Ozzy Fudd Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 (edited) Hi guys, need some advice; my male rottie is about 6 kilo's underweight and need some tips on how best to bulk him up a bit. He's always been naturally slim around the hips and stomach compared to most rottweilers (chest+head/neck a good bit bigger than most others tho) but last week i thought he was getting too thin, at first i put it down to losing his winter coat and the fact that the bitch is built like a brick **** house and so makes him look thin in comparison, but when i checked i can feel his ribs and his back bone took him to the vet yesterday and got a worming dose for him. the vet also suggested getting food with a higher protein content, but when i checked the stuff he's currently on its 24% plus he gets meat mixed in as well 3 or 4 times a week. i went straight to the local pet shop after being in the vets but the owner advised me against going for a higher protein meal as a higher protein content can cause liver problems so now im totally confused what to do; some people have advised me to start giving him bread to bulk him up a bit more, some people have said give him more excercise (he gets walked every day anyway, but im going to start taking him shooting again) but has any one else got any ideas, or even a thought what it might be? he gets fed enough, gets one massive bowl of food every day (gets left with him all day, theres normally food left in it the next night) and the bitch is showing no problems at all, the vet said shed even put on some weight - and even though i doubt theres any chance she's eating his food (he's protective of his dinner) i usually feed them seperately cheers Edited April 2, 2009 by babbyc1000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chandelierman Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Try eukanuba Premium My bull terrier was well under weight and then i put her on the premium and she was built like a brick****house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MM Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 My rottie needs extra weight? I have some dumbells that you could tie to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Assuming you're talking about dry food, it's not just protein content that's important, it's the quailty of the food, the fat content, the % of bulking agents which have little or no nutritional value etc etc etc - it's a bl00dy minefield. There are a few things you could try: 1. An extra meal a day so increasing his intake of food. 2. Change food to somethinhg better quality - depending on what he is on at the moment. 3. An extra meal a day of green tripe - many dogs do well on this. You can buy it in 2kg packs frozen from Pets at Home. Good luck, know how you feel - I've got a springer that will eat like a horse but doesn't hold weight well, and if you feed her too much it just runs through her. WGD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadSpringer Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 An extra meal a day of green tripe - many dogs do well on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markb Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 A couple of seasons ago when we were doing some puppy walking, we had 2 couple that wouldn't put wieght on. we managed to get a supply of meat pies by the dustbin full ( seconds ) they soon put weight on then, it was soooo tempting to stick your hand in and grab a handfull Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Fudd Posted April 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Try eukanuba Premium whats that then? 3. An extra meal a day of green tripe - many dogs do well on this. You can buy it in 2kg packs frozen from Pets at Home. daft question but is that like the tripe youd get from the butchers? cheers ps - mark i tried that before but cant get anywhere that does 2nds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chandelierman Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 (edited) Eukanuba is a dry all in one dog food,it doesn't look much in the bowl when given the recommend amount so i put in double and let them it what they want Over the course of 1 week my bitch put on 6lbs. Do a google search for iams Eukanuba Premium,it is expensive but the best stuff normally is. My friend has a Presa Canaria which was also under weight and and gained 7lbs in 2 weeks on the premium. Tripe is good but it bloody stinks,you can buy small frozen blocks or a frozen bag if you want to break it up yourself. Edited April 2, 2009 by chandelierman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Fudd Posted April 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 just bought a carrier bag full of frozen tripe and beef hearts from a butcher so ill try that and ill look up the other stuff too mate, cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casts_by_fly Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 Being able to feel the dog's ribs is a good thing. Seeing them is when the dog is getting slim. When you run your fingers down the side of a dog you should be able to feel every individual rib. When you step back you should be able to just make out the impression of the ribs, but not necessarily be able to count each one. If the dog doesn't have a worm and isn't LOOSING weight, then I wouldn't worry much. Make sure you're feeding high quality food in an amount commesurate with the dog's weight. There is nothing worse than an overweight dog. Thanks rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 I used to have a Rottie so have a valid insight on them and to be honest its always best to have them slightly lean rather than overweight.Rotts suffer terribly when overweight and makes them lazy.If however the vet is concerned-you might want to get his thyroid checked as an overactive gland will make them loose weight.My old Rottie had an underactive thyroid which made him gain weight,but tablets will reverse whichever it needs to go. If he needs to bulk up with muscle a wee bit,try walking him for an hour twice a day,but on a lead walking at a brisk pace.A month of this will will see a marked improvement in his build. Food wise though,i used to feed mine either Eukanuba large breed or Pro-Plan and he did very well on them. This was mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Fudd Posted April 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 (edited) Being able to feel the dog's ribs is a good thing. Seeing them is when the dog is getting slim. When you run your fingers down the side of a dog you should be able to feel every individual rib. When you step back you should be able to just make out the impression of the ribs, but not necessarily be able to count each one. If the dog doesn't have a worm and isn't LOOSING weight, then I wouldn't worry much. Make sure you're feeding high quality food in an amount commesurate with the dog's weight. There is nothing worse than an overweight dog. Thanks rick no mate when i look at him now i can see his ribs, he was almost 60 kilo's last summer and now down to around 50 kilo heres a