To add to our menagerie we have a sweet little Pom who came to live with us over the Bank Holiday weekend.  The Pom is a 1 yr old bitch who had been living with the owners ex partner, and she'd been shut in all day whilst he was working and from what I can gather most of the evenings too.  Because of this she is not remotely housetrained.  They have been seperated for some time (4 months) and I don't know the details but I am wondering if the reason he has underfed her is to avoid the amount of defecation and urine he had to clear up.

The poor darling Pom is incredibly underweight, really painfully bony and I think it's only the fact that she has long fluffy fur that I believe has disguised the severtity of the situation, and allowed it to go undetected for some time.  I have started her out feeding her the same food she was on with the previous owners, but supplimented it with some of the Arden Grange puppy food I use for my Chi's as it's very nutritious and higher in calories than an adult dog food.  I have started with smallish amounts broken down over three meals per day and am feeding her slightly more than recommended.  She's a fairly large Pom but weighs 4kg.

I will gradually increase the amount of AG I use whether it's puppy or adult eventually just to get her on to the same brand as all my other dogs and to help her put weight on.  I was thinking of getting her some vitamin suppliments, maybe even feeding her some Lactol to pile on some pounds harmlessly.  I spoke to Ness at Arden Grange foods, she's a really friendly nutritionist and has recommended I put the lass on Prestige food for 2 months and then switch her over to the Performance and pretty much ok'd  my take on things.  I just wondered if anyone here had first hand experience and could pass some tips on to me in this situation.

She's such a dear little thing that I find it really heartbreaking that through no fault of her own she has had to suffer the torture of being left alone and starved of food as well as human affection.  The partner who I bought her from was very caring, but the dog had only just been picked up an hour before from the estranged partners house.

Poor little thing!   I haven't much experience in feeding up an underweight dog, but I do think that I would start by feeding her small amounts of food, but maybe putting an extra feed in - ie if she has been used to 2 meals per day, feed her another one at midday.  Otherwise I think you may overload her system - and all the good will be undone if she then has diarrhoea  :(

Margot

Hi Lokis mum.  I have been feeding little and often - I think the secret is to get her off the supermarket food she's been on, and on to some high calorie good quality dried to build her up.

It's such a shame that she's had to suffer like this, she's going to make us a super pet and I feel even more lucky to have her because of what she's been through.  I take some comfort in knowing we can give her a really good life for the next 15+ years :D

I would continue with the little & often, I took a GSDoff a guy that weighed one third of it's proper weight & my vet gave me some special food made by Febo for malnourished dogs & advised  me to have her fed  4-6 small meals a day to gradually put weight on rather than overdo it with lots of things

When we got our older dog from Battersea, they advised us to feed the quantity for the weight he should have been :)

Poor little dog - some people just shouldn't have dogs :(

Daisy

no real advice, just wanted to say well done for rescuing this poor little girl, I can't imagine what she has been through.

Hi Chi-Chi...how sad.

With rescue, I've taken in several emaciated dogs.  My vet recommends the following:  mix a bag of puppy food and a bag of adult food together (feed for the weight the dog should be).  Splitting the meals up into 4 a day (if at all convenient).  In between meals feed a peanut butter sandwich (I'd think for a small dog you'd do half a sandwich).  So it was like this:

0700 food
0900 sandwich
1100 food
1300 sandwich
1500 food
1700 sandwich
1900 food

It's worked very well for the dogs I've had in.  My vet explained that, much like people, several small feedings throughout the day keep the metabolism going properly and gives the body something to break down (nutrient wise) instead of muscle and fat.

Eight years ago, we got a one year old toy poodle described as too small for breeding and needing tlc being such a small girl.
We've never worked out to this day why we travelled 5-6 hours for this little scrap when we hadn't even wanted a second dog.
At the breeders house she jumped on my husbands knee and hid in his arm, and was much the same on my knee all the way home. When we put her down at home, we could see her spine was twisted, she folded in half if picked up with one hand, fell over if patted gently, and her head looked very large compared to her body - at the vets next day, he was aghast - she weighed only 0.9kg and had an awful smell (tests later revealed dermatitis & bacterial infection due to a house dust mite allergy), her eyelashes were turned in due to her under-developed eyes, and she also had Legge Calve Perth hip disease. He couldn't operate on her until she'd got some strength.
She'd obviously never had a bowl of food to herself and would take one piece and run off with it. It seems she'd only just got enough food to keep alive. She'd been one of 15 poodles in that house, and as she was obviously no good for breeding, they hadn't taken enough care over her. All the food we tried went straight through, and in December we suddenly found that dry cooked turkey and Eukanuba were tolerated! I'd lost sleep over what to feed her for many weeks. It wasn't an ideal diet, but was better than nothing, and gradually her face developed, her body gew in proportion & her eyes doubled in size to a beautiful amber. By the next May she weighed 1.5kg and her hip was operated on successfully and her spine straightened. She had skin troubles the rest of her life but seeing her gradually blossom into the beautiful little dog she became with time was such a pleasure for us. No-one had ever played with her or talked much to her until we got her, and although always very well behaved and on the quiet side, she did wonderfully well.
She never got to be the standard size/weight for a toy poodle - slightly under half at 2.2kg, but she was strong and happy until so sadly struck down with an unrelated condition early this year.

