Skinny dog--chicken?

[kmjrose]

Hi, I am new to this forum. We have a 5 yo English Mastiff. He is very thin, and reading through some of the posts here I see that some mastiffs do not handle chicken well. I looked, but did not find an answer to this--do they not utilize the protein in the chicken? He has had many types of food, but our vet is a fan of raw food and so we give him raw chicken in addition to some dry, some dehydrated and recently some canned food.
I need to get some weight on this fellow!
He also has been sick--still not clear with what. He had eye problems, the vet thought he had allergies. It became clear he did not have allergies, and so he is being treated with doxycycline for possible tick borne disease. He is supposed to go to an eye specialist but he is a very fearful dog and will not get in the car. Ridiculous situation. Today we are sedating him with the hope that we can pick him up and get him into the car. Anyway, that said, he lost weight with his illness and it is so hard to get it back on. If chicken is not a good idea then any suggestions? My vet is not particularly familiar with the breed, and I live in a rural area so that makes it difficult too.
Thanks!!
Karen

 

[ruthcatrin]

Its not that they can't process chicken, its that they often have allergies to it. BUT, often dogs with allergies to it are fine eating it raw.

Have you introduced any other meats yet or are you still working through the first thing with chicken?

 

[musicdeb]

IMO, it's best to feed kibble or raw but not both. Feeding both raw and kibble can confuse their system. It's ok to feed both while transitioning to raw.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Ah, I missed that. Yah, pick one or the other. Doing both is hard on his system!

How much are you feeding him daily?

 

[musicdeb]

Got your back, ruth!

 

[DennasMom]

Some one pointed out a recipe called "Satin Balls" as a good way to put weight on a dog.
Here's one source: http://www.holisticdog.org/Nutrition/Satinballs/satinballs.html
I haven't tried it... just read about it, and thought it looked interesting.

 

[Marrowshard]

Satin Balls are awesome I've made them before; very easy and cheap plus you can freeze them in batches which makes it a lot easier to keep "stocked". They're pretty rich, though, so watch for digestive upset if you decide to start those.

~Marrow

 

[kmjrose]

Thanks for the replies. He was eating Honest Kitchen and Earthborn Primitive, but then he found benadryl that I put into the food and won't eat those foods any more, or at least that flavor. I do feed different foods, but my vet is a fan of raw chickens and vegetables--cooked. I don't think he does well on this diet, which is why I asked about the chicken. All that said, I think I will try the satin balls, occasional chickens and a combination of dry and canned dog food.
He was eating about 2x the suggested amounts of Honest Kitchen and Earthborn because I wanted him to gain weight. I think I will get another Honest Kitchen and a different dry food. Any suggestions for high calorie foods? It is hard to tell what the calorie value is on many dog foods, and with all of the options out there hard to tell what the best course of action is! And to think that back in the old days our dogs just ate whatever there was at the grocery.

 

[Marrowshard]

As a side note, if you're having trouble giving pills you can try Pill Pockets. They make a Duck-and-Potato kind for allergy-prone dogs. Basically it's a little hollow cylinder treat that's very malleable. You shove the pill inside and pinch the end closed then feed it like a treat. When our old BM started turning up her nose at PB because of her medications, we found the Pill Pockets to be a great thing!

~Marrow

 

[kmjrose]

Thanks! I sometimes make mini meatballs for pills. Georgey is loving his satin balls. He looks like he might have put on a little weight even in the past few days. Thanks!!

 

[ruthcatrin]

Good!

 

[Chad Anderson]

Just my opinion...And I am probably cruel. But I shove pills (as needed) and supplements down their throat....because if they are ever feeling not themselves or just get queezy from a pill or supplement, they are going to blame it on whatever you put the supplement or pill in. These matiffs are smart. You could be giving your dog something like a satin ball to give them some extra nutrition to maintain a healthy weight and be giving them some medication or something that the vet prescribed at the same time....AND your dog will blame his queezy stomach on the satin ball and not on the pill that you put in it, and will maybe never eat a satin ball again even though it was not the cause. I always keep pills or supplements seperate from food or treats. Again, just my opinion.

 

[dg2]

If your EM is skinny and not taking well to chicken try orijen Regional Red. Its all red meats ( 75%) and NO poultry. My english Mastiff and Samoyeds do wonderful on it and in amazingly good health. Albiet, the Mastiff gets a 75% Life Abundance to 25% Orijen mix. Samoyed 100% Orijen