pic taken just over a year ago, he's got a good bit thinner since then though, want to get him back to this edit - only pic i can get when sitting in work Edited April 3, 2009 by babbyc1000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fullbore Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 Now you above all others should be aware of the power of the red crested tater, feed him a bushel of thise a week and he'll be a bloater before you know it, mixed with chicken for health, and an Ulster fry as an occaisional treat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Fudd Posted April 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 Now you above all others should be aware of the power of the red crested tater, feed him a bushel of thise a week and he'll be a bloater before you know it, mixed with chicken for health, and an Ulster fry as an occaisional treat theres a bit of a shortage of red crested taters round here, think theyre an american thing tbh, we got plenty of phone books though! it wouldnt be the first time he's got the leftovers from a fry mixed in with his dinner.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenpeace Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 I had a very similar problem with my Boxer, although he was always thin rather than experiencing a period of weight loss. I changed his food to Skinners Crunchy, which worked in bulking him up a little. Then i moved him on to Skinners Muesli Mix once he had put the weight on. It's not too bad on the pocket either, approx £14 for 25 kg bag. It's always horses for courses but i hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IAN88 Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 BOILED RICE,EGGS,GREY HOUND FOOD, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libs Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 Listen to the Vet not the pet shop owner, I am gonna go out on a limb here and say they didn't do 5 years of uni to get where they are, the vet did. Musle is made of protein, animals can only make so many types of protein, some of these that form mammalian muscle mass cannot be synthesised by cells. Get pregnant mum food or anything with the highest protein, the liver is an amazing organism and does a great job of turning unwanted protein into other things, thats why our wee is yellow and smelly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted April 4, 2009 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 Being able to feel the dog's ribs is a good thing. Seeing them is when the dog is getting slim. When you run your fingers down the side of a dog you should be able to feel every individual rib. When you step back you should be able to just make out the impression of the ribs, but not necessarily be able to count each one. If the dog doesn't have a worm and isn't LOOSING weight, then I wouldn't worry much. Make sure you're feeding high quality food in an amount commesurate with the dog's weight. There is nothing worse than an overweight dog. Thanks rick I read somewhere mate that you should only be able to really feel the last 2 ribs Although I think I heard somewhere that you should be able to feel each rib BUT you shouldn't be able to see them as you describe BabbyC Try to beef him up with good protein not by adding lots of fat that will just burn once he starts exercising, by putting on a bit of muscle it'll stick around, the beef hearts sounds like a good idea Maybe some oily fish would help if he would eat it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick Posted April 4, 2009 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 vodka and chips? works for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancs Lad Posted April 4, 2009 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 I find a good 8 to 10 cans of stella a night will pile it on..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quicksilver Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 there are a couple of points to keep in mind Protein, if you start to raise the amount of protein from 24% as you stated and you are not working your dog hard, you can put a lot of extra stress on the kidneys. 24% protein is in my eyes plenty for most working dogs , as it is a rottie (no disrespect) i don’t think you are working him, regular exercise maybe but not hard work. Eukanuba is a good food and i normally feed it to pups and young dogs to give them a good nutritional start in life. I have also found that some dogs don’t do well on it and experience exactly the same symptoms you are describing. Worming, i had a bitch that like all my dogs was wormed regularly, she always exhibited signs of worms dull coat, dull eyes and not able to put on weight. I wormed her with Drontal + tablets; despite worming her i felt she still had a worm problem. I believe that sometimes worms can take a hold in a dog and can be hard to shift ( maybe even build up a resistance to a certain tablet) and a change of brand can sometimes work for that dog. In this case ( and i don’t recommend it) i used a very small amount of ivermec pour on (this was about 10yrs ago) the bitch was a changed dog in a few days and started to put on weight and had an overall better condition. I your case i would also recommend getting plenty of bones from your butcher, they normally pay to have the bones collected each week and are normally only too happy to provide you with as many as you want, The bones will have a good amount of meet on them from the boning process and will add to your dogs diet. Just be careful as some dogs get very possessive over bones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Fudd Posted June 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 thanks mate, but it turned out he had leukemia, he was put down at the end of april Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlander Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 What’s wrong with MEAT...you’re a shooting man feed him some of your kills. In the winter when my dogs are working hard almost every day I feed them on (cooked) rabbits, and any damaged meat off birds, game, deer etc mixed in with their regular dry mix and it keeps them well fit. Best of all it’s cheap! All these shop bought dog foods are made up from some meat products (you know not what) and lots of bulking agents plus the odd bit of added vitamins (not a lot as they’re expensive) and all you’re really paying for is the hype! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Fudd Posted June 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 he was getting ALL my kills, and beef hearts and tripe from the butcher. as ive said mate, i found out AFTER i posted this he had leukemia, no matter how much i fed him his body couldnt process it, and the weight dropped off. the other rottie i have is in perfect condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlander Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 Ooops sorry I didn't read that part (most unlike me ). Sad to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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