Chi-Chi, If that sorry little scrap we had could do so well on what she managed to eat, your little Pom should come on tremendously with the care & food you're giving her. I'm sure she'll be looking much better given time :)

My eyes were welling up with each post.  Then I actually burst into tears by the time I got halfway through your message TrishaH! What did you call your little Poodle?  I am so sorry to hear that you lost her earlier this year :(  I am sure she had a wonderful life with you, and you with her - it was meant to be that you homed her and she would be loved and looked after for the rest of her days.

Thanks to everyone who has given me tips and advice on the feeding issues faced, oh and said nice things *blush*

The little Pom has been described as quite emaciated when I took her to be seen at the veterinary hospital today.  I am feeding 4 small meals each day and she's now mainly switched over from the pedigree complete food to Arden Grange - temporarily on puppy food until the Prestige arrives as I cannot buy AG locally, I have to order it from them directly.

I sat in on an informal training class this afternoon too, it's run by the same behaviouralist that I train my 3 other dogs with, but in a different place and the proceeds from this one go to charity.  She's doing very well.  I have renamed her Chanel, because as my behaviouralist says you never know what a rescue dog has been through, and whether the previous owner has used her name to tell her off.

I feel very awkward, as I have promised to keep the lady up to date who I bought the dog from, even though she'd not seen her for four months as the ex partner had kept her at his house - what exactly do I tell her without sounding critical of the care the dog's received (or not received as the case is).

She's also got conjuntivitis in her left eye, although her eyes looked clear-ish when we got her, just a bit tear stained.

Exactly as you mentioned Trisha we were not planning on another dog as I collect an adult rescue Chi, and puppy next weekend!  But my son has been saving up for his own dog for a year and a half - all his Birthday and Xmas money, and most of his weekly pocket money (to be honest I thought he may get bored and buy a laptop instead).  He wants to be a vet when he grows up, so he's stuck firm.  All of a sudden he saw this ad and it's the first ad he's ever wanted to reply to - we travelled 450 miles by train to get the lovely lady, so I too believe it was fate that we got her because we were the right ones to take care of her.

I know I am a soft touch as far as rescues go!  I used to help out Kali/GSD rescue about 15 yrs ago. I have to toughen up a bit now though as we'll have a house full soon! :)  I am lucky in so much as I have a large house and private garden.  We had a theft of one of the Chihuahuas about 14 weeks or so ago, and a threatening situation with myself on a train, where I had to call my son to come and meet me on the platform from the station, as it looked like 2 of the other passengers were going to make a snatch for my Chi (had I been seen to be getting off the train alone).  So when a rescue GSD came up recently I didn't hesitate; now we only walk the Chi's when we have her with us, and when there are 2 or more of us.  We've called the GSD Kiki and she's doing very well with her training, but up to the point before we had her, she'd only ever lived in a kennel from 8 weeks to 22 weeks.  I suspect she'd been bred outside also as she'd never seen inside a house and the concept of stairs was totaly alien to her.  The urban environment was a bit of a culture shock, but thankfully she's also doing incredibly well with us.  She was very slim but not too thin when we got her, but she initially had some health problems and a bout of Diarrhea that went on for a fair while, but eventually cleared with prescription diet food and antibiotics.

We're all one big happy healthy and furry family now though!

I have to be honest Chi-Chi, I cry every time I think of her, so thank you for the kind thoughts. She was called Holly, and was red in colour. (and my mistake, it was 7 years ago this month that we got her.) She came through so much and was the nicest, most unassuming and loving little dog we've ever come across, but she did get over her undernourished state and timid behaviour, and despite my doubts, developed further into a quite beautiful and proud little girl. Between us and the vet, we got results. One thing many people said to us when she died was that she'd had the best 6.5 years with us that she could have had.
I'm sure your Chanel will gain strength and vitality and as long as she's well, should progress steadily.

Isn't it odd how we can find ourselves on long journeys for reasons we'd never imagined - I so remember us sitting in a traffic jam in pouring rain just outside Oxford at evening rush hour and both admitting that we hadn't a clue why we were doing it. I woke up at the hotel at 5.30 the next morning, very excited at the prospect of taking this unknown little dog home. Even if we'd known the intense care she'd need, I doubt we'd have turned back.
All the breeding/showing dogs at the breeders were kept in a conservatory, and it was obvious when we got her home that she'd never seen a television or stairs before, far less been played with. Our black miniature, then 8, accepted her, albeit with a slight aloofness, but she was Holly's best friend, and after she died at 13.5, it was interesting to see her making decisions for herself once she got over her loss.
I understand your feelings about talking with the previous owner. Ours had come from a very affluent part of the country, and it took me a little while to realise that they most certainly must have known what her problems were when they sold her to us - I'd only phoned them once by the time it dawned on me, and didn't 'phone again.

