outwest

I need to put about 5 pounds on Jazz. He is muscular and healthy, but he is too ribby and his hip bones poke out a bit. He is a good eater, but increasing his main food has backfired on me as he barfs it up (too much in his belly?). He is 25 inches tall and 54 pounds and still growing a tad (8 months old).

This is what he eats right now:
1.5 cups grain free blue buffalo wilderness twice a day (tried increasing to 2 cups and he barfs)
1/2 can quality dog meat a day
1/4 cup full fat yoghurt a day
1 fish oil capsule a day

I have read two different recipes for satin balls on here. One includes lard and one doesn't. Lard is pure fat and I'd like to try it, but too much fat can cause pancreatitis, right?

Here are the two recipes:

Satin Balls
•5 lbs raw hamburger (the cheapest kind)
•1/2 lg box Total Cereal
•1/2 lg box Oatmeal
•1/2 Jar wheat germ
•3/4 cup veg oil
•3/4 cup unsulfured molasses
•5 raw eggs AND shells
•5 envelopes unflavored gelatin
•pinch of salt
Mix all ingredients together like you would a meatloaf. Divided into 5 quart freezer bags (roll into balls approximately the size of a tennis ball) and freeze. Thaw as needed and feed raw.

recipe 2:
10 lb hamburger
dozen eggs - crush in the shells, too
1 jar unsulfered molasses
box shredded wheat
small box oats
vitamins
1 c lard or meat fat
fish oil
gelatin packet
1 pint heavy whipping cream
jar wheat germ
mix it in a 5 gallon bucket - and roll it into balls and put them in the freezer. Once they are frozen enough to hold their shape put them in ziplock freezer bags. Introduce them slowly, so you don't get upset stomach. Microwave for 30 sec or set a couple out each morning for them.


Which recipe would you use?
Is there ANYthing else I can do?
I was thinking maybe switching him to a kibble with grain (carbohydrates) might work better than the grain free. What do you think?

mom24doggies

Can't comment on the satin balls, (other than to say I would think lard would give him diarrhea!) but I wanted to say that switching to a food without potato may help him gain weight. Trev had weight trouble too, he was always a little on the thin side. He wouldn't eat anymore, and I was already feeding him a whole cup anyways. I switched him to Innova Prime (no potatoes, I think it has peas/lentils) and he put on an extra pound or two within a couple weeks, and doesn't have to eat as much. Now he is perfect. It might be worth a try.

__________________

"Love is the emotion that a woman feels always for a poodle dog and sometimes for a man." ~George Jean Nathan

outwest

Yes, all the grain free's use potato as a binder. That's why I was thinking maybe one with brown rice or oats. It's worth a try!

Fluffyspoos

The one I made was a little mixture of both, and I'm sure it would've worked if he continued eating them. He's a picky little snot, and STILL skin and bones. No digestive issues, he ate some, turned his nose up at others. Just know, when you're mixing this in a bucket (5 gallon) it's going to smell AMAZING! I thought it smelled like some heavenly BBQ something. Really caught me off guard!

I used lard, total cereal, veg oil, the gelatin, I can't remember if I added vitamins or oats

I did NOT use fish oil, whipping cream, or shredded wheat.

__________________

mom24doggies

Innova Prime does not have potato..I was so excited to find it! Some grain might help him too though, Sam does better with a smitch of grain in her diet, she has had trouble keeping weight on too.

__________________

"Love is the emotion that a woman feels always for a poodle dog and sometimes for a man." ~George Jean Nathan

outwest

I bought a bag of lamb and brown rice. I'll mix it in with his other food for a few days. I wonder if I need to go as far as the satin balls? I'll give it a couple weeks and see.

TLP

You could try grinding his regular kibble and adding natural peanut butter to make small balls. Put them in the fridge and offer as treats.

outwest

Oooo...that's a nice idea.

Mom-n-Reiki

What are satin balls? I've never heard of them before.

Ash, my Dane, seems to be perpetually underweight...to the point where you can see his spine. We rescued him last May and started trying to pack lbs on him, and instead grew another 8.5 in! We've run all the tests we could think of to see if there was anything wrong with him, but the vet says he's perfectly healthy. So, to gain weight, the vet had us double his food. He gets three cups of Earthborn Primitive Natural (Turkey, Chicken, Whitefish, Potato), Three cups of Blue Buffalo Lrg Breed Puppy (Chicken and rice), and two raw eggs, with shells, twice a day.so far he's gained 25lbs, but seems to have leveled off again. We are thinking of adding a cup of whole oats to each meal as well.

Good luck!

outwest

Holy smokes, Mom n reiki! I was thinking Jazz was eating a lot of food. LOL Satin balls are supposed to put weight on. You could try them. I may still make them, but think I'll give his new food regimen a try for two weeks. I think the yoghurt is doing something, but it's only been a week. He is about 5 pounds thinner than I would like. His poops are healthy, so I don't think he has any digestive issues. He is still growing and plays hard.

The dope at the pet shop suggested I keep him crated half the day.