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P's breath stinks after silk balls

3418 Views 13 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Spencer
Those stupid silk balls won't give me a break!

I am trying to fatten up Perry (after nasty comments from a groomer, and yes, he needs some more weight) and I know that silk balls are an easy way to give them weight... Among other things.

But these are giving Perry the WORST breath ever and really mushy smelly poo. His breath has never been like roses, don't get me wrong, but this is terrible. Really really terrible. The silk balls haven't put off any of the other dogs, so it is just Perry.

How annoying. Any good way to clean his little nasty mouth? (For real... It is bad! Lol) also, any other recipes or things I can do to put weight on the little guy?
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I noticed that when I stopped wetting Harry's food his bad breath stopped. The stuff gets trapped in their teeth when it's moist and stays there and then really stinks. How much does Perry weigh and hold old is he?
Do you partake in the joy of toothbrushing by chance? I don't know if that will really help, it dependson what you use and how often you do it, but it's worth a try. I started that with Jazz when we first got her and it helped a lot. All the dogs (except Howie) get their teeth brushed though I am ashamed to admit I have stopped recently and have not been keeping up with it in the last several months :( Before I got married Wonder would hop up on the toilet at night while I was brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed. She knew when I was finished it was her turn and I guess she really liked the toothpast. lol.

What are you putting in your mix?? That could have something to do with the odor as well.

You guys crack me up with your silk balls to put weight/feeding picking eaters. I guess I'm a meanie my poor dogs are SOL if they want to be picky and prozyme added to the food takes care of any low weight issues I might come across. Just don't have the patience anymore I suppose... I'm becoming a bad doggie mommie. My mom makes them and adds all sort of goodies and canned food to her regular dog food with her clan. Wonder used to be soooooo picky when I lived at home and she was skinny as a result. A real nightmare to keep enough weight on to show her. When we moved out and married hubby though she was in for a surprise. The routine became eat or starve... she choose not to starve after a while. Maybe I should whip up a batch of these things to use for birthdays and special occasions.... New years is coming up. Yummmm LoL. I'm hating to think my babies are missing out even if they don't need them.
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Kpoos- the vet guestimates that P is about 4, and at last weigh in, he weighed 5.2 pounds. He is 10.5 inches tall. I have heard of other people's poodles on here with similar weight to height ratios, however, I can feel every single one of Perry's ribs and his little hip bones. He was overweight when first found, and had no waist, so it is hard to say what he really felt like at the time.

WP- I do brush occasionally, but not on a regular basis. Perry is the worst to brush because his mouth is so little. He isn't a picky eater, and enjoys gobbling down his food - I feed him like he is an 8 pound dog, because that is what he weighed at first.

Just to cover my bases so I don't get the "go to the vet" comments... I have gone. He has had blood tests galore... No worms, nothing they can find. Oh, and no allergies. The entire work up was more than I can afford, but I hate to see him wasting away right in front of me. He has no personality changes (and is barking at me right now), and still enjoys running around and playing... So I am out of ideas. He does feel TOO skinny, however there is nothing wrong with him, and I was sent home with, "He is an active poodle, and poodles naturally are lean and have high metabolisms. His just must be quite fast. If he develops anything, bring him back."

Ugh.

I had more to say, but the barking poodle distracted me. I will remember later.
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Hmm that is weird why he wont keep weight on....you could always try giving him a higher fat food like something grain free....or even puppy food works since its naturally higher in fat for the growing pups.
Hope that helps. Just give him all the food he wants.
The vet thinks about 3 or 4, he was found as a stray.
Spencer I think I remember you mentioning a visit to the vet a while back when you first started asking about weights?? I could be making that up too who knows, I;m kinda tired haha.

You know on the mention of maybe changing his food reminds me that SolidGold makes one called barking at the moon. We used it to put and then keep weight on the italian greyhounds we had. The calorie content is pretty high. They were horrid about being picky skinny little monster and soooo high energy it was crazy keeping them from looking like we were starving them. They are supposed to be thin anyway but they tend to be shown a little on the fat side instead of all their ribs poking out. It's Good stuff and they liked it which was good.

Have you tried any of the enzyme supplements like prozyme (if he'll eat with a powder on his food) ? They unlock and make more of the nutrients in dog food more available to the dog, and put weight on. Honestly I would try that and then start looking at adding things like satin balls to the diet. Make the most of what you are feeding as the base of your diet before you start adding more to it. That only makes sense to me since you can throw off a once reasonably balanced diet by adding things to just put weight on, which would be no good. At least in my opinion it's no good. When I run out of prozyme and don't get more in because I've forgotten or haven't had time my husband notices that the poodles drop weight. Unless of course I add about half a cup to a whole cup of food to their daily rations.
Another thing a friend of mine added to her dog's diets was canned tuna three or four nights a week. She was trying to get a better coat with the added fats in the fish, she ended up with a fat dog. :p lol. Thats something to think about I suppose. She added just a table spoon or two each night that she was feeding it. I think she bought the tuna packed in oil. I am sensative to fishy smelling dogs so I've never tried it.
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Instead of the silk balls I feed Royal Canine to increase body weight. They absolutely love it dry and gobble it up just like they are getting a special treat.
For your little guy I'd try this; Royal Canin Mini Breed Puppy Dog (33)
Guaranteed Analysis %:
Crude Protein Minimum 33
Crude Fat Minimum 20
Moisture Maximum 10
Crude Fiber Maximum 2.6
Feed him puppy food. It has a higher fat content in it and it will help put some weight on. Harry is just a thin guy too and he loses weight in the summer which our vet said is totally normal. You can't see ribs or bones but he's pretty trim. I'm letting him eat puppy food with Mia and notice that he seems to be filling out a tad. Some dogs are just thin. I mean it's like humans, some of us have higher metabolisms than others and that is herditary. Some struggle to keep weight on and some struggle to take weight off.
Another good treat for weight gain is the pig ears.
Spencer I think I remember you mentioning a visit to the vet a while back when you first started asking about weights?? I could be making that up too who knows, I;m kinda tired haha. I was... I took him to the vet awhile back when everyone started telling me how skinny he felt. I hadn't noticed myself because I see him every day. I feel him every day... kind of like when your kid grows just a bit and you don't notice but others do.

