How to put some weight on my Lurcher-type Crossbreed?

Hi all,

I have a lurcher-type crossbreed, Oscar, who is now just over 2. He has had a number of health problems in his life. When he was 6 months old he ate 2 stones and had to have them removed from his stomach - his recovery was really complicated and difficult. He also has a skin condition (atopy, as far as any specialist can establish) and in January this year he had another operation because they thought he had another foreign body. In the end all they found was inflamed bowels.

Just recently he has had another episode of inflamed bowels. His barium x-rays showed that there was an area where the larger beads were collecting. These were sent for specialist opinion and it is likely he has inflammatory bowel disease. He is currently (and has been for a most of his life) treated with steroids.

He has finally settled on to Royal Canin Intestinal food (killing our budget but it is all he can eat without vomiting) and seems to be doing well but he is not really putting weight on.

He was just under 16 kilos last time he was weighed and the vet/us wants him at between 19 and 20 kilos as he looked better when he was at that weight, however he is not getting the weight on.

I could really do with any advice about getting weight on him and keeping it on him.

The vet said to reduce his exercise so as he is not burning off too much energy in order to help with his weight and we have done a little, but we don't want to not exercise him at all as that seems unfair and as soon as he gets out he wants to run around a lot as he is going slightly nuts with reduced walking (although he is a lazy little boy at times).

I am just feeling a bit down and hopeless about this although I am sure there is an answer out there somewhere.

You aren't letting the recommendation on the package stop you from offering him more if he will eat it are you? Usually it is too high, but there are some dogs that need more. Most of my Labs have stayed in good body condition on 3-4 cups of Pro Plan. Lucky needed 6 cups.

Other than than that, I would say work with the vet, perhaps getting a second opinion. It is unusual for a dog to be able only eat a few foods.

We are feeding him more than the packet says for a dog of his weight. When he was on Purina HA (supposed to be the most hypoallergenic diet available) he was eating for a 30kg dog, weighed 15kg and was still losing weight.

I think the plan is when his insurance renews (he's gone over his available amount by the best part of £1000 this year - renews end of October) to get him to an internal medical specialist for an endoscopy and allergy tests.

I just really want to get some weight on him before them as I hate seeing his ribs, spine and hips poking out. He looks anorexic

Oh dear, poor boy. Without all the other problems I would have advised changing his food to something for a higher energy dog, like Skinners field and trial for example. I feed my three the Skinners field and trial salmon and rice which is hypoallergenic and has added glucosamine... then add something nice and fatty like butchers tripe, or a good tripe based dog food...

But with all his other problems, changing his food may be a gamble...

Pharaoh, my lurcher once dropped weight and looked terrible, so I know how you feel, they look like a bag of bones so quickly dont they. He was easily 'cured' by changing to skinners.. He doesn't like to have to eat too much, so just couldn't eat the recommended daily amount of the James Wellbeloved, he'd get bored halfway through his bowlful and just wander off. His sister (My mum's dog) is the same, but she will then keep going back to her bowl and grazing over the day.. With two other dogs in the house, Pharaoh didn't have that luxury, so we found a dog food that allowed smaller portions. Now he's happy.

Sorry I can't offer better advice, but I can offer empathy.

Hope you sort something soon

Thanks. It's good to know that I am not the only person in this place. His vet is being really good with things and trying one thing at a time and working on trying to get enough food in without triggering the vomiting etc we get.

The RC Intestinal is a high calorie food so should be helping. He looks so skinny though. I am going to weigh him at the vets tomorrow so hopefully he has put some weight on.

hi
i have had ,and do have dogs that do not eat well and loose bodycondition
sometimes food is just not that high on their list of priorities
i use rcw intestinal for these dogs,and am also using it for my dog Kaos that has come home from 4weeks and 4 days of fending for himself and is severely underweight
it is a very good quality food with easily digested ingredients.with weight gain,you have to take it slowly,overfeeding can cause d+ and you are back to square one.
good luck

I very much sympathise with you.
I have a lurcher who dosen't carry much bodyweight, and it can be a worry . I changed my lot to raw a year ago and he has looked so very much better . The thing with lurchers is they dont like to eat huge quantities of food . how many times a day do you feed him? I understand you perhaps dont want to take hom off the RC but maybe in the middle of the day give him some raw green (must be the green stuff) tripe as this is really good for putting weight on, and is easy to digest, also raw lambs breast is good, and feed him more small meals instead of a couple of bigger ones.
Hope he soons feels better.

The thing with Oscar is that he will eat anything that is put in front of him. He loves to eat. He just vomits a lot and gets diarrhoea and loses weight at a vast rate (he can lose up to 2 kilos a week!).

He does love fruit and vegetables though and they don't seem to upset him too much so I do try to give him those.

The RC Intestinal really does seem to have done a lot of good for him though. Weigh in later. We shall see...

At the moment we feed him in either three or four meals a day depending on when we are at home and what is going on as two meals a day is too much food in one go for him.

I'll speak to his vet about the idea of adding raw green tripe or raw lambs breast and see what she thinks about it. I am giving him fruit and veg as he loves those and they don't seem to upset him (I must have the only dog who ignores biscuits in favour of apples!).

It's so hard to know what is best for him, and so worrying when he looks like skin and bone.

Thanks for the advice.

I don't think fruits and vegetables are the answer. Unless properly processed, their absorbtion is hit or miss, perhaps giving excesses of one thing and no help at all with something else.

I would cut back to a single kibble and as little else as you can manage. A uniform diet helps stabilize the digestive system. Perhaps try a bland diet such as the one I have from a large, knowledgeable dog guide school.

Bland recovery diet for dogs.

3 parts cooked rice, one part boiled hamburger or chicken, or cottage cheese. I think you can substitute boiled potatoes for the rice. Once in an emergency, we bought a plain baked potato from Wendy's.

This is meant for short time settling a dog's digestive tract. It is not the complete and balanced diet they need long term. I have seen it work.

Once he is stabilized, slowly introduce what you think is the best kibble for him. Adjust the amount to keep him lean, but the ribs hidden.