If you've made dog food ...

[PollyOR]

my hat is off to you!  Phew!  Not sure I can keep this up.  

 

Our dog is 14 and has lost quite a bit of weight in the past 18 months.  Poor thing is so skinny!  DH took her to the vet.  According to him they didn't find anything wrong.  I think I've posted before about her digestive problems at night (loose stools only during the middle of the night).  Plus, she is having a hard time getting around.  It looks like she has arthritis in her hips.  

 

I was gone for six weeks and when I came home I was shocked to see her.  I decided to try making food for her myself.  I have no idea what I'm doing and could use some pointers.  So far I've been cooking carrots, celery, and kale then mixing it with rice and raw lamb from the pet food store.  I also add a probiotic to the mix.  She loves it!  She seems to be digesting it without any problems.

 

Any suggestions on how to help her gain weight?

[rebot]

I don't have many suggestions, but have you considered feeding raw?  Our dog is sickly.  He always has been.  We got him from a market in China, and he has always had problems.  Excessive licking, extremely thin hair, random scabs, lethargic, etc...  A few months ago, we switched him to a completely raw diet.  Since then every single issue has cleared up except the licking, which has gotten better.  

 

We are currently using a pre-mixed which is expensive.  I'm just starting to research how to mix the proper proportions to mix it up myself.

 

 

[Hen]

I make food for our dog, who is allegic to rice, and I think maybe eggs.  I do it in the crockpot,

 

I'll have to look for the original recipe that the vet gave me, which included sweet potatoes, lentils, tofu, bone meal, vitamin B's and canola oil.

 

I later found a dry food that does not have rice and feed that to her as her main food, I still cook food for her to add to her dry food, I don't worry about the vitamins or bone meal now, since the homemade food is only a supplement now, but what I make for her now looks like this:

 

several big yams (orange kind- sometimes called sweet potatoes) skinned and cut up small, put them into a crock pot, cook for a few hours till tender.  when done, add in cooked breakfast sausage or cooked chicken and a little bit of oil from the sausage or maybe some bacon grease (just a little).  after it cools I scoop it with a 1/3 measure cup onto a baking sheet and freeze, then stick the frozen cups into ziplock bags in freezer.  I warm them up as I use them and mix them with her dry dog food. 

 

I'll try to find the official recipe and post it later.

 

making her some food saves us money, because the only canned foods she can eat are expensive.

 

[Pawz4me]

Your "recipe" isn't anywhere near being balanced nutritionally.  When home-cooking for a younger dog at a minimum you need to add a calcium supplement to balance out the phosphorous that's in meat proteins and many other ingredients routinely used in home-made dog food.  And a good vitamin/mineral supplement is usually recommended.  For a 14-yo dog you don't need to worry about balancing things nutritionally, since it takes several years for deficiencies to develop.  But I thought I'd throw that out for anyone with a younger dog who is considering home-prepared food.

 

There is no need to buy lamb from the pet store.  Pick up whatever meat protein is on sale at a local grocery store or butcher, as long as you know she can tolerate it.  I'd avoid pork.  But hamburger, turkey, chicken and fish (canned or fresh w/o bones) are all good.  Eggs are a fabulous protein source.  Ideally you'd mix in just a tiny bit of organ meat.  Again, that helps with nutritional balance.  You add just a tiny bit, an amount equal to maybe 5 percent of the total protein.  Things like chicken livers and beef hearts are pretty easy to find in most stores.  I'd consider adding in some fish oil if she can tolerate the fat.  It will supply calories and, in a high enough "dose," can help with the arthritis.

 

I wouldn't start a 14-yo dog with known stomach issues on raw.  IMO that's just asking for more trouble.

 

Most people I know who have tried to get older dogs to gain weight do so by adding grains to their diet.  Oatmeal is great, since it's usually easy to digest.  I'd use old-fashioned or steel cut oats and cook them very, very well.

 

Is she on a glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM supplement?  A daily pain reliever?  Getting control of her arthritis pain may very well help with appetite.  There are risks with NSAIDS that have to be considered, but IMO for a 14-yo old dog the benefits highly outweigh the risks.

[Guest]

I haven't made it but my dh and oldest brother call canned corned beef hash Human Dog Food!! Which is sad because the kids and I really like it. WOOF!!! {oh, and I am NOT a dog person.}

[PollyOR]

Thanks so much for the replies!  I felt so sorry for her when I came back home that I didn't take the time to research the topic and just jumped right in.  Thanks for sharing your expertise with me.  :)