I have an irish setter that no matter i seem to feed him on i have have trouble in keeping weight on him.
an anybody suggest any ideas on what to feed him on. He has been wormed in the last month and i have taken him to the vets for a complete once over and vet has said there is nothing wrong with him etc for not to put on any weight

many thanks
Hayley

Hi Hayley,
All the Irish Setters I have seen are very lean dogs. Does the vet think yours is underweight?

hi Jean

He is slightly underweight for the breed, but not by to much the vet says he is a little thin, i show him u see and he always look alot thinner than the other dogs his age he is also a very fussy eater. So finding things he will eat is a real nightmare.

Hayley

Hi,
My parents feed their irish setters on chudleys chunks (a complete dry food) and green tripe, they all really tuck into it. My mum also finds that any visiting dogs she has (puppies my mum breed always come back for their holidays!) which are said to be fussy also usually tuck into this food. Is your dog quite highly strung, as setters that are do usually have a problem keeping on weight.

Erin

yes erin he is very highly strung so this is all part of the problem. i have not tried him on chudleys chunks or green tripe are this avaliable in most stockests or delivered to your door.

Hayley

You could try adding some raw tripe (you can get it in frozen blocks from petfood shops) to add to his meals. It's supposed to be good at adding substance to a dog.
:)

hi jean

I have tried him with tripe added to his complete but he is not keen on it at all god he is so damm fussy lol.

Hayley

He doesn't like tripe!!
Blimey!
Try adding a spoonful of olive oil to one meal instead.
:)

ok jean i will should that tempt him, i tell u he is the most fussy setter i have ever had. Also he will not eat 2 meals a day will only eat one in the evening any tips on how to get him to eat to smaller ones as i do not like giving him one meal as he is not getting the correct amount of food as i can not give it all in 1 go especially to a setter as they suffer from bloat.

Many thanks again
Hayley

Buy some pilchards or sardines in tomato sauce and add a couple to his meal :)

You're right to be aware of the bloat risk with that breed. Try what Melody suggests; he may like a tin of pilchards or sardines for breakfast (in oil or tomato, not brine)
:)

We get the chudleys chunks from the local petshop, we're based in Lincolnshire and i'm not sure if its a local brand. My parents have fed this for about 12 years now, if you can get hold of it make sure to do get the chunk version they also do a classic which looks like rabbit food and is not recommended for this bloat prone breed. With regard to bloat, the dry food is always pre-soaked so it doesn't swell in the stomach. The green tripe is the raw tripe you've tried, it does usually get a fussy dogs nose down and eating! You could try pouring the oil from a can of tuna on his food, this is good for the coat as well.
Good luck!

Erin

What complete food do you feed him?, fish is great tempting to eat or even liver mined up and mixed in

he is currently fed on james well beloved i ahve tried the sardines/ pilchards before but know that does not work, he must be the most fussy dog i know

i had my GSD on j that food and all she done was lose weight on it i think it was around 2kg in a month. Many people have not had any problems on this food but maybe it is time for you to change to something that he will it and keep to the weight that he should be. You could try tuna on spring water we used to give this to our shepherd until we found prixe choice minced white fish, i have stacks of tuna here if you like i can send you a can to try. Just click on my name for my addy if you would like a tin.
We are now feed Wafcol with no probs, she is also a fussy eater as in you sometimes have to hand feed her to get her to eat, but the minced white fish works a treat, she eats in the morning with our pup then again in the evening, and for once in 6yrs the bowl is left empty (well most of the time :-D )

Have you tried Burns complete? perhaps you could get a sample from them rather than buy a whole bag if he doesn't like it. Its low protein and does tend to put weight on because most dogs are not so hyper on it ( some high protein rations can send them a bit loopy) and can then put some calories down to fat rather than expend it all energentically, as they can with a high protein. Would he eat his biscuit soaked ? Not so much worry from bloat then? My lab wont eat it soaked so I just add a little cold water ( mugful) to her complete just before I give it to her, in the hope that the expanding food will have some extra fluid with it in her tum. There is also new "doggy gravy" in my supermarket which is supposes to tempt any dog to eat up !! I haven't tried it though. Its in a squeezy bottle like Tomato Ketchup. Has anyone used it?

