Feeding Raw - Skinny Puppy

[RaisinThePug]

I have been feeding Raisin raw (packaged - Nature's Variety, Stella & Chewy's, currently Northwest Naturals) since I brought her home. So when I brought Cooper home I did the same.

Raisin does great on it. Cooper is just skinny. He has been to the vet, he is healthy, just skinny. I have increased his food, to the point that he throws up from having too much. So I cut back again. I can see his ribs, he is the skinniest little pug I've ever seen. He is happy and active. Just skinny.

I hate to give him kibble, but I have been considering it in an effort to help him gain some weight. In the past I have tried putting a little cottage cheese (or ricotta) on his food, and of course he gobbled that up, it just didn't have much of an effect. Anything over 4% of his body weight in raw food, split into 3 daily meals, made him sick. I am thinking of adding kibble to the raw to increase his daily calories. Or maybe even canned food.

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on this? Brands that are good choices and higher in calories? He is 9 months old, perhaps even puppy food for a few more months?

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

Stick with canned food. You can buy a good 95-96% meat brand or the Science Diet prescription A/D formula is great for putting on weight. It is the only Science Diet I will give to my dogs. You might ask the vet to check his thyroid. Just like some people, some dogs are built very slender and can't gain weight (wish that was my problem!), if you try to stuff too much food into them you might create more problems than you started with. If he is healthy and happy and has plenty of energy and a healthy coat and skin, you might just let it be.

Take care,
Lisa

[Cheryl7777]

I would not mix raw and kibble. If you research it, you will find that it is not recommended because the kibble and raw digest at different rates and can cause the puppy to develop problems with the raw food. I would either keep him on puppy food, which has more calories or follow Lisa's suggestion. When we got Samson he was a year old but badly malnourished. Then he got sick from eating some candy and almost died because he was so skinny he had no stored energy to fight. After 3 days in intensive care we had him on a canned food like the science diet. It was like pure liver pate. He spit some of it up but was able to adjust and finally started to put on some weight. He is still skinny, but you can't count his ribs any more and he is a happy, healthy little Pug.

[RaisinThePug]

Thanks ladies. I think I will get him some canned food. I get their food from a local place that actually delivers, which is amazing. From the choices in the link, what would you give him?

Wet Dog Food

[Cheryl7777]

Well ZiwiPeak is a good brand, but some of the others they offer are too. They have a contact number at the top of their website. I wonder if you called them if you would get someone knowledgeable or just someone selling the products? I would suggest asking your vet, but a lot of vets are not really knowledgeable about nutrition. They like to recommend Science Diet because they sell it. There is a website that rates dog food, so you might check there to see how these brands stack up. I would say get the best one you can afford. Some foods can get pricey.

[Cheryl7777]

The website for dog food ratings is dogfoodadvisor.com

[AMC7181]

Wow, your local place has a number of good brands. You can compare their offerings to dogfoodadvisor's best canned foods (link below). Most of the brands on your local place's website are on the list, which is awesome!

Best Wet Dog Foods

I've seen before that higher fat meats, like lamb, are good for those who need to gain weight.

[RaisinThePug]

Just wanted to update that I got some of the Wellness lamb and sweet potato and he is loving it. I'm giving a little bit to Raisin too, and she seems to be enjoying it as well. If he does really well on it, I might eventually switch him completely. I feel good about feeding them both raw, but I want what works best for each of them.

Thanks again for your help! I don't get here as often as I would like, but I always appreciate the help and support I find.

[leslie.me44]

It's long time no one is commenting. According to this topic I'd like to provide my pups home made food. According to lot's of pet owners they love to provide fish based & high salty food. But for a better health of your poach I'd love to provide low sodium pet food to my best friend