[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?

 

[Spencer]

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.

 

[Spencer]

The vet thinks about 3 or 4, he was found as a stray.

 

[Spencer]

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. 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]

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.