Too Thin!

CarrotTheFrenchie · Jul 24, 2017

So we went to the vet today and he told me Carrot looks too thin. She's always been very slender but she's lost a little extra weight since I switched her to Small Batch dehydrated Raw. The food is great and she loves it but it's obvious she needs more calories. I have tried increasing the amount of food but she's still on the thin side. Now, my vet is NOT a fan of raw food. He says it contains all the nutrients a dog need but because there are no carbs included, it's like I'm putting my dog on the Atkins diet!

hmy:
I told him I didn't want to change food and he's not pushing me to do so, but suggested I start adding some egg pasta to supplement her meal. He says she needs carbs to fill out a little and also to make sure she's not feeling hungry all the time. Has anyone else done this? Is pasta the way to go? He also suggested potatoes but I think potatoes cause Carrot's ears to get all gunky.

Honeys Owners · Jul 24, 2017

It'd be much healthier to use canned pumpkin or the ingredients you see in grain free dog food such as :whole red lentils, whole green lentils, whole green peas, lentil fiber, whole chickpeas, whole yellow peas, whole pinto beans

Cbrugs · Jul 24, 2017

Quinoa would be good or brown sprouted rice.

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Honeys Owners · Jul 24, 2017

Probably healthiest way would be to give 25% of diet as pureed fruit/pureed steamed vegetables.

2bullymama · Jul 25, 2017

agree with the gang... add steamed veggies or quinoa

antbkny · Jul 25, 2017

not carbs, but i would add some greek yogurt to fatten her up.

Mavis · Jul 25, 2017

At least his appetite is good. It's horrible when they need to gain but aren't interested in food. He may have loose poops for a while after you start him on his new regimen but his body will adjust.

Cbrugs · Jul 25, 2017

By the way, Jax eats raw and gets no carbs, veggies or fruits other than little snacks I give him so I don't agree with your vet. What protein are you feeding? Some proteins are fattier than others. Also might just need to try a different brand.

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Honeys Owners · Jul 25, 2017

This is an excellent web page that talks about adding vegetables and fruit to a raw diet ( BARF theory as opposed to Prey Model which is zero carbs ) https://therawfeedingcommunity.com/2017/05/09/i-started-adding-veggies-to-my-raw-dog-food-heres-why/
Adding vegetables to your dog’s diet is easy. Vegetables should be processed in some way to make them more bioavailable and easier to utilize. You can do this by pureeing, chopping/grinding to a pulp in a food processor, or cooking. Since cooking may deplete some nutrients, I prefer to process veggies for my dogs using a food processor. I then freeze the veggie mix into molds for easy feeding.Leafy green vegetables, like kale, chard, spinach, arugula, parsley or mustard greens should be the main focus. Broccoli, green beans, bell peppers, and carrots are also good choices. Fruits like blueberries, cranberries, papaya, pineapple, and raspberries offer great antioxidants, but are high in sugar, so use in moderation. Starchy veggies like sweet potato are a good choice for some dogs, but should be avoided or kept to a minimum if your dog doesn’t need to gain weight.

I still follow “prey model” ratios, I just added veggies in – so I feed 70-75% muscle meat, 10% bone, 5-10% veggies/fruits, and 10% organs. I prefer these ratios over BARF because the prey model bone percentage is much more accurate in providing a correct amount of calcium in the diet, and I feel that BARF ratios provide too much room for error in that regard.

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Cbrugs said:
By the way, Jax eats raw and gets no carbs, veggies or fruits other than little snacks I give him so I don't agree with your vet. What protein are you feeding? Some proteins are fattier than others. Also might just need to try a different brand.

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Cbrugs · Jul 25, 2017

The prey model works for Jax. Too much starch and sugar can cause yeast problems with some dogs. I like to control what he gets. If I have berries, he'll get a few, veggies same.

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CarrotTheFrenchie · Jul 25, 2017

I'm feeding her a great dehydrated raw food. A brand called SMALL BATCH. it's a great mix of protein, fruits and veggies. I'm now a little confused. Will adding MORE veggies put on more weight? I added a little bit of brown rice to her meal tonight and I gave her a heaping tablespoon of pumpkin with her morning meal. I'm not sure I agree with my vet either. He's definitely not a fan of rW food in any form so I take his advice with a grain of salt

CarrotTheFrenchie · Jul 25, 2017

Oh and she's currently on the Duck version of Small Batch. She was eating the turkey version previously

Cbrugs · Jul 26, 2017

CarrotTheFrenchie said:
Oh and she's currently on the Duck version of Small Batch. She was eating the turkey version previously

Duck is more fattier than other proteins. How is her stool? How much are you feeding now? Do you have access to tripe? You can try adding that in to her diet plus quinoa.

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CarrotTheFrenchie · Jul 26, 2017

Her poos were great initially. but then I started giving her more treats to try and fatten her up (pure dried salmon and turkey hearts) and sometimes when I give her extra treats during the day, her poos can get a little softer. But, on this food, the poos have been pretty good. If anything they are a little on the hard side? Which maybe means I should be feeding her more?
The Small Batch package says a 20 pound dog should get 8 discs a say. We are currently feeding her 10 discs a day. But, I'm wondering if we should increase to 12 discs a day?
And is it bad to add a little brown rice to her food? Seems like a healthier carb than pasta, but I also don't want to constipate her.

P.S. I spend more time on Carrot's feeding regime than I do my own! Carrot has become my hobby!!!!

Cbrugs · Jul 26, 2017

CarrotTheFrenchie said:
Her poos were great initially. but then I started giving her more treats to try and fatten her up (pure dried salmon and turkey hearts) and sometimes when I give her extra treats during the day, her poos can get a little softer. But, on this food, the poos have been pretty good. If anything they are a little on the hard side? Which maybe means I should be feeding her more?
The Small Batch package says a 20 pound dog should get 8 discs a say. We are currently feeding her 10 discs a day. But, I'm wondering if we should increase to 12 discs a day?
And is it bad to add a little brown rice to her food? Seems like a healthier carb than pasta, but I also don't want to constipate her.

P.S. I spend more time on Carrot's feeding regime than I do my own! Carrot has become my hobby!!!!

I'm not sure the total weight of what you are feeding but I think you should increase the food to see what happens. I very rarely feed the guidelines given on any bag. When starting on raw, it's a lot of playing around with to find the right amount that works. Generally you would feed 2-3% to an adult to maintain their current weight. Puppies need more. Jax, who is 4 years old, gets about 11-12 ounces per day split into two meals.

I can't remember how old Carrot is or how much she weighs but here is a raw feeding calculator that may help. There are probably others online as well if you wanted to compare. http://www.raw4dogs.com/calculate.htm

You can add brown rice to her meal or even brown sprouted rice or I think I mentioned before quinoa.