# you know that feeling when you find out your stupid



## Elliehanna (Jan 16, 2012)

I had that today...I feel like such a fail owner and idiot. I am so thankful to Kady for helping me out, at least now I know the why behind my boy's weight (or at least a lead since everything is normal) 

I know he has gained a little weight since his weight issue began but not what I have wanted, I want 5 more pounds at least of FAT on him and whatever muscle he gets is not included in that...

I have been feeding him about 4% of 60 lbs (he is 58 lbs as of last doc check up where I was told he is fine, all tests are fine, he thought his weight was fine...too skinny for me but my vet would rather see him a little thin than diabetic..anyhow) 

I think his goal weight and have thought this since I started raw is 65 or so lbs...do you see my problem...

I HAVE BEEN FEEDING HIM ALL WRONG! I am such an idiot. BUT today I got that shock and boy he got 3.5 lbs of meat, I am going to keep him on 3-3.5 minimum now until I start seeing drastic changes.

I have had some hard times in the past month and I know Goren has suffered (been on mainly leg quarters and pork because that was what I had) my hubby lost his job so the only income was gone and we were surviving, this week he got his 1st work (not payed till next week) in a month, so things are looking up, I just got a about 100 lb or so deer score (still good for humans too so I made some deer chili today ) so I have high qualty meat for Goren.

I am going to look into finding some lard or something that I can feed with raw to add fat, I am planning on going on Monday to see if I can get some beef or pork fat from the butcher (he charges a lot like 1.30-2.00 a lb the a-holes) but it would help I think

anything else you all can think of that is not to costly I would love to know, he gets 1 meal a day, I don't know if splitting his meal into 2 would help him gain weight or not (he has been on a 1 meal diet since 4 months when he wouldn't eat all his kibble in 2 sittings)

here are a few photos, they do look worse than he actually is though but I want to show my shame of my idiocy


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

I know dudeandbucksmama had difficulty keeping weight on her Bluetick. She feeds him mostly beef heart and pork fat and he holds it pretty well.


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## bully4life (Aug 9, 2010)

I hate even mentioning this store ( walm*rt) , but they sell bags of chicken quarters for .70 a pound. That might help out the budget ? Also, if your feeding 3+ pounds a day, split that up into 2 meals. One meal that big takes a big toll on the digestive system which might turn into the squirts.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

I think the deer will help, but beef heart is a life saver. Honestly he looks thin to me but his muscle tone is fantastic. I bet he would look perfect at 63lbs maybe even 62..

What do you mean you've been feeding him all wrong? He's been getting 3lbs+ for sometime now? or are you just starting...


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

Just be careful about adding too much fat. Too much fat can lead to other issues like Pancreatitis. Just make sure you are adding the right "types" of fat. Try adding fattier types of meats like lamb, pork, dark chicken/turkey meat. Even egg yolks may be a good addition to the diet. It is not recommended to add vegetable oils; but instead use salmon or fish oil. Olive oil is not bad if used in moderation.


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## twotonelover (Jan 10, 2011)

Like Lauren said, he doesn't look that bad! Just up his red meat (whatever you can afford) and fattier cuts, maybe add some fish oil and eggs, and he will look great  I would split between two meals at first, then slowly increase the size of one meal more and more until your feeding once a day again.


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## Elliehanna (Jan 16, 2012)

thanks so much, I will start him on 2 meals a day now, he will enjoy it I am sure. I do get my chicken at walmart (don't even have a pultry butcher here) I wish I could find beef heart cheap (2.99 a pound at the butcher) BUT I might add ground beef to his diet (I never feed ground accept for this deer I have now since most of it is ground) but with my husbands 1st ro 2nd paycheck I am planning on talking to IGA and see what a bulk order of beef hearts would cost (I hear you can order anything in bulk there)

I hope I don't have to add to much weight to him, I was feeding him 2.5 or so pounds because I was doing his current weight of 58 and probably feeding a little less than 2.5, that is where I screwed up so bad

I have fish oil capsules I give him sometimes, should I just up those from 2-4 and give them daily?


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

I'd be careful with overdoing the fat. You don't want stool or pancreas issues. 
We had one Hell of a time putting weight on our Boxer, but beef heart has been what worked for us. Her diet is largely beef heart, and mostly red meat, though she does get turkey neck sometimes for bone.


