# What meats to feed to help my malinois gain weight?



## AngieAttack (Nov 13, 2012)

Hi! 

I am new to the forum and have recently transitioned my 2 dogs over to raw. They love it! We've been sampling a lot of different kinds of meat but I was wondering if there is anything specific that will help my dog to gain weight. She is a very skinny Malinois that we adopted about 2.5 mos ago. She is already 24" tall and only weighs 42lb. 3% of her weight would be about 1.25 lb and I have been feeding her 1.5lb for a couple weeks, but no weight gain yet. I'm going to go up another 0.5lb and see if that helps. Mals are a pretty lean breed, but her spine and hip bones are visible and even though the vet says her weight is fine, she seems to skinny to me. Would feeding more red meat or fat help? 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!


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## SaharaNight Boxers (Jun 28, 2011)

How old is she? If she's a puppy you could be feeding up to 10% of her weight. Could you post a picture of her sideways? 

And yes, feeding more fatty meats and red meat will help.


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## zontee (Oct 12, 2012)

i would feed according to what her expected adult weight is


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## BearMurphy (Feb 29, 2012)

i feed murphy 3-3.5% of his body weight to maintain and he always looked very thin on kibble no matter how much I fed him so I think it's plausible that you would have to feed an active breed more food. murphy also lost weight when he first started raw until I starting feeding, pork, beef and beef heart.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

three suggestions, in order of recommended:

1. Beef heart (really ANY heart) It's rich muscle meat, nutrient dense, and helps a lot of dogs put on weight.
2. More red meat.
3. More fat.


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## Elliehanna (Jan 16, 2012)

I feed 4-6% to maintain on my boy, he has been gaining with mainly game meat at 6% but you have to transition over, if you just jump your going to cause more weight loss and a lot of unhappy butt problems


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

How long have you been feeding raw?


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## lab mom (May 6, 2012)

Love the Tripe! Natural digest secretions in it helps process everything better!


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## AngieAttack (Nov 13, 2012)

Thank you to everyone for the suggestions!

To answer some questions, Mischa is about 1 yr old. We're not exactly sure bc she is a rescue and her past is a mystery...but that's what we were told. Have been feeding raw for about 1 month now, so we haven't gotten into organ meats yet. I have introduced chicken heart, which she doesn't really like, but will eat if she gets hungry enough. Attached some photos so you can see how she looks, hope they work.


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## pogo (Aug 28, 2011)

she looks good to me i would keep her at her current weight! gorgeous girl!


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

I think she looks pretty good, maybe could gain a pound or two, but not much. Have you tried pork ribs yet? some beef heart will work well also, just intro it very slowly since it's very rich. Red meats will generally help gain weight.

Coconut oil also will help. gain, in small amounts.


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## AngieAttack (Nov 13, 2012)

naturalfeddogs said:


> Coconut oil also will help. gain, in small amounts.


How do you incorporate coconut oil? and do your dogs like it?


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

I have just started mine on it, and they would eat the whole jar if I let them. We have tile floors, so I just put a tablespoon size glob on the floor. Like any other oil, it will cause the runs if too much is given. That, in combination with red meat like pork ribs or heart can do wonders. 

Just remember, small amounts until fully adjusted.


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## jenv101 (Oct 13, 2010)

My Mals got very skinny when I transitioned to raw as well, just due to starting on chicken for a few weeks. Once you slowly add in pork and beef, and they get used to that, you can increase the amount of red meat they get, and they should look better in no time! Beef heart is great for putting on weight.


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