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.