You know on the mention of maybe changing his food reminds me that SolidGold makes one called barking at the moon. We used it to put and then keep weight on the italian greyhounds we had. The calorie content is pretty high. They were horrid about being picky skinny little monster and soooo high energy it was crazy keeping them from looking like we were starving them. They are supposed to be thin anyway but they tend to be shown a little on the fat side instead of all their ribs poking out. It's Good stuff and they liked it which was good. I will have to look in to it... I think they sell that at PetCo.

Have you tried any of the enzyme supplements like prozyme (if he'll eat with a powder on his food) ? They unlock and make more of the nutrients in dog food more available to the dog, and put weight on. Honestly I would try that and then start looking at adding things like satin balls to the diet. Make the most of what you are feeding as the base of your diet before you start adding more to it. That only makes sense to me since you can throw off a once reasonably balanced diet by adding things to just put weight on, which would be no good. At least in my opinion it's no good. When I run out of prozyme and don't get more in because I've forgotten or haven't had time my husband notices that the poodles drop weight. Unless of course I add about half a cup to a whole cup of food to their daily rations.
Another thing a friend of mine added to her dog's diets was canned tuna three or four nights a week. She was trying to get a better coat with the added fats in the fish, she ended up with a fat dog. :p lol. Thats something to think about I suppose. She added just a table spoon or two each night that she was feeding it. I think she bought the tuna packed in oil. I am sensative to fishy smelling dogs so I've never tried it.I haven't tried any additives. I never have with any of the dogs. Where would I get prozyme?
Instead of the silk balls I feed Royal Canine to increase body weight. They absolutely love it dry and gobble it up just like they are getting a special treat.
For your little guy I'd try this; Royal Canin Mini Breed Puppy Dog (33)
Guaranteed Analysis %:
Crude Protein Minimum 33
Crude Fat Minimum 20
Moisture Maximum 10
Crude Fiber Maximum 2.6
Specifically feed the puppy? I had heard feeding puppy food would help before, I just didn't know if it would work. However, I see that KPoos suggested it too!

Feed him puppy food. It has a higher fat content in it and it will help put some weight on. Harry is just a thin guy too and he loses weight in the summer which our vet said is totally normal. You can't see ribs or bones but he's pretty trim. I'm letting him eat puppy food with Mia and notice that he seems to be filling out a tad. Some dogs are just thin. I mean it's like humans, some of us have higher metabolisms than others and that is herditary. Some struggle to keep weight on and some struggle to take weight off.
KP, are there any you suggest specifically? What do you give Harry and Mia?

Another good treat for weight gain is the pig ears.
I thought that it was hard for them to digest pig ears?
Spencer - Has Perry lost any teeth lately? Even tho he is approx. 4 y.o., I guess it could still happen, right? I notice that when dogs are about to lose their teeth, or in Orville's case - teething.. their mouth smells like rotten fish. It's horrible. I've also heard that the anal glands may be full and need emptying... I guess dog's lick their butt (full sacs) and that fishy fluid gets in their mouth. Gross.

Sometimes their food can make their tummies all weird and the digestive juices make their breath stink.

I also agree with thestars - Royal Canin is wonderful for putting weight on dogs. Snoops and Orville were getting to be little porkers! They are both on Wellness brand now, and that really helps maintain their weight vs. adding on weight.

In past, I've fed Snoops bits of boiled chicken with his kibble... this put weight on him super fast!!! I did this after his bout with tapeworm because he had lost alot of weight.
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Spencer, I'd probably suggest Blue Buffalo puppy food. Puppy food has a higher fat content than adult dog food. Just like you are to give human babies whole milk until they reach 2 years old and then switch to skim. They need the fat for the brain development so anything for babies has it. So what I'm saying is that if you want to put weight on with just food and not adding something in, switch to puppy food for a while until you start to see weight appearing on the dog.
Thank you guys for all of your input... I grabbed him a small bag of puppy food and am looking in to getting some additives for his food. So far he is loving it... I got the Royal Canin puppy food... however, I had to hide the bag, as the cat thinks that the food is rather delicious as well. (I caught him in P's crate eating the food while P was out to potty!)

Keeping my fingers crossed that it helps him gain some weight.

Also, because my mother moved out here to ruin my life/take a job, Perry is getting some grandma lovin' as she is making him some boiled chicken and my dad is making him some pulled pork.

CuddleParty - almost forgot to reply, lol... he hasn't lost any teeth. I've started brushing his teeth every other day. The little fart is so hard to wrangle down! I'll have to look into the anal gland stuff... gross, lol.
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