Under weight dog

[bhairhoger]

I need some help. I just rescued an extremely underweight dog. She is two years old out of some pretty good lines but she only weights around 30 pounds. I would guess that she should be around 55 - 60 lb. right now. I put a collar on her that my other dog grew out of around 6 months. You can see all her ribs, backbone, hips, and shoulders. I mixed some boiled burger, rice, and bread and fed her 1 cup an hour ago. I limiting her water because I don't want her to bloat.

My current plan was to give her a little water every hour and feed her a little 3 times a day until I see her gaining some weight. I am also worry about giving her any worming meds because she is so underweight. I am going to get her to my vet on Monday so any info I can get until then would be great!

[Fester]

You are looking for fast results with the boiled burger if you put the dog on proper nutrition and vet care it will size up in time and be healthy, don't expect overnight results butI can tell already you are the best thing that has ever happened to this dog
Fester

[Cajun Casey]

Panacur should be safe to use as a parasite treatment. It's frequently used for debilitated reptiles. I'd just keep her on small feedings of a moderate calorie food until she shows some recovery.

[ezzy333]

A thin dog does not need to be fed every few hours or have her water restricted. Twice a day feeding will work fine, start her with a limited amount and each day increase her feed SLIGHTLY, like a tablespoon or so as long as the stool stays firm. Worming should be done but I would wait for a week before doing it. There is no need for rapid recovery and it isn't even advised. Let her come back slowly and naturally and she will be a whole lot healthier.

Ezzy

[volraider]

Spaghetti noodles will really put the weight on her. Feed her a cup of food in the morning and a half of box of noodles around lunch, then another cup of food at night. I rescued a setter one time that was starving to death and that's the way I got him back to normal.

[bhairhoger]

Here are some pics of the dog.

[Ghosted3]

Really breaks my heart to see dogs look like that. Glad it has someone like you to look over it now.

Corry

[ezzy333]

Here are some pics of the dog.

The dog is thin but not severely from what I can see. Her eyes look bright and very alert. I stick by what I advised in the earlier post. Trying to change the feeding pattern quickly will cause more stress so let the whole digestive system adapt to a change slowly and she will be good in a few weeks.

Ezzy

[Sniper John]

Worming meds won't hurt now and it might help if that has contributed to the weight loss to begin with. I would look at the labels on dog food and try to find a high protein, high fat dry food in the brand your currently feeding. Add some canned food to the dry food if you need to entice to eat more. If there has been a nutrition problem, a dog multi vitamin might be a good thing to give now as well.

[Sniper John]

BTW, that's going to be one really nice looking dog once she fills in.

[cjhills]

Have A fecal sample done. Don't pump her full of stuff she don't need. Probably thin because she didn't get enough to eat. Maybe worms, maybe not. Don't feed performance dog food. Go with about 26 protien and 20 fat. To much protien burns fat. She looks like she will be fine with food. Like Ezzy says start slow and increase a little at a time. Remember thin don't mean unhealthy and fat don't mean healthy. Don't go the other way and get her overweight.
By the way her ears look she looks like she might have been running alot. That could account for her lack of weight. Her hair looks great in the photo. Cj

[dog dr]

I agree with the others, she really doesnt look that bad in the pics, maybe in person is worse. but hair and eyes look good. de-wormimg wont hurt. use panacur or safegard like casey said. that drug doesnt even get absorbed to any appreciable degree, just kills worms in the gut. regular feeding of good quality food, and some TLC. good luck, and a pat on the back for giving this dog a good home!

Oh, and a heartworm/lyme/erlichia test would be a good idea as well.

[SCT]

All good advice, only thing I would ad is don't over feed her and cause diarrhea. A little tomato juice will help with that and it is good for their gut.

[Vonzeppelinkennels]

10 to 15 lbs is a lot of weight on a dog & I think you will be surprised that it won't take as much weight gain as you think to have this dog back at a healthy weight & condition.
Like Ezzy said twice a day & this dog will come around pretty quick unless it has some other underlying condition.

[RayGubernat]

I don't like the hip bones sticking out, but I can't see ribs in the pic, so the dog might not be as underweight as you might suspect. It also looks rather finer boned than some, and such dogs typically do not(or shouldn't) carry all that much weight.

