Hi,
Need a little bit of help but unfortunately details are sketchy so I'll tell as much as I can and will add when I have more details.
My ex's dad has been given a dog, he took her in as the poor girl was mistreated.
Apparently she hasn't been fed for a few days which from his description is an understatement. Her ribs are visible and so is her spine, she is described as a mastiff approx four years old. He says she has a beautiful temperament and listens well and does basic commands.
Apart from me telling him to get her vet checked at the earliest possible time, can anyone help as to what he should feed her and how often to gain some weight.
I know with such little information it may be difficult but id be grateful with any sort of advise you can.
I hope to get down to see him before the weekend and then be able to give you some more information.
Many thanks,
Diane

Don't worry about the weight it will come in time if you can get the her eating - try Pilchards in tomato to get her going and add in a quality complete once she is keen to eat, other foods to try is tinned tuna, eggs and chicken breast made into a thick soup.

He needs to be careful not to feed her to much to soon as this in itself can cause problems, very small meals often is what's needed, perhaps six meals a day. I have heard of people using tinned Chappie for emaciated dog's as it's easy to digest, others have used puppy food which I'm not to sure about as I'd have thought it might be to rich initially. Sorry I can't be of more help.

Not sure if she is very underweight, but when we got Bramble from Battersea they told us to feed the quantity that he would get if he was normal weight.

Daisy

I think a vet visit is essential, my Dobe just now would come under the description that you have given :-(  It's not because she hasnt been fed or well looked after though - she has just been diagnosed with auto immune disease and part of that is that she has IBD and is having trouble absorbing the nutirents - despite her eating a food that her tummy has never been better on and eating double the amount she was a year ago she looks like a rescue case :-(

Worms, poor food, allergies all sorts could be contributing to low weight.  I would makse sure she is fed four or five small but nurtitionally dense meals a day and a thorough vet check asap.  Hope it's just down to needing some good food and TLC.

Having had on foster an extremely underweight lurchery pup over christmas, I had to find a way of putting some weight on her without overloading her stomach.  After a bit of research we started her off on literally just chicken and rice, but fed over 5 or 6 small meals so she could digest them without overloading her stomach.  She would still be wanting food after each meal, but that was because she had been starved rather than because she was hungry as if we fed her any more she would be sick or have an upset stomach.

After getting her poo more 'normal' on just chicken and rice then we introduced Pro Plan Sensitive and that was soaked to begin with (to avoid having her stomach having to break down dried kibble to get the nourishment into her a bit easier), still on 5 small meals and we gradually dropped them to four, the last one being just before going to bed at around 10.30ish.

I would much rather have had smaller more frequent meals if a dog was underweight than trying to get them to eat two bigger meals all in one go.

Don't know if I'm talking rubbish or not, but, I think slow and steady is the best.  I'd also make sure your dad isn't too soft with the dog and ensures he quietly and calmly gives ground rules.  A neglected, underweight dog is unlikely to have the energy to 'mis-behave' and its true character and temperament will not blossom yet.  Just like with cute puppies, rescue dogs [and kids] can create such feelings of sympathy in us that we ignore warning signs, and before we know it they have taken over the house.  With such a big dog as a Mastiff particularly, but with any dog, I would suggest that he does, at least basic, training regularly.

***Update***
I couldn't help myself and went to see her this evening.
I read some responses just before I left so thanks to all for the advise.

Missy is in fact an American Bulldog.
Not sure how the two could be confused, but anyway, she is an absolutely gorgeous girl I'm actually quite jealous!!
Missy has a superb temperament, I tried all the basic commands with her and she knows them all very well, she eats very gently from my hand too.
I'll try my best to explain how she looks, from her head to chest and shoulders look fine, she has nice muscle tone in both front and back legs, its really very noticeable around her ribs and spine, but otherwise she looks in reasonably good condition.
She was left alone a lot in one room, not bothered with and obviously not fed.
He is going to take her to the vets, for all the routine bits.
Sadly someone idiot said why don't you breed her!!!! You'll get £100 pound for each puppy. I was gobsmacked!!
I think she has been with him a mere 24 hours, I just do not get the mentality of some people.
I said look I'm really sorry to be harsh but please please don't, I'm glad to say he had already dismissed this outright.
I'm looking forward to my next visit as Missy is such a smashing dog, hoping in time Bo may have a new friend to visit too.
Thanks for your help its always gratefully received

Complan is excellent for getting weight back on a poorly nourished dog, plus 3 meals of "normal food", of course. I took back one of mine many years ago who was suffering from malnutrition and Complan put the weight back in about 6 weeks.