Hi Westie

Yes i have tried that gravy before but he does not like it at all, neither does he liked soaked food i am just at such a loose end as he seems to like nothing. He has jwb complete plus i have to put cooked mince on just to get him to eat it even then he tries to pick out the mince out he is just so very fussy. but i am desperate to get him to eat up as i can only get him to eat one meal a day but that is no good for him.

Hayley

Someone actually suggested to me a while back about adding terrier biscuit to his complete as this helps to put weight on does anyone know how good or true this is

I would try Arden Grange or Burns. AG in partciluar I have found my dogs find it very palatable . They both have good websites, if you type the co.names into www.google.co.uk you could have a look and see what you think - I would choose a lower protein AG one if there is one to suit - unless your dog does have a great deal of exercise. I do feel uneasy sometimes recommending brands but these two do seem to suit a lot of dogs.

I've read this thread with some amusement. Being from the states-I'm not even sure what some of the food is that has been mentioned. But I have had Irish setters for over 35 years and some are very difficult to keep weight on. I've had two such cases that have been real challenges. My current 2 year old bitch Kelly-Rainwood League of Her Own-is a non stop moving machine-At 2 she is one major short of her AKC CH. title and already has her INtl. title-and 2 passes on her hunt tests....sorry-got carried away- but her goes on some food suggestions:

1-First-you didn't mention if you were feeding once,twice or how often per day? On high energy dogs feeding smaller more often is better

2-I always require my setters to rest 30 minutes before eating and 30 minutes after eating.

3-I add Prozyme-a probiotic

4- Add high fat cottage cheese about 2 tablespoons to kibble

5-Alternate-with canned salmon in oil-you can use mackeral too-but mine love the salmon

6- Every third day I top their regular meal with raw chicken gizzards and hearts

The salmon and raw gizzards go to all the dogs-the cottage cheese only to those needing weight

When Kelly was REALLY thin-she's at 62 pounds right now-needs about 4 more pounds-I added a little peanut butter to her morning snack!

Hope this helps

Pat Boldt
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Hi Hayley, I'm not sure whether or not I can be of much real help, but as you know my experience of Irish Setters goes back to 1973. Don't forget that this is a lean and racy breed, and they should not carry alot of weight. There are some in the ring at the moment that are way too fat for my preference. However even I accept that there are limits, and I too have had one that needed feeding up a bit. Recently I have been using the supplement, Fit & Fertile, on the American Cockers. I use it primarily for coat growth, but it certainly works as an appetite stimulant too. Maybe you could try that, nothing ventured nothing gained. Another thing I would try, is reducing the exercise a bit. Road walking rather than alot of free running. Some dashing about, but not loads.
Good Luck, Dawn R.

Settergirl,
Have you tried adding cooked pasta to your dogs diet? This will assist with weight gain, as will cooked potato in the same way.
As for the tripe, I have found that cooking (boil in a little water & garlic) it and using the juices to soak biscuits (or boil pasta in) is good for the fussy eaters. This is a smelly job though and would push your loyalty to 'dogs dinners' to its limits. One of my vets is religious about cooking tripe because of the risk of salmonella and other harmful organisms.
One of my favourite conditioning mixes is a combination of pasta, potato, carrots, cabbage and tripe.
Prepared in the correct quantities this can be balanced and I have found it works. A bit of preparation is involved though, so it may not suit a person with a hectic life. What I do is prepare a good quantity and freeze what I wouldn't use immediately.
Our friend from the states was correct about the little and often theory, there is only so much that a stomach can process at one time - the rest is passed out as waste.
Any way, I hope you find the solution - I'm sure plenty more advice from others will come!