# Trying to put some weight on my old doggie **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 8, 2021, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839 "2021-06-08T12:43:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/21 "2021-06-09T12:39:16Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > We love our old pups!- We sure do! And we’ll do just about anything for them. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/22 "2021-06-10T19:14:20Z")
Update: yesterday the Vet said Sweetie had put on a few ounces and she felt “meatier” on her sides. Her dinosaur spine is still protruding a lot-- I think that’s permanent. I’d like to see a little padding around it. Today she ate like a horse. She had four satin fingers and a tub of wet food (pretty small tubs) and then about an hour later she wanted another tub. The satin fingers must be pretty filling. I’m thawing out more fingers for supper. I’m like the Yiddishe Mama, happy when they _“Essen, essen!”_ Tell some more old doggie stories, if you have them. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/23 "2021-06-10T21:31:31Z")
I’d be careful about feeding too many fingers - they have a high fat content and too much fat suddenly can cause pancreatitis. I’d must them up with her normal food. Maybe even in her kibble if you can try that. StG ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/24 "2021-06-10T21:54:21Z")
My neighbor slaughtered pasture raised chickens yesterday for a special order that specifically didn’t want giblets. She saved them for me. The dogs will be getting liver treats for a few days, then gizzards. And I’m making chopped liver as an appetizer for our dinner. I’m putting weight on everyone. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/25 "2021-06-10T21:58:01Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > I’d must them up with her normal food. Maybe even in her kibble if you can try that. Things like the fingers are best used to stimulate feeding behavior. Ella eats a piece of liver, then continues eating her Mericks Dry. If she slows down I give another treat as a bump. Ella also will eat more if I hold her dish at her shoulder height and praise her while she eats. Spoiled? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/26 "2021-06-10T22:48:15Z")
Do y’all think 3-4 fingers a day are too many? Each finger is about one ounce. I didn’t use 80/20 ground beef, I used 15% fat totally grass fed beef. I do mix the fingers with other wet food, specifically Natural Balance. From the OP: > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I’m willing to feed her anything she wants, and it has been rotisserie chicken, a dab of canned pumpkin, a small amount of rice, [Dreamcoat](https://smile.amazon.com/Halo-Natural-Enhancement-16-Ounce-Bottle/dp/B0015QT5EU/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1YLD7GHZEQXTH&dchild=1&keywords=dream+coat+dog&qid=1623155165&sprefix=dreamcoat%2Caps%2C294&sr=8-1) on her food (on the vet’s recommendation), a small amount of bone broth, a hard boiled egg (yard eggs from a friend), and nutritional yeast sprinkled over. The commercial dog food I’ve settled on is [Natural Balance](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BI31WBS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). I’ve backed off on the rotisserie chicken, as she wasn’t that wild about it. The Natural Balance has veggies in it. She has NO interest in kibble any more. She doesn’t scarf down all of her food at once. She’ll leave some in the dish and come back an hour or so later for more. She doesn’t lick the bowl clean, which is fine with me. Even leaves bits of the fingers. She’s never been a chow hound. > [@kayaker](#): > > Ella also will eat more if I hold her dish at her shoulder height and praise her while she eats. Spoiled? And pray, why not?? Spoil the heck out of her! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/27 "2021-06-10T22:55:18Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Spoil the heck out of her! I’m having a blast doing it! My daughter adopted another dog about six months ago, out of Texas! The owner died. She had six little dogs, one of which my daughter adopted and had flown to PA. What a beautiful story. The morbidly obese chihuahua/terrier mix has been given the opportunity to exercise and eat healthy and is now at an ideal weight. Old dogs are very often the best dogs out there. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/28 "2021-06-11T01:05:24Z")
**ThelmaLou** - Did you mix in the vegetable oil, too? When I was making it, I think I used 73% ground beef, the ultra cheap stuff (that’s now the price steak used to be!). So you’ve reduced the fat by a lot right there. And of those 4 oz, at least half (by volume) is cereal. You’re probably fine - I just remember the vet warning me when dogs snatched a lot of something off the counter, that sort of thing. **kayaker** - I used to have a cat that wanted me to pet her while she ate. StG ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/29 "2021-06-11T02:29:49Z")
I used mostly olive oil and some Dreamcoat, which is Omega-3 and some other healthy oils. Re the cat: I can see it now, she’s eating and you’re petting her with one hand while gently waving a palm leaf fan over her head… and humming a sweet melody at the same time. As I post this from my kindle, I have a cat on my lap. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2021, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/30 "2021-06-12T15:00:52Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Old dogs are very often the best dogs out there. Yes, this. Three of the 6 greyhounds I adopted over the years were between 8 and 10 years old when I got them. Wonderful dogs. And I’ve used a similar recipe to the satin balls with a couple of my oldies too. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2021, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/31 "2021-06-12T15:18:19Z")
Anyone else have a wandering eater? Cinnamon now likes to grab a mouthful of kibble and bring it into the living room to munch it there, leaving a lovely trail of foods along the way. We had another old dog, Sam Dog as opposed to my grandparent’s Sam Cat, who did the same thing when he got old. He was a great dog. 20 pound fox terrier. When he was getting up there, we got a puppy golden retriever. The puppy had to wait til Sam was done eating before Wolfgang could start–not our rules, Sam’s. Picture a 80 lb hulk waiting meekly for a frail old dog to finish. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/32 "2021-06-12T16:38:28Z")
