except that I get dirty looks because you can count four of her ribs. We have tried everyhing, the only time she gained a weight is over a two week semi confinement (no long runs in the park). The moment she was cleared to return to exercise, the weight fell right back off. We did have rescue once that was thin, puppy food fattened him right up.
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