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What RAW food source helps with weight gain ?

Add a little more organ meat & fat, and some stachy veggies like Sweet Potatoe, Avacado & Plaintains. Lover the % of lean meat. I don't like to judge the dog by the scale wt. I prefer to judge by how it looks and preforms. Better fo be a bit lean than heavy.
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    • I have a question regarding weight gain while on a RAW diet. After many months of saying I would make the switch I started Juno on a RAW diet a little over two weeks ago and she is enjoying it very much. I started on chicken with liver and heart as I had given her some before and knew she would eat it no problem, also most sites I was on suggest chicken as a good introductory food. She has also had lamb and fish. She loved the fish ! I weighed her before I began the diet and she was 45.3kgs. (approx - 100 lbs) I do not think she has gained much weight since I started and I think she looks a little under weight (must weigh her this week) I have increased the amount of food per day but was wondering is there a good food source that will help her gain weight? p.s. she is just coming to the end of her first season, would this have an effect on her weight ?
      • Normally when you first switch to raw you will see a bit of a weight loss. The needless fat that the kibble gave will slowly be depleated from the dog. What you will see is just plain muscle, skin and bones-As is should be! What you can add to the raw diet to give extra carbs is potato's-sweet or reg's. Oatmeal and/or brown rice is also a good source.
        • btw-What is the percentage of meat you are using for your dog? For example I feed mine 2% of the dogs body weight of meat.
          • started with 2% for 1 week but now 3%.
            • How old is the dog? What breed is it? Also how much exercise does this dog get?
              • Also besides meat what are you feeding?
                • Add a little more organ meat & fat, and some stachy veggies like Sweet Potatoe, Avacado & Plaintains. Lover the % of lean meat. I don't like to judge the dog by the scale wt. I prefer to judge by how it looks and preforms. Better fo be a bit lean than heavy.
                  • ground beef (not lean) is great ... the fattier the food, the more weight your dog will gain .. but what everyone else has said is totally true ... is your dog actually looking skinny? can you easily make out ribs, spine and hips? on a healthy-weighted dog, you should be able to put your hands on the dogs ribs, and with gentle or little pressure, feel your dogs ribs ... for most breeds (not like saluki's and greyhounds and other sighthounds) you should not be able to clearly make out the hip points, ribs, and spine ... congrats on switching to raw!!! my dogs are SOOO much happier and healthier!
                    • After thought - You'll need to increase the dogs exercise too or your dog will just get fat. Remember the 3rd side of the Triangle is rest. Muscxle only grow during rest. I like more carbs & fat going in to exercise night before, and more meat & Meaty bone after for recovery.
                      • Babigirl - Juno is a 10 month old female Dogue de Bordeaux. She is exercised daily. In the morning she gets 10-15mins off lead brisk walk. Average weekday (late afternoon / evening) walk can be 40mins to 1hour walk on lead. We also play tug and some football (soccer) in the evening.At the weekend walks are longer and terraine more demanding. We may head to the Mountains or to an isolated beach. My neighbours boxer sometimes joins in with the walks and play. Was thinking of erecting a spring pole to work her neck and hind quaters. I have only fed her meat, RMB and offal, No veg. Chicken has made up the main part of her diet but she has had lamb and fish. I may reduce the chicken as it is lean, increase the amount of lamb and introduce beef. Platz - I presume potatoes are fed RAW just chopped up small ? or should I liquidise ? She is energetic when we paly and it is usually me who has to take the first break when playing tug. Tracer - She looks skinny towards her back end and some ribs a visible but hip point is not.
                        • ok good exercise for the ddb, I would give your dog some mixed veggies-Like Greens-spinach, collard greens etc. Also some potato's-I also give yogurt and a egg with shell. Hope that helps =O) Good luck and Welcome over to the "raw side" hehehe
                          • oh, i dunno about feeding raw potato or starchy stuff even if it's liquid.....may get a little explosive :( keep puppies (and all dogs) lean, i would not try to get her to gain weight other than natural growth, sound like she's just fine the way she is. fat is the most calorie dense nutrient, but have to watch it, some dogs can get pancreatitis with too much fat. starchy stuff can help too, may be safer. some females can lose some appetite during their heat. don't worry about it, it won't stunt her growth or anything. dogs can go at least a couple days without food and not bat an eye.
                            • lol-I feed the dogs taters everyday!!! Just a bit mixed in with the yogurt goo-But my Neo's are always the skinny ones in the ring...So gotta give em' a bit of some Carb's-that or rice.
                              • [quote1239827172=babigirl] lol-I feed the dogs taters everyday!!! Just a bit mixed in with the yogurt goo-But my Neo's are always the skinny ones in the ring...So gotta give em' a bit of some Carb's-that or rice. [/quote1239827172] you feed raw potatoes? i've never done that, always boil welll and mash including skin
                                • PEANUT BUTTER
                                  • [quote1239836979=sadhbhsdad] Platz - I presume potatoes are fed RAW just chopped up small ? or should I liquidise ? She is energetic when we paly and it is usually me who has to take the first break when playing tug. [/quote1239836979] To clearify - Sweet Potatoes & Yams RAW....White potatoes COOKED. White potatoes are not safe raw. I feed they are not from the same family as Sweet Potatoes.( Feed the skins too). I puree ALL veggies I feed.Most whole veggies come back out in the same condition they went in..:-p
                                    • Sorry Tosamama for not getting back with you sooner...Yep I do. Although it canned potato's since my lazy butt isn't chopping any up! This is what/how I feed-Big Thanks to Maximus-Since he's sold me on Raw. I buy 10lb bags of chicken fryers (kroger .50 per lb) split up 5 lbs of chicken for the two I feed raw. With that chicken they get one egg-with shell. In a seperate bowl I mix a big can on yogurt, 1-can of a leafy green, 1-can of either pea's, carrots, squash etc., and 1-can of potato's-mix that well and serve one cup of mix in bottom of bowl with egg and broken up shell. Throw chicken on top-Dinner (Since I only feed once a day) Is Served! I mix up meat depending on what on sale-btw
                                      • but canned potatoes are cooked as far as i know...
                                        • I'm pretty sure it says uncooked...lol...But now I will check this evening and report back!!!
                                          • More than you care to really know about potatoes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato
                                            • Here is a recipe for [link=http://theherbs.info/Pets/satinball.html]Satin Balls[/link]. I have no idea why they are called satin balls (sounds kinky!) but I used to make them for my Dane who had a very hard time maintaining her weight. Keep in mind that these should be used as a treat, and not as a meal. You can play with the recipe a bit as well. For instance, I add peanut butter. There are a lot more recipes on the Internet.
                                              • Just a quick update on Juno's weight gain. I increased her daily intake and she is now weighing 47kgs and looks great. I added potatoe and rice for approx 2 weeks until she was 45.5kgs. She gained 1.5kgs in 4 weeks on RMB only. Chicken is still her main food source with lamb and fish each fed once weekly. Thanks for you advice and thoughts. Will post some pics this week as she in 1 year old on Saturday 6th June.
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