I know there are many many threads about Tripe but most are relating to a dog on a raw diet.

My dog is on a complete but I need to get extra weight on him before a long trip away where I know he will loose weight.
Obviously just upping his complete food causes him to dispose of it the other end so he gains nothing from that.
I've been told tripe will fatten him up but I have no idea which tripe to use, fresh, fozen free flow, frozen block? How to prepare & feed it?

Any help on which to use & how to prepare/feed it would help greatly

Thanks :)

I add tripe to my dogs complete food just because I feel it makes it less boring for them! The frozen blocks I find are really "wet" when thawed out so I use the frozen freeflow which is much more "dry" if that makes sense!
Just take it out of the freezer the night before and it's ready to feed in the morning. You can thaw it out in the microwave but be warned, it stinks the place out, when it's in the fridge it needs to be in a plastic container with a lid for the same reason!

I use blocks of green OX tripe. To defrost I stick them in a sink of hot water for a short while then give them to the dogs.

As for fattening up I found that raw breast of lamb works better than tripe. You can pick up the rolls in supermarkets very cheaply.

I've found better success with lamb breast, i do give trip but it doesn't put the weight on.

So with lamb breast and a dog who's not been fed on raw before would it be better so serve it cooked first and then gradually ease him on to it raw? Or would feeding it raw straight away have no bad effects?

I feed the blocks or the free flow and often give them an tripe ice lolly in the summer !

I do feed lamb breast but do find it does give one of my girls terrible wind but the other two have no ill effects !

I always bulk my girls up over the autumn and winter and so just increase the intake of all the types of food I give them rather than one particular type.

Upping complete by just 5g each meal should add some weight gradually without causing a problem

I don't find that tripe adds weight to mine and agree that lamb breast is pretty good although not easy for first time raw feeders to manage.  My dogs were both completely phased by it, and one brought it back up pretty promptly ! 

How do you know your dog will lose weight, does he not like travelling or eating whilst away?  You could try shifting to a premium complete which may give him the same amount from a smaller portion.  Alternatively experiment with different feeding patterns.  One of mine doesn't like eating in other dogs houses but we've done ok if I feed him outside or in completely neutral territory, or hand feed him, or let him eat in the car.  Mind you, even then I have to accept that he sometimes just won't :) Tinned sardines are quite useful for extra filling and they make the kibble seem just that bit more tempting...

If you are travelling don't be tempted to transport defrosted tripe with you (whiffy) - although it may clear the roads of traffic.  The blocks from Pets At Home are easy to find whilst travelling, defrost pretty quickly and are quite sloppy to soak into the kibble.  The bags will leak when defrosted though so double wrap and box for safety.  It won't add much weight but, like sardines, may just make the kibble more interesting.

> How do you know your dog will lose weight, does he not like travelling or eating whilst away?

He doesn't mind travelling, it's whilst we are away he won't eat for the first few days, I was away for 3 days for SKC and he finally ate on the morning we were travelling back, same happened at NW&PB, he ate after 3 days, obviously because he was starving.

I'm away for Belfast but travelling from 23rdSept coming back home 4thOct.

Tried in the car, in the bedroom, in the lounge, in the kitchen, out in the runs, in the paddock, found that he eventually will eat in the car.
It was the same with my older dog, he just had to get use to being away however he's a much bigger dog so didn't loose so much weight.

i buy my lap of lamb from the butchers in my local supermarket and it is not that dear to buy and i found that it put the weight on nicley with our dog, he also has the raw green tripe with dried mix in and he seems to like it, but then again, he also gets chicken wings , and necks, heart,chicken breast etc so he has i hope a varied diet