Elsie:

[Latrans]

Please stop losing weight. It is alarming. Also you could die.

Running around the house in crazed circles is not helping. Also eat more. Way more.

Love,
Your (concerned) Human.



So Elsie's lost about 2/2.5 lbs in the last two weeks because her activity level has increased quite a bit and (like a moron) I didn't increase her food enough (I did increase it and began the process of switching her over to a higher kcal food). Adding more food just seems to increase her zeal for running in goddamn circles, and her desire to bark at me all the goddamn time. Her energy level remains awesome and her coat and eyes look great, but seriously she is way to ribby and I can feel her spine. emotion_donotwant

Discuss: weight issues.

[~ Aki - Fairy ~]

Elsie can have some of Zoe's weight (five or so pounds).

Bella's hard to keep at a steady perfect weight, tends to go a pound or two above or below where she should probably be, so one month she'll look almost scary scrawny and such, and the next she's pudged up a bit again.

Saphi, I can't tell how she's at for weight/body type because she's so fluffy.

[Animelover955]

I'm having issues keeping Twister's weight on as well. lil brat just doesn't want to fatten up! He's never been a food hound so that plus his insane energy level do not help. And when he was younger he'd outright refuse to eat at certain times and would huger puke but still not eat, however other than that he was bright eyed and crazy as usual just not wanting to eat... Compared to max he's a stick you just can't tell unless you get your hands on him cuz of all that fluff. I mean he has put on a little weight, but he's still thin I'd just like mister man to put on another pound or two

[LokiLB]

i always worry about my dog when he goes to kennel. he'll always come back skinny and starving like he hasn't eaten. xp goof ball probably sulks the entire time he's there.

though i have the opposite problem when i visit my parents. seems like they're giving him cheese and dog treats everytime i turn around. not sure if this is payback for all the times my grandma fed me chocolate cake for breakfast. xd they do call him the grand pup.

[Fading Fantasma]

My dog is at a good weight but my dad thinks the dog think hes getting "jipped" so he tends to over feed him, my dad is no longer allowed to feed the pets.

Try making/or getting her some treats that have a good amount of protein . Give a few more treats a day?

[Krissim Klaw]

It sounds like she is naturally skinny. I wouldn't worry about it since she clearly is healthy and is getting enough nutrients since she has enough energy to run around like a crazy dog. You can see/feel my ribs and spine too, it is just the way I was built.

[SHD]

For a dog to be healthy, you should be able to feel but not see the ribs, same goes for the back bone. What I would do is take her to the vet and see if it's anything medical. If it is not, then I would use what I use to get my dogs to gain weight. One of my male Newfie's got poisoned by Eukaneuba dog food when he was a puppy. It nearly killed him and every since then, he has not done well at eating. I scoured the internet and different vets and nutritionists until I finally found something that he will eat and that help him gain weight! I give this to all my dogs when they are a little under weight. But I love to use this during winter, as it really helps them keep weight on, as it takes more energy to run/play in the snow.

They are called : Satin Balls

This is the original recipe:

10 pounds hamburger meat (The cheapest kind, the more fat, the better)
1 lg. box of Total cereal
1 lg. box oatmeal
1 jar of wheat germ
1 1/4 cup veg oil
1 1/4 cup of un-sulphured molasses
10 raw eggs AND shells
10 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
pinch of salt

Mix all of it together and form into balls to use as treats or mix into dry dog food. You can freeze the rest.

However, if you just want to try them out or have a small dog, this recipe this scaled down version (1/10th or the original).

1 pound cheap hamburger (for high fat %)
1 1/3 cups Total cereal
1 1/2 cups uncooked oatmeal
1 raw egg
6 tablespoons wheat germ
1 package Knox unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons un-sulphured molasses
Pinch of salt

The only thing I suggest you change is the oil; vegetable oil has no health benefit, so substitute it with an oil that does (like flax seed oil which is high in healthy omega 3s).

Here is the link: Satin Balls Recipe

I hope this helps!

[~ Aki - Fairy ~]

Krissim Klaw

It sounds like she is naturally skinny. You can see/feel my ribs and spine too, it is just the way I was built.

That's a good point... Even when I've got some obvious excess fat around my stomach/hips my ribs are easily visible

[Latrans]

Fading Fantasma

Try making/or getting her some treats that have a good amount of protein . Give a few more treats a day?

Like I said, I've already upped her food again. :] She gets a lot (a lot, lol) of treats already, so mostly I'm going to be trying to up her normal kibble. I've also doubled her eggs, and I'm going to add some other stuff.

Krissim Klaw

It sounds like she is naturally skinny. I wouldn't worry about it since she clearly is healthy and is getting enough nutrients since she has enough energy to run around like a crazy dog. You can see/feel my ribs and spine too, it is just the way I was built.

She is. I've struggled to put weight on her since she was a puppy. :

SHD

llthy skinny right now. Because of her coat, you'd never be able to actually see her ribs, but you can see the points of her pelvis, you can feel all of her ribs easily (like a washboard), and you can feel individual vertebrae, and basically her whole pelvis, too which makes me emotion_donotwant On top of that, she's lost weight, so I think her calories do need to be increased.