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## Elliehanna (Jan 16, 2012)

ok, I will have to try to figure out how I can get beef heart for cheaper, what about pork heart? is it also pretty rich, I know I have fed it before, its 1.99 a lb at the butcher


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

Pork heart is good too. Not as good as beef heart but still good, I have been able to find beef heart for $1.87/lb but I still have to buy a lot (like 60+ lbs).

I wouldn't jump up to quickly in lbs. You maybe able to add a 1/2lb at a time (I can with Avery) but some dogs can be sensitive to that so just watch his poos as you add...


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

check out meat wholesalers.


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## Elliehanna (Jan 16, 2012)

ok, yea when I start adding (I have never done a full meal of heart, about half a pound when I fed it with some chicken) I will add it slowly

where would I find some wholesalers, I have looked online before but not found anything or understood what I have found


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## losul (Oct 13, 2012)

I don't know the specifics, that is age, health, if he used to be heavier etc. Are you sure he doesn't have tapeworms? Is his diet really balanced? Yeah, to me he looks a bit lean, I can see his backbone and ribs. I'm not all that knowledgeable on raw feeding, but 3.5 lbs/day "seems" like an extraordinary amount to feed a 58 lb adult dog on a regular basis, unless he is a super active working dog. Sorry, but I have to agree with your vet that a lean, but healthy dog is better than an overeating, overweight, diabetic, arthritic, diseased, one. And later on in his life, that may be what you will end up fighting.

If your dog is otherwise healthy and nourished, at some point you just might have to set your vanity aside, give the dog's health preference, and accept that your dog might not be genetically disposed to ever look the way you so desire. That's just my opinion, and excuse me, but for some reason I felt a strong urge to verbalize it.


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## bubba121605 (Jul 17, 2012)

If your trying to put weight on him try Satin balls they work good for weight gain. There are some recipes on this sight for them.


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## Elliehanna (Jan 16, 2012)

he got wormed for tapes about 6 months ago, its possible I guess. he went through this face where he was bit, I wouldn't say overweight but maybe 75 lbs (it was right when he was a year old) then he lost the puppy and has been lean ever since, I don't want to have him fat or even really cover his ribs, I just want him to have a bit more meat on him (I don't think no matter how much I give him that he will have his spine covered, after he got down to about 70 his spine showed and the vet doesn't think it will be covered and him be at all healthy) but I would like him to have a bit more weight on his hips than he currently does. 

I am estimating his ideal weight between 65 and 70 lbs and that is at 4% about 2.5 lbs and since he has started getting more active with the nice weather and that he is an outside dog to boot I am feeding him even more, I don't expect to have to feed 3.5 for too long but long enough to build him back up to where he should be. Today's walk was the 1st time in about a year that anyone has said he was skinny, and 2 different groups said so, I don't mind them saying so since most people don't know what a healthy dog looks like but when I am dealing with him being skinny to me it hits me kinda hard.

I have tried satin balls, they didn't help, he actually lost weight when I did them, I think it was the grain (oatmeal and the wheat)


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

I don't believe there is any "right" amount of food for any dog. Just like humans dogs have varying metabolisms. Corgipaws has a boxer that eats like 6lbs per day (I think that's the amount) and one of our old members had a large Doberman (like 100 lbs) that could only eat a lb a day or he'd put weight on.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Caty feeds her little IG a whole lb. I think she only weighs like 10 lbs so thats 10% of her weight every day! Lol


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

Shelby weighs about 9-10 lbs and she gets just over a a half pound a day. She stays super slim due to the 1-2 hrs of ball we play every night!! I figure since she's maintained this weight for the last year, this is probably ideal for her.


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## losul (Oct 13, 2012)

lauren43 said:


> I don't believe there is any "right" amount of food for any dog. Just like humans dogs have varying metabolisms. Corgipaws has a boxer that eats like 6lbs per day (I think that's the amount) and one of our old members had a large Doberman (like 100 lbs) that could only eat a lb a day or he'd put weight on.


Sure, I can understand the differences in rates of metabolism, and especially in sedentary vs weight pulling or other hard working. But, I know of no humans that have that kind of difference (like 1000%) and didn't realize dogs dig either. Are you sure that those feeding like 10% of their body weight aren't having a day or two of fasting following a gorge day?


