HI

I have 6 Dogs and I am looking for the best food to fatten my dogs up. At the moment we feed the dogs Complete soaked in milk with bio yogurt on top for brekkie and for lunch they have 2 blocks of raw tripe and in the evening 1 block of raw tripe. Any ideas on how to get them fatter? Help and advice would be appriciated.

Thanks CJ

What brand of complete are you feeding?

How is their weight?Are they all terribly skinny or just a tad underweight? How much exercise are they getting?

What are their poops like? If your backyard looks like a horses paddock then the chances are that they arent absorbing all the nutrients in their food or it has too many fillers,which the body cant use so therefore it comes straight out the other end.

Thanks for your reply. I am feeding them Prize Choice Tripe and Beta Complete soaked in the morning. There poo Varies, Sometimes it is sploggy and sometimes real hard. I just think they look a tad thin and wanted to fatten them up. One of my dogs who eats the same is well podgy and wish they would all look like her. She eats about the same as them.
Any ideas on what foods helps put weight on dogs?

CJ

When you gently stroke their sides can you feel their ribs quite easily? If you can, but not see the ribs when they're at rest, they're the right weight. Fat dogs have shorter lives ...

I think one may need fattening up abit, hes male. What would you suggest I feed him to fatten him up?

CJ

How old is he?

Are you really sure they need it.  Many Bassets I see are in my opinion overweight and being built the way they are would be much better off kept nice and slim.

Lamb breast,parsons nose(chicken bums,these are brilliant for putting weight on),briskett bones or fat,suit-lard,all of these available from your butcher. You could try adding a little pasta to their meals,but not too much as Beta is already grain heavy.

Type 'satin balls recipe' into your search engine,these put weight on in a matter of days

Thanks frodo, for the infomation and to answer jeangenie's question he is 7 months old and my husband think he is thin compared to the others.
Thank you all kindly, I will let you know if we get some more weight on him.

CJ

If he's only 7 months old he's still got plenty of growing to do before you start building him up. If you get him too heavy before his skeleton is fully developed you could damage his bones. Let him grow slowly.

When was he last wormed?

At 7 months he should look thin to the others if they are mature (or overweight adults) this is called immaturity and not undertweight. 

There is a difference between body and fat that a lot of people can't seem to disticguish one is amde from muscle aquired through excersise the other is simply fat. 

You only need to have a look at some show Labradors and their workign counterparts. 

Please please do not fatten up any of your dogs, just make sure that there is a thin covering over their bones and that you can feel tehri ribs easily when lightly pressing their sides and that their waist is easy to see and feel.

Hi the others are 12 weeks, 5 months and 8 months. And they look a bit better than him,

CJ

How old are the other two? You said in your first post you have 6 dogs.

Obviously you aren't feeding the 12-week-old pup the same amount or number of feeds as the others. The youngest will only just have dropped the fourth feed, the 5-month pup will still be on three meals a day, and the 7-month and 8-month ones on 2 meals.

You never said when they were last wormed? Pups are usually wormed every month till 6 months ...

Hiya

another one is 12 weeks and the other o is only 8 weeks and i;m not really worried about them.
Thanks
CJ

Hi I was just thinking ( unless I have read this wrong) you have 6 bassetts and 1 jack russel pup all under 9 months do they play a lot .. are they rested enough. Generally tripe is what puts weight on most animals. I Would however rather have leaner pups than over weight in any breed.

Hi Blue. I have 5 bassets and 1 Jack Russell. 4 in kennels (plenty of Rest) and one Basset in Kitchen with Jack Russell. Have run of small garden.

CJ

How does he compare with other 7-month old males?

Hi Jean

I only have the one male. The others are female, I'm afraid if I had another male they would fight.

CJ

Have you asked his breeder to check him over? S/he may well have more experience of adolescent dogs. Also if you visit some shows you'll see plenty of basset puppies. Can you actually see his ribs when he's at rest (ie not panting)? And you've never said when he was last wormed. ;)

I was wondering whether he's castrated (though it would be early) because your 8-month bitch will be coming into season soon, when he'll have to be isolated from her for at least 3 weeks.

