# good foods for gaining weight??



## David R (Apr 23, 2012)

Has anyone got a good suggestion for how we can get our two year old girl to put on some weight before winter?? She's a little on the lean size (even by vizsla standards, IMO), we feed her Royal Canin and ZiwiPeak foods (about 5:1 ratio of), and are already feed more than the recommended amount. She doesn't seem hungry and sometimes doesn't even finish her breakfast. We're on a few acres so she does plenty of running, and to top it off our other dog (beagle X fox terrier) is always hungry and is ready to grab any food she isn't interested in eating!

I'll see if I can take some pics of her tomorrow to show her size, she is certainly skinnier than over Vs we've met.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Hi, David... Welcome to the forums!

There are a few different versions of "Satin Balls" out there. I found this variation on Google:

"Satin Balls" for putting weight on skinny dogs

5 pounds ground meat
5 cups "Total" whole wheat cereal
5 cups old-fashioned (slow cooking) oats
2-1/2 cups raw wheat germ
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup molasses
6 egg yolks
5 packets of unflavored gelatin
2-1/2 Tbls. "Solid Gold Seameal Supplement" (or equivalent)

Mix all ingredients together well, as you would a meatloaf. Roll into balls about 1-inch in diameter. Freeze on a cookie sheet; then transfer into plastic bags. Store in freezer and thaw as needed. Feed your dog about 5 or 6 Satin Balls per day, in addition to his/her regular food.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

If you don't think you want to mess with making "Satin Balls" there are other ways you can entice your dog to eat more.

Try adding a little water from a can of water packed tuna to her kibble. Try adding a little chicken broth to her kibble. Try adding warm water and a little leftover meat from dinner... etc. This won't ruin your dog, but watch carefully so she won't become overweight! Since opinions are all over the place here on the forums, ask your Vet what is the best way to determine if your dog is at an ideal weight.  _(My Vet says you should be able to feel her ribs easily, but not see them; and you should be able to see a distinct waistline when viewed from above.)_


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## David R (Apr 23, 2012)

Thanks for the suggestions, you can just see her ribs when she is standing still (not that that happens very often!!!), and she has quite a defined waist. She has plenty of muscle though and doesn't seem unhealthy in any way, there just isn't an ounce of fat on her.

The balls sound interesting, the biggest problem I'd have with them is our other dog would be giving me the sad eyes if she's getting yummy treats several times a day and he isn't! He is a good size now, maybe a little on the barrel chested side (must be the beagle!) so we don't really want him gaining more weight. I had thought about trying to increase the amount of normal food that she eats, but I'm wondering if its possibly a waste feeding such a large quantity of high quality food (far more than they recommend). I know there is a limit to how much of anything the body can absorb, eg if you took 30 Vitamin C tablets you'd end up peeing most of it out, and I think it could be the same for feeding far more than the recommended amount of food.

Keep the suggestions coming, has anyone else tried the Satin Balls?


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

We make homemade frozen yogurt treats and those always work for us! When she's getting a bit on the thin side, we just get a treat out and give her 1 or 2 per day and she fattens right back up.  

Here is my recipe:

http://ltlor.blogspot.com/2012/01/banana-peanut-butter-frozen-yogurt.html


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## Sguinto (Apr 11, 2012)

I used the satin balls for our very tiny pup, and it does help, but she is also on a raw diet and I give her about 8 balls a day...she loves them!!


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## David R (Apr 23, 2012)

Thanks, she seems to quite like the yoghurt based treats, and if you let them melt all over her biscuits she seems to scoff them all down. Its usually only breakfast she isn't interested in so I'm trying to feed her dinner a bit earlier and leave breakfast until later, doesn't always work with my shifts though.

I'll have a look at finding the ingrediants for the satin balls, not sure if all of it is available here in New Zealand. I've also been thinking of switching both of them to more of a meaty/raw type diet, hopefully a bit more variety will keep her interested in the food.

Here's a couple of pics from the beach the other day;


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

McDonalds chicken nuggets make mine stack on weight..........


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Very nice photos, David R ... Your dogs are lovely!!

McDonald's chicken nuggets make ME stack on weight, too!


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