I feed my 15 month old gsp on Dr John Silver, mainly because the lower protein makes him less loopy, and the price of course - he also loves it and looks good on it. However, I've just been to the vet who agrees that the food in itself is good but said I should be careful that he gets enough fat content in his diet as he is still growing. He is a bit lean and needs to fill out still (the dog not the vet). What is the best way of adding oils to his food - which oil is best? I give him a big can of oily fish once a week over 3 days and give him bits of fat off meat in with his dinner but it doesn't amount to much. Look forward to your help!!

Terri

you can feed a variety of fats like suet,flax seed oil is good but not cheap.i think chicken wings have a decent fat content too.

Chicken backs contain quite a bit of fat as do bones surprisingly enough. I seem to remember reading that animal fats are better for dogs than vegetable oils as they metabolise them more efficiently (and differently to humans). I will have to go and see if I can find where I read it now

Christine

That would be good Christine if you can find it. He's almost muched his way through an entire bone and I noticed it had quite a bit of fat on it. Suet sounds good - we are off on holiday so will travel better than tripe!!

Why not change to Dr John Gold, which is slightly higer in fats - but not much. Try it for a fortnight and if there is still no change, add suet as suggested, start with a dessert spoon on his dinner once a day or a teaspoon if you feed twice daily, then double it over a week or so, just to make sure his tummy can handle it. Evaporated milk poured neat onto food - again start with a dessert spoon twice a day - or diluted as directed to make "milk" and give a drink - say 1/2 pint twice a day again should up the fats. Or you can give puppy formula milk like Welpi either dry mixed in the food or made up to drink. If you are going to try both, get him used to one of them first, for a few days and then start adding the other.

Thanks, westie lover. I will get the gold next time I need some, the problem being I bought 4 bags of the stuff last time as it sells out so fast!!! I will definitely try suet and I have been putting a bit of milk on his food (except I buy semi skimmed - not much good I suppose).

Why not try something like Evening Primrose Oil, 1 x 500mg capsule twice a day? These can be bought cheaply from Asda's and the bonus would be your dog will have a lovely coat too! I bought Flax Oil capsules for Mia from a well known health food shop & the gleam on her coat is terrific. Just watch any oils like Cod Liver etc. I remember my vet telling me years ago they can be toxic to dogs in repeated dosages.

Added as a PS, if you fed something that was a bit more expensive & had a higher oil content, you wouldn't need to supplement at all! I only give Mia Flax Oil as she went severely out of coat at the beginning of June.

Yeah, fair comment - call me a cheapskate if you like!

If you can find a Jollyes pet superstore near you, their own brand of xx and rice (Turkey, Chicken, Fish or Lamb) is good quality and reasonably cheap (£13 a bag).

I've been feeding my boys on it for quite a while and they all have good coats and plenty of energy.

You could always add raw tripe too.

Ooooohhhhh suet brings back very bad memories for me :(

Min my oldie decided to pinch a whole packet of beef suet when we went to stay at Grandmas and when we were driving home on the Sunday her bottom exploded in the back of the car It was horrific ! It was pitch black and we were about an hours drive from home in the middle of winter and so had to drive with all the windows down.

It was so disgusting !!!! :D

Lucy
(feeling slightly pukey thinking about this ! )

Thanks for that :)

The pictures in my mind are just too horrid to describe!!:O

Glad I had lunch an hour ago :D

Julia & Hooligans