SHD

For a dog to be healthy, you should be able to feel but not see the ribs, same goes for the back bone. What I would do is take her to the vet and see if it's anything medical. If it is not, then I would use what I use to get my dogs to gain weight. One of my male Newfie's got poisoned by Eukaneuba dog food when he was a puppy. It nearly killed him and every since then, he has not done well at eating. I scoured the internet and different vets and nutritionists until I finally found something that he will eat and that help him gain weight! I give this to all my dogs when they are a little under weight. But I love to use this during winter, as it really helps them keep weight on, as it takes more energy to run/play in the snow.

They are called : Satin Balls

-snip-

I hope this helps!

We've been to the vet. There's nothing medically wrong with her; she's just skinny. The Belgians are not easy keepers, and Elsie's particularly scrawny. She's had issues with fat before, so I'm holding off on satin balls unless something drastic happens.

If I waited until I could see rib, she'd be dead, lol; her coat covers everything. :]

I'm so sorry your puppy got poisoned. :[ That must have been so scary. I'm glad he's doing better!

Edit: I have fixed this post twice now.

[Shanna66]

i would try some fatty treats if you re getitng really worried, but as long as she is still active and happy i wouldnt worry, some people are just thin no matter what and im sure some dogs are the same

as for weight issues on my end
fluffers has been worrying me a bit about his weight. ive been trying to get him to lose more since he is getting a bit older and he has lost alot of weight, i still cant feel his ribs but i can easily feel his hip bone and his spine. i think me may just need to put on some more muscle instead of lazing around all the time though

[Latrans]

Shanna66

i would try some fatty treats if you re getitng really worried, but as long as she is still active and happy i wouldnt worry, some people are just thin no matter what and im sure some dogs are the same

Well, like I said, she actually lost weight, and there's really no build where her current weight is healthy. :[ Until college, I never had a BMI over 16, so it's not like I"m totally unfamiliar with skinny folks, lol. And my ribs are still easily palpable, but there's a thin fat covering (because I need it, damn it, lol). Elsie's too skinny.

But yeah, I'm upping her calories across the board, because I want her to build muscle, not just fat. :3

Quote:

as for weight issues on my end
fluffers has been worrying me a bit about his weight. ive been trying to get him to lose more since he is getting a bit older and he has lost alot of weight, i still cant feel his ribs but i can easily feel his hip bone and his spine. i think me may just need to put on some more muscle instead of lazing around all the time though

Yeah, I'd work on building muscle. :3 Good luck!

[Shanna66]

Latrans

Shanna66

i would try some fatty treats if you re getitng really worried, but as long as she is still active and happy i wouldnt worry, some people are just thin no matter what and im sure some dogs are the same

Well, like I said, she actually lost weight, and there's really no build where her current weight is healthy. :[ Until college, I never had a BMI over 16, so it's not like I"m totally unfamiliar with skinny folks, lol. And my ribs are still easily palpable, but there's a thin fat covering (because I need it, damn it, lol). Elsie's too skinny.

But yeah, I'm upping her calories across the board, because I want her to build muscle, not just fat. :3

Quote:

as for weight issues on my end
fluffers has been worrying me a bit about his weight. ive been trying to get him to lose more since he is getting a bit older and he has lost alot of weight, i still cant feel his ribs but i can easily feel his hip bone and his spine. i think me may just need to put on some more muscle instead of lazing around all the time though

Yeah, I'd work on building muscle. :3 Good luck!

ill need all the luck i can get, even when playing he is lazy and just lays there and does nothing until the toys are crought to him. he has one run aroudn the house a day and will do one or 2 lunges at a toy and thats it. i put him on a better food brand in hope it will make him want to be more active but first i have to convince him to end his hunger strike agaisnt it

[Henrika]

My friend had to switch her cat back to kibble/wet from raw, because she wouldn't eat reliably and she is chronically underweight. She was worse when my friend got her, but she is still soooo skinny - you can feel every bone in her body. And then I just found out that recent blood testing could indicate cancer. They're retesting in 6months, hoping it was a false positive etc.


Which is terrible not only for them, but also for me because I have two of her kittens and cancer has that awful tendency to be genetic.



Whoever claimed that mixed breeds are healthier obviously has no clue, because while Misty had been pretty healthy (13 years old, and only now has issues with arthritis), 3/4 of my cats have medical issues/possible impending issues. The kittens have horrible teeth - just like their mama, and possibly also cancer in their future. Mostly I'm just freaking out over the possibility. Honeycake has had seizures/been on medications since she was not even 3years old. She has issues with overeating because of her meds. Jellybean is underweight, trending her mama. Junebug is slim, but lots of muscle, and Misty isn't super athletic, but a good weight/body type for her age.


Rawrg. Breeder cats from now on. Though I have no intention in getting more pets for at least a few years. I'm still freaking out over the possibility of the financial crap I'll be in if Rolo and one or two of the kittens get cancer.


The good thing I can say about Rolo, is at least I know what to expect and possible treatment outcomes, plus their issues are so common and we know a lot about them that most of the time vets will diagnose based on symptoms and begin treatment right away. We really have no idea what to expect with the cats, and will require tons of testing + diagnosis over the next few years.

[SmoothSavage]

I can't remember... how old is Elsie?

Honestly, if she still has decent muscle tone, I wouldn't worry about her too much. She wouldn't be able to build muscle if she wasn't getting enough nutrients.

Then again, I like my dogs very skinny!