Supplement for weigh gain?

[gypsy]

4 year old GSP ran 16 miles hunting this morning in less than 2 hours and found two sharp tail and a covey of huns to the gun.

The girl looks like a bag of bones.

I feed her four and a half cups of PPP 30/20 every day at 4:30 pm.

What can I use as a supplemenmt!

Liver, cheeze, donuts?

thanks

[deseeker]

Google on your search engine--- Satin Ball receipt for dogs
I used to use these as a pick me up for dogs when I went on long hunting trips--I'd freeze them and give a couple of thawed out ones after their evening meal--I don't like to give my dogs food or treats before or during the hunt, only AFTER their daily hunt.

[gypsy]

Thanks

Satin Ball recipe was easy to find.

Best part "No Cooking"

What type of oil should I get olive, flax??

[RayGubernat]

When I ran my first dog for several days in a row, no matter how much he ate, he would get down to bones. I started giving him a 1/4 lb. of pure beef fat, chopped up, in with his kibble, during the run up to the season when I was working him hard every day. i would continue to give him the fat, in addition to his normal ration during the hunting season. He would thin out, but never so much that he was visibly bony, and he always had plenty of gas in the tank the next morning. We hunted all day, four days a week, sometimes five, for a month and a half. he never quit, never slowed down.

I didn't know about satin balls then or I would have used them.

I think one of the keys is to start supplementing before you get into the grind of the season, so you don't tear the dog down, and if I remember correctly, getting the dog on a high fat diet during conditioning allows the dog's metabolism to switch over to using fat as a direct energy source during stressful exercise. I get that in your case, that ship has sailed, but the sooner you bump up the fat content in your dog's diet, the sooner she will recover. In the short run, straight corn oil, a couple tablespoonfuls on her kibble, or a small hunk of leaf lard will do.

It is my understanding that a conditioned dog can thrive, actually thrive, on a diet that is 50% fat. That would lay a human being out, but not a dog.

RayG

[gypsy]

Made Satin Balls using 5 pounds of ground beef. 12 Balls per quart freezer bag. Used a plastic bucket to mix up in.

For my supper I made Sharp Tail, pheasant and hun alfredo, served over egg noodles al denta

[Garrison]

Firstly, do you have a picture of the dog in question? This question has come up numerous times, and the dog ends up being in perfect shape. It usually takes more activity than our schedules can provide for a dog to need more than just a bit more of a good kibble, especially a 4 year old in warm weather. I want to see plenty of lean muscle, and a bit of rib on my dogs.

If the dog is truly too thin, the first thing I would do is make sure she is clear of worms. During season when we are working hard or doing a lot of roading, I up the kibble a bit and throw an egg yolk on top. Lots of highly digestible vitamins and fat that gives them a nice shine. Also doesn’t affect yard clean up much, if at all.

Garrison

[slistoe]

I would concur with Garrison - many times a dog is peak working condition is described as being "too thin".

[mm]

I have and old dog 15 years old. I cant keep weight on her she is skin and bones. She was always in good shape she is a FC and AFC plus hunted a lot. She is retired now and does not get much activity she has a little trouble getting around. She eats prescription food the vet prescribed and I have increased the amount she gets plus she gets treats but she does not gain weight. Any suggestions for and old dog?

[gypsy]

I bit of rib?

I can count 5 and see some back bone. The back bone started me worrying.

[Garrison]

I bit of rib?

I can count 5 and see some back bone. The back bone started me worrying.

Pictures?

[Steve007]

Most dogs metabolize food better if fed twice a day and there is also good evidence that it reduces the likelihood of bloat (gastric torsion) though not all breeds are prone to it. Of course, you have to balance that feeding schedule if you're going hunting early in the morning. I note no reference to the fact that you have had your dog checked for parasites, but if you haven't done so recently, it is worth doing.

[cjhills]

One fact of life is that if you run your dog for long periods on multiple days they will lose weight. Dogs do not metabolize their food fast enough to maintain their weight without rest periods. On a trip like you are on your dogs will need several days off to recuperate. They will not be able to run every day.
After a five day South Dakota trip my dogs sleep for two days, only get up to go to the bathroom.
They do not need to carry a lot of weight, but they do need rest.
As the weather gets colder you will need to make sure they maintain temperature to avoid hypothermia. Make sure the get enough water. Cold weather hunting is as tough on dogs as hot weather.........Cj

[Dakotazeb]

As the weather gets colder you will need to make sure they maintain temperature to avoid hypothermia. Make sure the get enough water. Cold weather hunting is as tough on dogs as hot weather.........Cj

Good advice! I've had my dog get hypothermia on a couple of occasions. It has happened with snow on the ground and cold. Now on those type of days I feed a little early morning before the hunt and maybe a little snack during the hunt. I carry either honey or Karo syrup to give the dog if I see any signs of hypothermia. If your dog does get hypothermic get it out of the field and warm it up. He/she is done for the day.

[Garrison]

For reference, here is a picture of my dog in hunting shape. In my opinion, at this stage of the season he is in ideal shape. Plenty of muscle and some rib.

