# Need to gain weight!!



## Stiggly Wiggly

Hello all,
So a little while ago I posted a forum on what to feed my V because of losing weight and a gas problem. Well, I fixed it by putting Stig on Blue Buffalo, and it has significantly decreased his gas problem, but we can't get him to put on weight! He looks like skin and bones (can see his ribs, spine, and recently hip bones). He gets a lot of exercise everyday, and gets nearly 3 cups of food a day (spread across morning, lunch, and dinner). Does anyone know how to put on weight SAFELY and in a HEALTHY manner?

PS- My agility instructor told me that she has noticed that intact males lose weight around this time of year (Stig, is a 11 month old intact male). Anyone know why?


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## MilesMom

In my opinion, 3 cups of food is not much for an active intact male Vizsla (depending on his activity level). Miles (our 14 month V) eats 3-5 cups a day free fed and he exercises about 3 hrs a day. He needs more calories than bag recommendations because of his activity level. We supplement with various types of meat, sweet potato, eggs, peanut butter, and cooked vegetables. I think in the winter their body has to work harder to stay warm so they burn even more calories. 

I know many also supplement with "satin balls" which you can find the recipe with a search on the forum. We have been meaning to try them.


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## SteelCityDozer

My intact female is almost 11 months and she gets about four cups a day over two feedings. Up his food.


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## dmak

I'd consider free feeding him for a while. If he wants 6 cups a day, that maybe what he needs.


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## Ozkar

If he's skinny, feed him more. Some dogs need more than others. They all have differing metabolisms so each dog is different. Just cause the pack says this much, doesn't mean it ok for him. 

As an aside, I know lots of really skinny male V's who looked like bags of bones till they were 2. They eventually fill out.


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## GarysApollo

More food.... Dont starve the poor boy if he is to thin!


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## mswhipple

Yep, I agree... Stig just needs more food!! ;D

If he's finicky about eating, do give the "Satin Balls" recipe a try. (Use Search box in upper right of your screen). If he's not finicky, just keep increasing his food gradually until you get the results you want, and then level off. You can pretty much ignore what it says on the bag of dog food. The key is to just keep an eye on his weight and use your common sense. ;D ;D


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## hotmischief

Your dog is at an age where he is maturing and you need to up his feed like the others say.

We had the same problem with our year old intact male - all of a sudden he was looking very lean and ribby. Although it wasn't obvious he may have had another growth spurt and started to fill out. 

We feed raw and we increased his food by 100grams a meal. So he now gets 1kilo of meat a day and is looking great. Obviously, it will be a lot less with kibble but sounds like you need to increase his food quite a lot also.


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## lilyloo

Yep, more food! Ruby eats over 3 cups a day and she's a 9 month old female. She's been eating this amount since she was like 3.5 months old!


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## datacan

Get ready to stoop and scoop more also.... Unless...

I would up the kibble quality, instead... Or mix some of those yummy RBD style satin balls http://redbirddog.blogspot.ca/search?q=Satin+balls 8)


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## Stiggly Wiggly

Thanks everyone. Only problem with upping his food is he has AWFUL and consistent gas, and now has diarrhea because he's eating a lot. I talked to the vet and she said he needs more calories, but told me to simply up his food, then I talked to another professional who said dogs can't digest that much dry kibble because it sits in their stomach. But oh well, right now we're going to give him 4.5 cups a day (that's what the vet recommended) and add water for moisture with some rice to helpfully control the diarrhea...


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## hotmischief

Instead of bulking it up with indigestible rice which will probably pass right through him - bulk his food out with minced beef ( I would give raw, but you can cook it if you wish). That is quite high in fat content and should put on weight, reduce the gas and will be a lot healthier that kibble and rice.


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## Stiggly Wiggly

hotmischief said:


> Instead of bulking it up with indigestible rice which will probably pass right through him - bulk his food out with minced beef ( I would give raw, but you can cook it if you wish). That is quite high in fat content and should put on weight, reduce the gas and will be a lot healthier that kibble and rice.



That's my plan, I don't want to keep him on rice because I want him to build muscle instead of fat. I plan on incorporating meat into his diet, right now I'm slowly getting him used to eggs, and in a day or so maybe I will put some raw food in his diet!


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## jld640

Blue Buffalo gives Savannah gas, too. We are using the remainder of the bag as training treats as opposed to food.


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## Stiggly Wiggly

jld640 said:


> Blue Buffalo gives Savannah gas, too. We are using the remainder of the bag as training treats as opposed to food.


What are you feeding her then? Has it decreased the gas?


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## KB87

We put our boy on Blue Buffalo Wilderness to put him on a better quality food when he was around 8 months. Immediately after the switch we noticed he had diarrhea and gas horribly but we attributed it to having changed his food over. Eventually his his poo firmed up but two months later he continued to have terrible gas so we decided to switch him to Taste of the Wild. We immediately saw such a change in his interest in food and his gas problem. He's been on TOTW for two months now and he loves it and seems to have less stomach noise/grumbling and gas. We're so happy that we made the switch for him.

I've heard of a lot of dogs that do fine on Blue Buffalo and I've heard of a lot of dogs that have digestive troubles on it too. It all depends on your dog and you need to look at your options if you think the food is contributing to his gas/digestive issues. Any food could cause these issues so I urge you to find what's best for your specific dog.


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## Stiggly Wiggly

KB87 said:


> We put our boy on Blue Buffalo Wilderness to put him on a better quality food when he was around 8 months. Immediately after the switch we noticed he had diarrhea and gas horribly but we attributed it to having changed his food over. Eventually his his poo firmed up but two months later he continued to have terrible gas so we decided to switch him to Taste of the Wild. We immediately saw such a change in his interest in food and his gas problem. He's been on TOTW for two months now and he loves it and seems to have less stomach noise/grumbling and gas. We're so happy that we made the switch for him.
> 
> I've heard of a lot of dogs that do fine on Blue Buffalo and I've heard of a lot of dogs that have digestive troubles on it too. It all depends on your dog and you need to look at your options if you think the food is contributing to his gas/digestive issues. Any food could cause these issues so I urge you to find what's best for your specific dog.



We are, I'm looking to switch off of Blue, I can't stand the gas, and obviously that is a sign it's not working with Stigs belly... I'm going to look into a raw diet, or half-raw diet, and see what my options are. My significant other thinks I'm nut for digging this much into the "dog," but he's my little man so I'm going to find what works with him the best!


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## Rudy

Food is only part of it

and I feed the globes best 

All food must be used to the cell levels as well as clean hydration

As well as the (Gut) all living things the Keys to wellness and health

To do this you must use (Digest Enzymes), (Greens) and( Probiotics) 

this ensures all the foods are processed and lean muscle mass

as Speed is the answer with all muscles and a key in RBD as well as any human sports 

replenishing the beneficial bacteria the digestive track wiped out
due to illness stress extreme exercise or antibiotic therapy that hurts great guts not adds 

This will also fix all loose stools gas and any digestive needs ;D


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## brmort1

Check for Giardia, we kept feeding her more and more and continued to lose weight, she had Giardia.


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