A lot of folks think dogs should be far heavier than they really should be for optimal health. a little on the thin side is better for the dog than the other way, actually.

I once had a dog that had ear edges that looked like that. It was some kind of fungus that took a while to clean up with a topical fungicide, but it was no big deal medically. The vet will let you know, I am sure, but it is probably nothing to be concerned about.

Looks like a real sweetheart. Have fun with her.

RayG

[Steve007]

Mentally-stable rescue dogs or even longtime kennel dogs brought into the house seem to be very appreciative. If you keep this dog, she's liable to be a very good friend.

[slistoe]

Maybe the picture doesn't do it justice, but there is no way that dog needs 15 lbs of weight put on.
Don't do anything drastic.

[SCT]

Maybe the picture doesn't do it justice, but there is no way that dog needs 15 lbs of weight put on.
Don't do anything drastic.

True, 5 lbs will show a big difference and will probably fill in the areas needing flesh.

[bhairhoger]

Sorry guys the pictures do not do any justice! You can see every vertebrae in her back, hip bones, shoulders, and she has no muscle mass. I also went back yesterday and picked up the male because my dad is keeping him. He was in much better shape body wise. He is the one that could use another 5lb. His back legs are also stained from laying in its own waste. I am just glad I was able to get the dogs out of the house and into better conditions.

She is doing much better after just two days. Her energy has picked up and even starting to run. I had her out today working with her new name and "come" and she is doing great.

[Vonzeppelinkennels]

I think if you blieve that dog should weigh 60 LBs to be in good weight you must like big thick dogs.My biggest female Wendy only weighs between 51 & 52 LBs & as big a female I want to own.
Most of my females are 40 to 50 lbs & males only 5 to 10 lbs heavier but if I left it to my wife they all would be over weight & 5 or more lbs heavier!! :roll:

[SCT]

Doesn't matter really how much she weighs when she's healthy. The important thing is you've given them a great home and I applaud your efforts.

Steve

[Vonzeppelinkennels]

I agree taking a dog in that has been mistreated &giving it a good home is very commendable.Making a dog fat can be just as crewl as starving one & there probably more over weight
Dogs in this country then starving ones.
Good Luck with both the dogs & I think you will find it won't take as much weight as you thought.I know about seeing all the bones & how hard that is to understand how anyone
could do that to man's best friend but don't go overboard in the other diection.That is the only point I was trying to make.

[ultracarry]

An 83 - 100% increase in weight should not happen with that dog, unless you want an obese house hound. If you increase its weight by 20% it should fill out and you should always be able to see ribs and back bone. Fast weight is fat weight.

Some GSP's physically will not build the muscle you are thinking about is missing, they also will not put on weight no matter what you think you can do about it, the stains could also be from a dog who loves to dig and lay in the dirt constantly. Have you ever seen an old farmers hands?

[wems2371]

I hope you keep us updated with the before and after photos. It's always amazing how a dog can blossom in the right hands.

If she does weigh around 30lbs as you mentioned, I don't doubt that she could maybe use 10+ lbs. You know her lineage, her height, her bone structure, and have laid your hands on her. While you may have never dealt with an under weight dog before, I'm guessing you have an idea what she should look like. Photos can be deceiving, but it's easy to see she's very skinny, with protruding vertebrae, hips, and pelvis points showing. I know with photos I take of my own dogs, ticking disguises a lot. I took one the other day of one of mine that's been hunting hard, and you could count every rib in her liver patch, but couldn't see a thing where the ticking was. At any rate, good luck and thank you for your endeavors with these 2. Keep us posted.

[hi-tailyn]

Is she by chance a very active dog?

I have had a couple dogs that chased squirrels around the yard for 8 hrs a day.

They could not keep weight on their bones. I wormed, fed special diet, fed twice a day, etc.

Once I restricted their activity, they quickly put on weight over a couple of weeks.

Only let them out of kennels at dawn and dusk, after the birds and squirrels were gone.

Good luck with your little girl.

[bhairhoger]

She was not active at all when I got her home. The first night she walked slow around the yard and would lay down in the house. After feeding her for a couple days her energy level has picked up and but she still hasn't ran much faster than a trot. When I took her for a walk last night she was pulling on the leash so there is improvement.

Thanks everyone for the advise on worming. I wormed her on Sat and she no longer has diarrhea so there has been much progress in a short amount of time.