IMG_3919.jpeg

After looking at the 2023 running order for the National Championship at Ames, there were five Touch’s dogs in competition. Touch’s is Keith Wrights prefix for his litters. This is the dog (Ch. Touch’s Grey Street) that occupies his profile page on FB. Both are males, so will naturally have more muscle mass than a female, but the body condition mid season is around ideal in my book. What do you all think?

IMG_3918.jpeg

Garrison

[cjhills]

They look very good.
When I could hunt long hours for multiple days mine would get much thinner than that. mostly because they get too tired and can't eat enough to keep their weight up. They need time off to rest and recuperate. Coconut oil will help. But nothing replaces rest.
In a normal dog world they sleep 15 or more hours a day. Very Skinny dogs are generally pretty healthy But as I said before they have real hard time in the cold. When I did two week hunts in Montana it took a good sized pack to have enough dog power.

The OP's dogs Probably get pretty good rest during drive time, But two dogs is a little short for a hunt of that length ........Cj

[gypsy]

Well last night she ate a raw Akaushi steak off the counter when I wasn't looking

Thanks for all the advice.

[gypsy]

Thought I would make a report on the affects of the Satin Balls.

It has been about 10 days since I made up a batch of Satin Balls.

I have been feeding the same amount of kibble, plus 3 Satin Balls per day

I believe it has made a big difference. She is not a boney and she coat is very shinny.

Thanks for the suggestion.

[Sharon]

That's good news and thanks for getting back to us. Many people ask for advice , but never let us know how it went. Thanks.

[gypsy]

That's good news and thanks for getting back to us. Many people ask for advice , but never let us know how it went. Thanks.

You bet.

I also often wonder, "what happened to that dog?"

[Mosby]

Another option to either supplements or satin balls would be to go with a higher calorie and fat dog food. Inukshuk 30/25 has 587 kcal per cup and is a very dense dog food. I switched my GSP and Vizsla off of the PPP Salmon & Rice 30/20 over to it. They have a map of re-sellers on their website. I found a couple of sources for around $50 a bag fwiw.

[jmez]

The 32/32 is 720kcal per cup. Great food.

Sent from my moto g power 5G - 2023 using Tapatalk

[Mosby]

The 32/32 is 720kcal per cup. Great food.

Sent from my moto g power 5G - 2023 using Tapatalk

I tried a few bags of the 32/32 and found it to be a little to hot on its own for my dogs. I was probably over feeding it. I ended up blending it with leftover PPP to use it up. I can feed the 30/25 with no loose stools or stomach issues and my dogs like it. Some go to the 26/16 off season but I am going to leave them on the 30/25 and just cut back on the quantity and not go back and forth.

[slistoe]

The 32/32 is 720kcal per cup. Great food.

Sent from my moto g power 5G - 2023 using Tapatalk

I tried a few bags of the 32/32 and found it to be a little to hot on its own for my dogs. I was probably over feeding it. I ended up blending it with leftover PPP to use it up. I can feed the 30/25 with no loose stools or stomach issues and my dogs like it. Some go to the 26/16 off season but I am going to leave them on the 30/25 and just cut back on the quantity and not go back and forth.

Not even the mushers that this food was developed for will feed the high fat food year round - and they always have a transition period to ease the dogs into the diet so that their system can adjust well before the high activity working season.

[Mosby]

The 32/32 is 720kcal per cup. Great food.

Sent from my moto g power 5G - 2023 using Tapatalk

I tried a few bags of the 32/32 and found it to be a little to hot on its own for my dogs. I was probably over feeding it. I ended up blending it with leftover PPP to use it up. I can feed the 30/25 with no loose stools or stomach issues and my dogs like it. Some go to the 26/16 off season but I am going to leave them on the 30/25 and just cut back on the quantity and not go back and forth.

Not even the mushers that this food was developed for will feed the high fat food year round - and they always have a transition period to ease the dogs into the diet so that their system can adjust well before the high activity working season.

I would probably agree on the 32/32 if I was feeding it but I'm not and what I am giving my dogs wouldn't begin to compare to what mushers are feeding theirs in terms of amount or calories. I started blending the PPP with the Inushuk 30/25 a couple months ago and gradually increased the amount of Inukhuk by 25% at a time before moving them 100% to the Inukshuk. I think the primary concern with higher fat food is a dog putting on weight and that is something I will watch but neither of my young dogs are big eaters or over weight IMO. My small GSP eats 2 hefty cups a day and my 60 lb Vizsla eats a hefty 3. I will try to increase that a bit when we go up to Iowa and SD in the cold weather but it won't be a lot more. I didn't have a problem feeding the PPP 30/20 year round at 527 calories per cup and going to 587 calories isn't that big of a leap IMO and they look good on it.

When I got my pups I found a nutritionist at Purina recommended feeding the PPP 30/20 or similar high protein/fat food year round, so that is what I have done and I've been happy with the results.

"Purina Research Nutritionist Brian Zanghi, PhD, explains, 'Switching to a maintenance diet in the off-season is like metabolically detraining your dog. ' Rather, Zanghi advises feeding a high-protein/high-fat performance dog food year-round, such as Purina Pro Plan SPORT Performance 30/20". YMMV