We just purchased/rescued a pure bred yellow lab from our local APL. His previous owners gave him to the APL on Dec. 2 and my wife purchased him (she volunteers there) yesterday, Dec. 8. The dog, Bella (short for Isabella), is extremely skinny. You can see just about every rib bone, shoulder bone, and spine. I am sure this dog has great potential to be a very beautiful dog. However, we don't want to over feed this dog. Every time we feed her she DEVOURS her bowl of food in seconds, like she hasn't eaten in months. We are feeding her a little bit more than we are feeding our other lab (black lab). This new lab is 3yrs old and our black lab is 1.5yrs old. Should we try to feed something that will "stick to her bones"? Is the dog food not enough? Should we just continue feeding moderate amounts? Please give me some advice. This dog is a very happy, smart dog, we just want to make it look healthy and be comfortable internally (feel that it has enough to eat).
Moderation is going to be key. THe best bet is figure out how many calories the other dog is eating and increase that by about 20%. Keep an eye on the weight gain. You don't want it to go too fast or you may end up with an over weight dog. I would probably also mix 50-50 with puppy food for a while for increased calories w/o increased volume of food. The added nutrition won't hur either. If the dog is that malnurished I would also make sure he is on a good vitamin.
If you can't be a Good Example,then You'll just have to Serve as a Horrible Warning. Catherine Aird.
It is also better to feed several small meals a day as opposed to one large meal for underweight animals. Building up the amount slowly as it can cause stomach distress for some of them.
Laura Waddell Webboard User Reg: 04-17-2003
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And has the dog seen a vet yet? If she was starved from owner neglect, you could be seeing some possible internal damage as well. Watch for the gulping of the food, Labs can be prone to GVD, bottomless pits that they are <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> .
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