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Submitted by Anonymous on 2/16/09 11:29am
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I recently adopted a wonderful german shepherd fro the local humane society. She has been a great addition to my home.
She had been picked up due to abuse and neglect. The poor girl had been tied outside on a cement slab. She has been treated for heart worm and is recovering well. Despite her poor early treatment she is friendly and always tries to please.
However, she still seems to be having trouble putting on weight. I have been feeding her Eagle Pack supreme diet 8-9cups a day and two cans. She has gained some weight and her coat is coming back ( she no longer looks like the poor bedraggled dog I brought home). She has gained only 7 lbs. (she weighed 66lbs when I brought her home) She is no 9wks post treatment). This concerns me somewhat because she is large framed. Any suggestions?

Comments

I think i have the answer to

Submitted by scooby on 9/24/08 2:00am.

I think i have the answer to your problem.
I am a vet tech and i have raised several large breed dogs.My suggestion is a frozen dog food called bil-jac you can get it at feed stores and usually pet's mart.It has a high fat and protein content so follow the directions.It should take 2-4 weeks to see visual results.Good Luck!

I'm not sure how well this

Submitted by pittbull43 on 9/25/08 1:02am.

I'm not sure how well this will work for a dog, but when we need to put weight on the neglected and abused horses, or just the hard keepers we make sure they drink lots and lots of water. If you can't make him drink lots you could add electrolytes to it (its a powder purchased at any feed mill) We also gave them a little extra exercise. That makes them hungry and builds their metabolism as well as their muscle. We add canola oil to their feed (1/4 cup per day for a dog) but that tends to be very high in fat. We recently found a product that is better for the animals right now. It is healthier and it puts on weight faster, we are giving it to all the skinny little race horses. It is called "EQUIJEWEL" It is a rice and bran based product that we feed in the morning which seems to be working great. Good luck with your dog.

get the vet to check for EPI

Submitted by germansheperd491 on 10/31/08 4:15pm.

get the vet to check for EPI ?
Exocrine pancreatic enzyme deficiency
is common in Sheperds.
it is treatable with pancrex powder, however it is for life

Also, take into consideration

Submitted by germansheperd167 on 12/29/08 12:44pm.

Also, take into consideration if she was severely neglected (same for humans) that her body is trying to make up for lost nutrients internally before it begins putting on weight.