Were it not for the sad twist of fate in March, she would probably be with us for quite some years to come, so as you see, these skinny little waifs can turn into beauties with care and love.
I'm sorry to hear of your experiences of theft and then on the train - these things make us feel very vulnerable. Losing Holly was the final straw of a 20 month period where we'd lost 3 close relatives and our other dog.
We now have a std. poodle puppy, totally different of course to the toy, and she, being a bouncy, waggy-tailed hooligan, is filling the gap quite well. As far as Holly is concerned, we'd do it all again if the situation arose.

I think by next weekend, with new friends to play with, your Chanel will be on her way to becoming a very much loved and happy little dog. It does take time to see the results, but they do come and will be so worth the effort. :)

I know that you say that she's quite big but HOW BIG is she?  Just that the weight that she is is actually above the breeds weight.  I presume from what you say is that she must be more the American type who would be at the top range of a Pom scale and over?

Is she eating?  Just asking this as Pom's can be very picky eaters.  Mine never have been but I know many tht are.  Enervite the food supplement is really good to get them to eat properly again.

Hope you can help her as they are a wonderful breed with billiant characters.

TrishaH I have sent you a message.

Hi perrodeagua, sorry for the long delay in responding.  It's been a bit hectic with dog duties and back to school shopping so I haven't had a chance to get online much.

Chanel is one of the larger Poms, I measured from toe to shoulder and she's 13.5" which is the same as from her chest to backside.  I realise she's not a teeny weeny Pom like the gorgeous ones on your site, which is what we'd originally had in mind.  Even after this short time with us she's already gained over one pound in weight which is great news.

I was feeding her Arden Grange dried food - the puppy/junior as I had that here for Cino one of my Chi's.  I then took the advice of Ness the nutritionist at Arden Grange and ordered a bag of their Prestige which is for pregnant or lactating bitches, or dogs that are convalescing.  She won't touch it! LOL I bought some of the weaning puppy as I have a fussy Chi who I still feed that to, to ensure she gets enough nutrition when she does eat, and Chanel doesn't really think much of that either.  She prefers the original AG puppy/junior that I fed her when she first arrived, so I have kept her on that.  She will not touch the Pedigree complete which was what the previous owners had fed her on, I wonder if it's a smell association.  I wouldn't have kept her on that anyway, but I did use it in the process of switching her to what all my other dogs are on.  She is not eating very much now, she's quite fussy, and I am just relieved to observe that that ravenous hunger has diminished and that she's finally satiated and not worried about whether she's going to be fed again.

I have found that I can sneak more puppy dried food into her by using as her rewards on training - so that means she gets more one to one time with me, as well as more food! I am very taken with her, she seems quite a loner, although she's very friendly with my male Chi.  I think the dogs are working out their dominance at present, and Chanel is forever trying to hump my male Chi.  I decided to be up front with the lady who I bought the dog from and tell her about the weight issues, and I also asked her about her season, which she says she hasn't had one yet as far as she's aware.  I thought that was quite late for a smaller breed dog, and maybe the weight had played a part in slightly delaying it.  My female Chi had her first season at 7 months, and my friends Chi at 9 months, I wondered if Chanel may have a season soon as she's almost 13 months and on a normal diet, so her body may return to normal over the next few months.

We are really taken with her perrodeagua and your advice about the Enervite is duly noted, any advice that you could share is greatly appreciated as I know you have a wealth of experience!

Thanks for the message Chi-Chi - looking forward to replying soon! :)

Holly didn't come into season for almost a year after we got her, and the vet said it was due to her condition. She only had very light, long spaced out seasons after that.

Just had a sample of a new mixer meal from Burns (haven't tried it yet) and on the leaflet of new products is a new one with lamb especially for underweight dogs and large breed puppies: 24% protein/15% oil - not sure if the pieces would be too big for Chanel, but I'm sure they'd send a sample if you wanted to try it.

Aaaahhh thanks Trisha, it's certainly worth looking into.  Look forward to hearing from you :)

I had the burns mixer sample today ,Trav gets fed a raw diet but does have mixer now and again,he ate this mixer straight away he loved it.Before I changed Trav over to raw he was on burns but he never gained weight on it although it did work for all his other problems.after a telephone call to Fiona at Burns she sent me a sack of this new lamb,which at the time was just in ordinary clear sacks as they had not started to sell it at that time,it did put weight on Trav but the scratching returned so I changed him to the raw diet.Your little girl should be able to manage the burns pieces ,my sister has a JRT who only weighs 2.3kg he is tiny and he loves his burns,give fiona a ring she is absolutely fab,mind you dont know how she makes Mr Burns money,every time I rang to say Trav was not gaining weight on one of their varieties she would send me another variety free of charge.
By the way they have also brought out a pork and potatoe food

Fabulous curly, I haven't tried Burns as all of mine are on Arden Grange, and Ness the nutritionist there sounds very similar to Fiona at Burns.  Mind you I ordered £180 of dog and cat food last week so I guess they get it back ;)

I will call the company on Monday and ask for Fiona.  Possibly weigh Chanel (the Pom) on Monday or Tuesday to see if she's gained again this week.  I will be happy if she's stayed the same to be honest, I am just worrying that she'll lose a bit with the reduced appetite.

I love this forum, it's always crammed with excellent advice.

Thanks everyone.