And Mike,

Ask all the questions you want. I have no problems answering any questions from you or anyone else. Thanks for helping my boy.

 Quote: michael_wise

Do you think he is getting close to the 1+ lbs. of raw food?

 Quote: jo harker

No, I don't think we are close to 1 lb of food. He only weighs about 36 lbs and needs to be about 37 or 38 lbs at max. Basically, I was going to start low end of "36*16*.02 or .03" which rounds up to 12 ounces, and I am accomplishing that. I feel I need to increase intake a little, but am going to wait until our regular Saturday drive and walk. I can stop in at the vet's and weigh him. If he is still under 37 lbs, he will have to start getting more calories.

Well, I picked him up and weighed us, then me, and he weighs 35 lbs. I can feel thin layer of fat and ribs, and vertabrae, but he doesn't feel or look emaciated. May be my perception that he should weigh 37 or 38 is wrong. I'm not sure what to do right now. The vet's said he could stand to gain some weight when he weighed 36 but as I said, I'm not sure what I should do.

Any ideas? Please?

 Quote: jo harker

... Well, I picked him up and weighed us, then me, and he weighs 35 lbs. I can feel thin layer of fat and ribs, and vertabrae, but he doesn't feel or look emaciated. May be my perception that he should weigh 37 or 38 is wrong. I'm not sure what to do right now. The vet's said he could stand to gain some weight when he weighed 36 but as I said, I'm not sure what I should do. ... Any ideas? Please?

" I'm not sure what to do right now .... Any ideas?"

About what? Do you mean about feeding more to put weight on the dog?

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

About what? Do you mean about feeding more to put weight on the dog?

Boy...I read my posts, they make sense, then afterwards....

Hmmm...

1. Should I continue feeding exactly the amount I am feeding while waiting a week to weigh him and see if he has lost weight or kept it at 35lbs?

2. I am beginning to add the fat and skin to his diet. This will increase his calorie intake without me adding any more ounces of meat, am I correct in my thinking?

I am vigilant about his weight (and paranoid) because he has gotten down to emaciation earlier this year and in the past. I kept increasing his kibble to a higher protein and higher fat food over the years and it would work for awhile then back to emaciation, so on to raw feeding. (No medical reason for emaciation that the vet could find).


To be proactive:

1. I will weigh him each week for a month.

2. I will SLOWLY increase the amount of fat and skin left on his chicken.

3. I will slowly introduce chicken organ meat after he has kept down his chicken with the fat and skin.

4. After all that is kept down and pooped out nicely, I will SLOWLY add red meat to his diet.

5. I will immediately start with veggies in his diet.

6. If he loses weight after the skin and fat in his diet, I will increase the ounces of meat in his feedings from 12 ounces to 15 ounces and keep checking his weight.

Am I sound on my plan? If I am, I will print this out and put on my refrigerator to reference and stop the panic.

PS. Received the catalog yesterday! Ready to order the raw feeding book!

It looks great, but what do you mean by emaciation? Do you mean 36 pounds when you would prefer 37 or 38?

 Quote: Jo Harker

.... Should I continue feeding exactly the amount I am feeding while waiting a week to weigh him and see if he has lost weight or kept it at 35lbs?

Sure. What's a week? If you still see 35 and want to up it, add more then.

The skin and fat as it is added will definitely increase calories. Fat has 9 calories per gram and protein has 4.

Lastly, choose non-gas-producing low-cellulose produce like celery tops, parsley, summer squash, romaine, etc., mooshed to break down cell walls. (The produce a wild canid would eat would be the partly-digested food in the gut of rodents, very ripe fallen berries, etc.)

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

It looks great, but what do you mean by emaciation? Do you mean 36 pounds when you would prefer 37 or 38?

In the past, he would begin at 37-38 lbs and slowly drop down. At 32 pounds, you could see his ribs and vertabrae through his Husky fur. I consider that emaciation. I could be wrong, but given that and lack of energy, I think I am right. No medical reason for it. However, it could have always been his thyroid and no one considered losing weight was his signal. One doesn't check young dogs for thyroid conditions, at least not my vet. I just know my vet has always encouraged me to keep him around 37 or 38 lbs.

I am not so much concerned about his poundage as his physical condition, yet his poundage is all I have had to go by in the past, so that is my litmus right now.

Actually, I am pleased with the way he looks at 35 lbs. I may be surprised that the raw food will actually make him look better even if he does lose more weight. (Maybe he can lose the turkey wattle on his neck... )

Thanks for your time in talking to me. I will copy my post with my proactive steps and order the book. I will be more settled about this the longer I do it.

 Quote: Jo Harker

I will be more settled about this the longer I do it.

Definitely!:smile: Couple of months, and this will be just as easy as scooping kibble, IMO.

Another thing that might help, and please excuse me if it has already been mentioned, would be a journal of his feedings, weight, and stools.

It doesn't have to be EXTREME detail, just what you fed, take note of his physical appearance, and what his stools were like.

Not something you have or need to do forever, but since he has the thyroid and small weight issues, it might help you keep up with stuff in the beginning. 'Til this is second nature to you. Instead of trying to remember every detail and then fishing through memory if a problem occurs.

 Quote: Michael_Wise

.... Another thing that might help, and please excuse me if it has already been mentioned, would be a journal of his feedings, weight, and stools.

I did this with a dog who came to me with pancreatitis (as well as a zillion severe allergies), and I was grateful for that journal more than once, I tell ya.

You think you'll remember what the dog was eating when such-and-such happened (recurring pancreatitis, diarrhea, etc.), but I sure didn't.

And now I find it invaluable again, years later, as I continue on my many months of testing probiotics on my present allergic dog.

A tiny notebook at the food prep area or a piece of paper taped to the 'fridge -- that's all you need.

Jo, you mentioned this book: http://leerburg.com/935.htm
and I think it's a very good one -- hands-on, get-right-to-it.

This one, too: http://leerburg.com/970.htm

Both are inexpensive (and lightweight, so not spendy to ship) and good reads.

 Quote: Jo Harker

.... I will copy my post with my proactive steps and order the book. I will be more settled about this the longer I do it.