i need help with getting my french mastiff to gain weight.....

[skuba1324]

our dog "bentley" is approx 3 years old we have switched her diet to "wellness" about 6 months ago and we do add wet food to her dry food as well she was doing great gaining weight and looking healthy we have struggled throughout her life to get her to keep on a healthy weight....she has been doing good on maintaining her weight these last few months but about 2 weeks ago she had a mishap with the neighbors dog and was taken into the pound to stay in quarantine and held for over 10 days needless to say when we brought her home she is very underweight to the point you can count all of her ribs and she looks so unhealthy from not eating for her time away from home. She in not really showing any interest in food and has now been home for 2 days. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated thank you.

 

[dogman#1]

try some raw food or lightly cooked food...most dogs will eat that.
good luck

 

[TxHorseMom]

You can add puppy "formula" to her food. Sprinkle it dry on top of her food to add calories.

 

[skuba1324]

try some raw food or lightly cooked food...most dogs will eat that.
good luck

thank you very much for your reply do u suggest maybe cooked chicken?

---------- Post added at 09:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:43 AM ----------

thank you for your reply i will try all of these suggestions

 

[skuba1324]

thank you for your reply i will try all of these suggestions

 

[dogman#1]

yes, you can try boiled chicken w/o bones or raw w/bones

 

[Ripsmom]

you may want to do some blood work to rule out any health problems if she's been hard to keep weight on for her life. wondering...was the dog up to date with a rabies shot? In this area they usually only impound a dog after a bite if it's not up to date or if it's being held for a vicious hearing...just curious as to what the protocol is elsewhere.

 

[skuba1324]

yes she was not up to date on her rabies but our dog did not not bite she scratched a person but like i said she was not up to date on her rabies by approx. 2 months so we were kinda wondering why they took her from us as well....we had blood work done on her a little over a year ago and everything came back normal that is when we changed her diet and she started gaining more weight but she has only been home a few days from the pound and we can't seem to get her to eat very much besides dog cookies and some soft dog food

 

[TxHorseMom]

It sounds like she was pretty traumatized by the whole situation. Not that the pound was mean to her or anything, but the seperation etc. Anyway, I would feed her what she will eat, the chicken etc. She will probably will settle down in a couple of weeks.

We've had this problem with a boxer we rescued. He is small (smaller than our female actually) and was only 40# and skin and bones when we first got him. We've had him about 4 months now and he's gained only about 10# and it's been a struggle. At first he wouldn't eat at all, then we could get him to eat canned only, and we've worked him up to a can plus 2 cups of Diamond Natural 2x a day. He's still thin, but the vet is happy with his weight gain. And yes, we had him fully vetted. bloodwork, all vaccines etc. Our "free" dog cost me $300 in vet bills! lol

 

[northernmastiff]

Sorry to hear that about your dog. Hopefully she will feel better soon.

Our lab is a high energy hunting dog and we always had trouble keeping any weight on him (not as much now that he is 8). I found giving him a daily treat of Satin Balls, helped boost his weight slightly and made his coat look amazing. It is a raw diet that a lot of lab breeders I know will use to get that show weight on their dogs right before a show. (For some unknown reason, fat labs do well in show). You could try that. If you can't find the recipe, just let me know and I will send it over to you.

 

[TxHorseMom]

I have never heard of Satin Balls. What are they and where could I get them? I also tried sprinkling dry puppy formula on top of his meals. Many people have had good success with that. I didn't notice a big difference, but it could be worth a try. I have heard that breeders sometimes do that for their mother dogs when they have puppies.

 

[skuba1324]

she has been doing good gaining her weight back i think she was traumatized with everything and now is doing great started cooking chicken and mixing it with her dry food also beef stew and healthy leftovers mixed with dry food she will also eat her dry food with out being mixed we are so happy she is doing so much better thanks for all the replys