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Im with the others...there is no set weight needed. I have 3 that are crazy above their "suggested" 2-3%(thank the GAWZ 2 of them eat their suggested 2-3%!ROFL)

My Dixi is 4 years old, and weighs 8.5 pounds. She gets between 10 and 14 oz a day(never more then 2 days in a row of 10oz because she starts looking too lean) that is, on average weekly, about 10% of her body weight!! :wacko:
I dont know how old he is, but then I also have 2 teenagers(Rhett is 20 months old and Keeva 11 months) who eat 8-10% of their projected weights because of growing and burning it all off (Ill admit I can NOT wait till they are older!ROFL)

And as far as what we feed....we feed mostly hearts for our red meats and boneless. Pork and turkey hearts are huge here, then we feed chicken leg quarters, turkey gizzards and lamb lung as well(along with the random other cuts that we get for free/on sale and of course organs!:wink


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

losul said:


> Sure, I can understand the differences in rates of metabolism, and especially in sedentary vs weight pulling or other hard working. But, I know of no humans that have that kind of difference (like 1000%) and didn't realize dogs dig either. Are you sure that those feeding like 10% of their body weight aren't having a day or two of fasting following a gorge day?


Oh sure, metabolisms vary hugely in people AND pets. I've got a 55lb boxer that eats 5-6lbs per day, which is an average of 10% her weight, and she is SO NOT chunky. She is a Boxer, so she's spunky and kind of high energy at times, but she's not a working or sporting dog by any means. A mile or two every day, and playtime in the back yard is really the extent of her activity. She's in perfect health.









On the flip side, my 135lb Great Dane eats just under 4lbs per day, which is less than 3% of his weight. He too is in perfect health, and at a healthy body condition.


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## losul (Oct 13, 2012)

CorgiPaws said:


> Oh sure, metabolisms vary hugely in people AND pets. I've got a 55lb boxer that eats 5-6lbs per day, which is an average of 10% her weight, and she is SO NOT chunky. She is a Boxer, so she's spunky and kind of high energy at times, but she's not a working or sporting dog by any means. A mile or two every day, and playtime in the back yard is really the extent of her activity. She's in perfect health.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


So are you telling me that the boxer actually eats 1X her own body weight every 10 days and 3X (165 lbs) a month of meat, bones and organs? 5.5 lbs average every 24 hour day and no days of fasting? 

Wow, I'd like to see any human accomplish that feat with any kind of food, unless maybe it's a sumo wrestler lol.

I have little doubt that my dog could eat 10% at one meal, but every day, no way.

She does look very well proportioned and toned.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

losul said:


> So are you telling me that the boxer actually eats 1X her own body weight every 10 days and 3X (165 lbs) a month of meat, bones and organs? 5.5 lbs average every 24 hour day and no days of fasting?
> 
> Wow, I'd like to see any human accomplish that feat with any kind of food, unless maybe it's a sumo wrestler lol.
> 
> ...


Yes. That's what I'm saying. We don't necessarily feed the same amount daily as I like to give so many different cuts but on average, 5-6 lbs a day is her intake, day after day, week after week, and has done for over two years. (She is 3 and it took a while to figure out what works for her) she's solid muscle.


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## losul (Oct 13, 2012)

you should disguise her as human, and take her here, hehe.

Big Texan Free 72oz steak

supposedly, the record time was for a Siberian Tiger - 90 seconds. Human record about 9 minutes.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

losul said:


> you should disguise her as human, and take her here, hehe.
> 
> Big Texan Free 72oz steak
> 
> supposedly, the record time was for a Siberian Tiger - 90 seconds. Human record about 9 minutes.


Oh no, this little lady takes an hour or more to eat most nights. She's not a gulper or scarfer.


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## Elliehanna (Jan 16, 2012)

it has only been 3 or so days since I upped his food BUT look at this muscle tone he has now! and his energy is even higher, I don't think he will need much more for winter but I am so happy it is such an easy fix compared to the bad things it could have been!










































so happy!


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## Felix (Oct 9, 2012)

Wow, great turn around. He looks amazing!


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## Elliehanna (Jan 16, 2012)

thank you, I just feel bad for him that his mommy had such a moment (his dad too) that I was only feeding him like 3% of his current weight not even the weight that I wanted him at and it was making him not gain anything. I will probably put a bit more on him still for winter (since he is an outside dog and it feels like it might just be a cold winter this year) but I think his current weight would be great for summer


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