I recommend that you contact Iron Mountain Rescue or The Large Breed Dog Rescue for some advice on feeding. They are both excellent rescues and specialize in this situation. Even though he didn't get this dog through them there concern is to help all large breeds in need and I'm sure they will offer you some advice.

>>Complan is excellent for getting weight back on a poorly nourished dog

As in the shake drink? If so how much would she need and how often?

He is willing to try anything suggested.

She is eating four or five meals which is just her ordinary amount split up.
Many Thanks
Diane

Thanks for that, do I just find them by googling it?
Diane

The only big problem with Complan is that it is milk based.  Dogs cannot digest the lactose in milk (after all its meant for calves not dogs) and you might find that it could cause further problems. It also comes in strawberry, vanilla, chocolate and banana, not really flavours that dogs might go for.

I would say she needs feeding like a puppy, several meals a day so she isn't eating so much in one go, but overall a bit more than normal if she were in good weight.  You have to be careful to avoid bloat, not to mention overfacing her with too much at once.

> It also comes in strawberry, vanilla, chocolate and banana,

And chicken. :-)

They show up on google but are also on Facebook.

I have seen a couple of American Bulldogs round here - they are absolutely gorgeous and well-behaved. 
I, too, would be reluctant to give milk based products and it sounds like she is not vastly under wieht if she has muscle tone. .  Hope things go well at the vets.

Sadly Chicken Complan doesnt actually contain anything different from the other flavours :( there isnt even a sniff of proper chicken in it, it gets its calories from Skimmed milk, lactose, vegetable oil, maltodextrin, glucose syrup, sugar flavourings. Maltodextrin, milk proteins, vegetable oil and flavourings, most of those are pretty much indigestible by dogs.  The only reason I know this is that my Grandmother has Leukemia and was unable to eat much, the Dr rolled his eyes at Complan and said that it was an old wives tail really and that there are now prescription replacement liquid diets that are far more nutricious.  Id much rather cook chicken and add it to rice for calories that were a lot easier to digest.

Hope he is doing a bit better now.

Ah thanks, Ive not used it before for anything so wouldn't know what is in it.
I definitely don't want him to have any trouble with her, she has been through enough to add more on.
Thanks
Diane

I understand totally, a bit like my pregnant daughter, little and often.
Thanks
Diane

Ive only ever met two American Bulldogs before, Missy and Princess.
Princess was a little bit scatty but I think this was more down to not enough training.
Missy is just a gorgeous girl so so lovely a total heart breaker!

When I was going to see her I had horrid visions of how bad she would be, I'm so pleased it wasn't as I expected.

>>Hope things go well at the vets

Me too, she really does deserve a fresh healthy start.
Thanks
Diane

Bisto powder - make it as usual and allow to cool seems to help dogs put on weight.

Bisto powder is full of salt. Little and often is the best approach .

You can buy low salt Bisto - however salt does not affect dogs like it does us as they do not live long enough. 

Sueken, am a bit confused re this comment? Are you suggesting Bisto is a good thing to feed. Personally I've never heard of it so wonder what are the "benefits"

I would have thought it would be far better to supplement any diet with a home made stock which would have all the nutrients without any of the additives which are found in a commercially manufacturered gravy.

I would have thought as well that the weight gaining benefits are not that great unless fed in vast quantities because of the ratio of proteins and fat in it compared to actually feeding raw or cokked meat which would have far higher levels.

I had an old vet and he always recommended to fatten an underweight dog to make Bisto and put it on their food.  Having had some very thin dogs come to me I have always followed this advice and you can really notice a difference.