Hiya

Where I got my Male Dog, they where ametures, they had a litter so they could have 2 Bitches to show. As for my 8 month old bitch she is in season now and she is seperated from him. She is in the kennels in the garage with 3 others and the male is in the kitchen with my Jack Russell Pup.
I shall put him back in there when the 3 weeks is up.
I'm not sure he would be able to do anything at his age yet anyways, but just being causious.

CJ

He definitely would be able to do something, so you're very wise to keep them apart.

Hiya

I thought he wasn't sexually active until he was 9 months. But hey hes not with her.

CJ

Five-month old puppies have sired litters in the past ...

Wow thats young. What sort of dogs do you have? How many you got etc.. Sorry if I sound nosey, just curious.

I have four dalmatians, ranging in age from 12 years to 5 years.
:)

Hi Jean

I think Dalmations are gorgeous. Have you had any litters from them? I bet they are so sweet when they are puppies. What do you feed your Dalmations?

CJ

My oldest one is the mother of the others - her daughter who's 10 and her two sons who are 5. The girls are both spayed but the boys are entire. They eat Chappie complete in the morning and biscuit meal with meat in the evening.
:)

Bassetlover
you say you are going to keep them apart for 3 weeks...you should really make that 4 since some nitches are still fertile at day 20+
Archer

CJ, please don't try to get a puppy (as that's what he is) fat. Adolescents always go through a lanky, leggy (okay, a Basset might not be leggy!) stage, and that's perfectly normal and absolutely right. When their skeletons are fully grown you can start adding muscle - but you shouldn't ever need to add fat. Certainly not to a properly nourished pup.

Hi

Thanks ever so much for all your helps. I feel so much better now.

Cherry :-)

Hi

I have looked up the satin Balls Recipe and have one question?
What and where would I get unsulfured molasses?
Thanks everyone and also if anyone wants the recipe I have posted it below:-
Ingredients

10 pounds hamburger meat [the cheapest kind]
1 lg. box of Total cereal [or comparable natural brand]
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
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.

I use Black Treacle in place of the Molasses

I have been given this recipe to try fatten my cat up for the showbench...but I was told it's very good for giving to pups etc.

Recipe for Kitty Gloop is

1 Cup of Full Fat Mayo
1 Cup of Greek Youghurt
2 Table Spoons of GOlden Syrup
2 Whole Eggs
2 Sheets of Gelatine

Mix it all up melt the gelatine and add then leave to set !

A dog that is fat is unhealthy.A young dog should be on the lean side...to much weight puts unecessary pressure on the bones and joints and can cause problems.
I would suggest you stop soaking the food in milk and soak it in water instead....dogs cannot digest cows milk and this may be causing the soft motions.
Archer

Hi Thanks for the advice, will soak in water from now on.

CJ

Or if your dogs really enjoy the milk,you could try goats milk,most dogs tolerate it just fine :)

Hi Thanks I will try the goats milk. I am hoping to show him and don't want him looking thin that was all.

CJ

Just be careful that you dont make him overweight. All puppys go through a skinny rangy looking stage, and i suspect this looks worse in a breed with a lot of loose skin.

Sadly a LOT of people push their dogs to look like adults for the show ring when they are just puppies still. Do this at your peril, yes it might make the difference between him winning and losing  NOW -- but in the long run, the skinny puppy will be a fit healthy adult, whereas the fat puppy will have knackered joints and bowed legs and not be able to walk around the show ring AT ALL!

Dogs need to grow SLOWLY, so let them!

Em

Ditto Em :-)

doyou cook the Satin Balls recipe or serve it raw?

gmo satin balls are traditionally meant to be fed RAW,however you can cook it if you want,you could bake it in the oven like a meat loaf,slice it and freeze the portions :)

maybe he needs just  a little more food. Dorwest herbs do Malted Kelp with Aniseed which works really well. Takes about 7 days of use

Hi Thanks will see if I can get some.

CJ

http://www.dorwest.com

Hi Frodo

Thanks for the link.

CJ

LOL forgot to say in helps the appetite.. Having a dumb day ;-)

Hi, my young male Dobe was ill in August and lost alot of weight, once he was over the virus he had I started feeding some breast of lamb raw and this did really help improve his weight. i was advised to try this from another person who wanted her Dobe to gain a little weight and it worked for her too.
regards Mandi