underweight husky

[~michelle~]

so i did it, i got another dog, another husky cross from the pound. his name is Aiden, photos will be posted soon. however he is remarkably underweight you can feel every vertebrae along his back, his ribs stick out , he is like the nicole richie of the husky world. He's going to the vet tomorrow, but anyone have suggestions on how to bulk him up in a healthy but rapid manner? thanks dudes

[angeldogs]

When Jag was under weight we were told to give him 8-10 cups of kibble a day.With Ben we are to give him 6-8 cups a day till he hits his health weight.on top of the kibble.I was giving Jag cubed turkey breast,steak and ground beef.With Ben we are also going to try some tuna and other fish.Our OB we got him from was also giving him a vitamin supplement.It worked for us.good luck.

[~michelle~]

8-10 wow thats a ton. I am definately going to look in to a vitamin supplement, because obviously if he's that skinny he doesnt have his essential nutrients in him. Im just afraid of him gaining the weight too fast an it being too much fat instead of lean tissue.

[angeldogs]

Jag and his energy.but we could see his spine ribs.With the Wein you should be able to fell them not see them.With the new boy Ben he's under weight and he's doing good on 6 cups a day.Once they get to there weight we cut the amount of food back.Jag only gets 6 cups now.Less if we mix something in it.Ben will get his food cut back when he gets some more weight on.He is not high energy like Jag.

[meb999]

I'd be VERY hesitant to feed that much food

A good calorie source is a treat called SATIN BALLs there are quite a few different recipes....
http://www.njboxers.com/satin-balls-recipe.htm

Ingredients

10 pounds hamburger meat [the cheapest kind]
1 lg. box of Total cereal
1 lg. box oatmeal
1 jar of wheat germ
1 1/4 cup veg oil
1 1/4 cup of unsulfured molasses
10 raw eggs AND shells
10 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together, much like you would a meatloaf.

Divide into 10 quart freezer bags and freeze.

Thaw as needed and feed raw!

[meb999]

when we got Buster, he was really skinny and I used to feed him my own version of satin balls :

cooked ground beef
raw eggs
a little bit of bread crumbs
and cottage cheese.

I don't know the exact amount of each I used to put....just enough for it to hold together in a little ball. you freeze them and give them as treats. Dog's LOVE it! Adding a raw egg to his kibble can also help.

oh! And CONGRATULATIONS on the new dog...can't wait to see pics

[~michelle~]

ok so he's happy, and friendly and already acting like he's blending right in. tried to give him wellness white fish and sweet potato, no go he ate less than half a cup, so i dont know if his tummy is just small from eating so little lately so i tried feeding him small amount at a time. but still not digging it so much. so i picked him up some Evo RM, figuring the high protien will help him build up his muscle mass with some exercise. but nope wasnt interested. im trying not to worry, he's only been here for 24 hours. (couldnt make it to the vet today, waiting till next week) but im really worried about him loosing more weight.

[meb999]

give him a couple of days to adjust...it's alot of changes for the little guy. I'm glad he's fitting in
you could try adding half a teaspoon or a teaspoon of canola oil to his food, it'll make it tastier and encourage him to eat

[angeldogs]

meb999.Thats what the vets told us to feed them till they got to there heathy weight.Then cut back on the food.And Jag got he's weight.and now been feeding 6 cups aday as per vet because he is so active.And it's worked.he is a lean 82lbs now and healthy.

[angeldogs]

And congrats on the new dog.Sorry that took so long.

[meb999]

6 cups??? What are you feeding him?

[angeldogs]

nutro natural high energy.That satin balls are they feed cooked or raw.would like to try it out.

[meb999]

ah! ok, then that makes sense...from what I've read on the dog food forum, I know Michele feeds a more hollistic food than nutro natural...
you may want to check out the food forum...alot of great info on there

[meb999]

satin balls are fed either cooked or raw. I prefer them cooked because Buster has an insanely sensitive tummy...but most people serve them raw

[angeldogs]

I will check it out.Also when we were feeding Jag that much food over the summer.My niece was out back for up to 3 hrs at a time playing and throwing his kong.Plus us adults.And his 2hr walks a day