A friend of mine had a big black lab by the name of Misty and another dog about the same size named Bigelow. Misty’s food dish was a small saucepan with a handle. Misty would carry the saucepan by the handle (yeah, a little lopsided) with kibble in it all over the house. After Bigelow had eaten all of his kibble, Misty would carry her pan back to the designated dining area, sit with her front legs wrapped protectively around it, and daintily munch her portion while Bigelow stared enviously. BTW, I’ve settled on three satin fingers per day for Sweetie, along with as many tubs of Natural Balance as she wants (yesterday was five), a tablespoon of canned pumpkin, nutritional yeast, Dreamcoat, a hard-boiled egg, and some Fresh Pet chicken treats. I might mix in some of her formerly-loved kibble and see if I can sneak some into her. I still have a bunch on hand, although I gave away the 15-lb sack of it I got from Petco, still in the delivery box, to my neighbor who has four dogs. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2021, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/33 "2021-06-13T04:07:08Z")
In the Great Depression, in the '30’s, my grandfather had a lab named Dinah. Dinah ended up with jaundice, very sick. At that point she’s only eating salmon. So on a cop’s pay, being paid in city scrip, not real currency, with probably 8 kids at that point (they went on to have 11) he fed that dog salmon every day. StG ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/34 "2021-06-15T00:08:50Z")
UPDATE: I’m not thrilled with the progress of Operation Sweetie. She likes the satin fingers but only if I feed them to her by hand. If I tear one into pieces and put it in her food dish, not interested. She will eat one in little bits from my hand, and I am very happy to do it. I’m feeding her three a day, spread over the day. The Natural Balance tubs of food are not going over so well any more. I’d like her to eat 3-4 a day, and she might make it through one. She goes to her food bowl expectantly and when I put in a tub of Natural Balance she sniffs at it and walks away. It makes me think the smell of the food isn’t strong enough (i.e., doggy enough). Should I put something on the food to make it smellier-- cod liver oil or something strong? Or maybe it’s too bland with not enough flavor? She didn’t want rotisserie chicken after a while. Not all that keen on bacon. Still likes hard-cooked egg and will eat that from her food dish. I give her Fresh Pets chicken mini-log treats and she likes those fine. This afternoon I gave her half a can of Merrick Birthday Paw-ty (yeah 🙄) and she gobbled down _most_ of that. I went to the grocery store and bought five different cans of dog food that listed meat or meaty ingredients among the first five ingredients, including as the **first** ingredient. Maybe she wants more variety. She ate the same flavor kibble every day for years, and maybe she’s fed up and isn’t going to take it any more. @kayaker Maybe I should look for those Dollar General burritos. She’s not acting sick or mopey or anything. She sleeps til almost noon, which is fine with me. And when she gets up, she seems alert, responsive, and peppy (as peppy as her old owner anyway). She comes to me to let me know she wants a walk. She usually poops during our walk. 👍🏽 I’d be interested in any more ideas. (And, of course, more doggy stories, too.) ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/35 "2021-06-15T02:07:03Z")
Giving her something that smells stronger might help. If her sense of smell isn’t so good any more, food is going to seem less appealing. I have had success using baby food with dogs who won’t eat too, sometimes just by itself and sometimes added to their regular food. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/36 "2021-06-15T11:05:40Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > She likes the satin fingers but only if I feed them to her by hand. Our Ella is like that now. I have to hand her bite sized pieces and praise her for eating it. She’s been close to death recently, so I’m giving her all sorts of leeway. Our young(er) healthy dogs get their food twice daily. They finish their meals in a few minutes, knowing anything left in the dish will be taken away at the end of feeding time. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/37 "2021-06-15T12:59:32Z")
For a different variety of wet dog food, try Purina One salmon flavor. That shit stinks to high heaven! My dogs love it, but I can’t stand it so they’re SOL. 😃 [https://www.purina.com/purina-one/dogs/wet-dog-food/true-instinct-tender-cuts-beef-salmon](https://www.purina.com/purina-one/dogs/wet-dog-food/true-instinct-tender-cuts-beef-salmon) ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/38 "2021-06-15T13:07:02Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I’m like the Yiddishe Mama, happy when they _“Essen, essen!”_ A Bowser Balabusta, indeed ! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/39 "2021-06-15T13:14:38Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > I have had success using baby food with dogs who won’t eat too, sometimes just by itself and sometimes added to their regular food. I’ll try it! Any particular flavor? > [@kayaker](#): > > Our Ella is like that now. I have to hand her bite sized pieces and praise her for eating it. She’s been close to death recently, so I’m giving her all sorts of leeway. Oh, honey… 😢 I am so sorry. That’s tough > [@Rebo](#): > > For a different variety of wet dog food, try Purina One salmon flavor. That shit stinks to high heaven! My dogs love it, but I can’t stand it so they’re SOL. Sounds like a wiener! I’ll get some for sure. Hey, I feed my cats Fancy Feast, and not much smells worse than that. > [@DavidNRockies](#): > > A Bowser Balabusta, indeed ! Oy vey! 🤦🏽‍♀️ ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839/40 "2021-06-15T15:04:35Z")
The Purina One Salmon isn’t available at any pet store in town. I’d have to buy a case from amazon. But you have set me on a quest. * * * > [@romansperson](#): > > I have had success using baby food with dogs who won’t eat too, sometimes just by itself and sometimes added to their regular food. This had me searching, and I came up with baked dog treats made with baby food. > **[Baby Food Dog Treats Recipe: Only 2 Ingredients! - Pet Coupon Savings](https://petcouponsavings.com/baby-food-dog-treats/)** > > Baby Food Dog Treats are easy to make with only 2 ingredients needed! Make these DIY dog treats soft or crunchy. Baby food is good for dogs, too. > **[Easy Dog Biscuits Made From Baby Food - Fun Dog Treats to Make!](https://mylifecookbook.com/dog-biscuits-made-from-baby-food/)** > > These easy dog biscuits are made entirely from baby food. This is an easy, economical and healthy way to treat your dog. Give it a try! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-put-some-weight-on-my-old-doggie/943839.md?page=3)