Putting weight on/encouraging eating?

eeturk · Jun 5, 2014

Hudson is giving me all kinds of problems lately! Glad I have y'all to ask now for help. I truly appreciate all of the advice!

Our current issue is weight. Hudson has never been a big eater, or really an eater at all.. He wouldn't touch kibble (and it made him gassy and itchy and have loose stool), and the best I could do is homemade or refrigerated food for him. He does great on those foods for all of the above reasons, but he still doesn't really want to eat.

He's definitely too thin, and I need some guidance with getting him to really start eating. I've done all of the traditional mix-ins, and he kind of just picks around them, or will reject it if it's mixed into the food to encourage eating.

I feel like usually frenchies are roly polies with the opposite problem, so I'm curious if anyone has any advice for putting weight ON him.

Thanks!!

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eeturk · Jun 5, 2014

Ugh...iPhone issues.. For some reason this posted in training instead of dog food, sorry guys! Don't know how that happened.

Alice Kable · Jun 5, 2014

Cheese and cottage cheese should put weight on him if he'll eat them. Honestly, I am 72, have had dogs all my life, and have never had one that wouldn't eat!

Cbrugs · Jun 5, 2014

No help here. Jax would eat all day long if I let him. How many different kibbles have you tried? Maybe there is one out there that he will like. You can try mixing it with a little chicken broth.

karla215 · Jun 5, 2014

The only time my bulldogs ever were off of their food, I found out later it was recalled. I had put gravy on it and tuna, trying to get them to eat more! Of you've tried diff kibble then that prob is not a concern. Hope things improve!

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eeturk · Jun 5, 2014

Alice Kable said:
Cheese and cottage cheese should put weight on him if he'll eat them. Honestly, I am 72, have had dogs all my life, and have never had one that wouldn't eat!

He likes cheese, but his gas gets pretty bad. Cottage cheese he will eat but not mixed in, so I'll keep trying that and I guess give a larger volume.

And I know! I've always had labs and they're voracious eaters so this one is a new one for me. He just isn't interested in food! Interestingly, he's incredibly treat-driven.

Cbrugs said:
No help here. Jax would eat all day long if I let him. How many different kibbles have you tried? Maybe there is one out there that he will like. You can try mixing it with a little chicken broth.

I would say we probably tried about five kibbles before I switched him over to the refrigerated food. He's six months old, so I haven't been able to try too too many of them. He just didn't like them, I'm thinking they might be too crunchy?

I'll try the chicken broth, thank you. Sometimes he'll eat more with that

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eeturk · Jun 5, 2014

karla215 said:
The only time my bulldogs ever were off of their food, I found out later it was recalled. I had put gravy on it and tuna, trying to get them to eat more! Of you've tried diff kibble then that prob is not a concern. Hope things improve!

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Thank you! Definitely not recalled, and we've tried many! I just have a stubborn one on my hands!

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2bullymama · Jun 5, 2014

Cheli will eat ANYTHING that hits the floor, is within reach or is in his bowl.

Have you tried plain yogurt? My sisters Pug is very picky so, when he is at my house I smack a little yogurt in the dish and he eats the kibble, no problem

eeturk · Jun 5, 2014

2bullymama said:
Cheli will eat ANYTHING that hits the floor, is within reach or is in his bowl.

Have you tried plain yogurt? My sisters Pug is very picky so, when he is at my house I smack a little yogurt in the dish and he eats the kibble, no problem

I wish he was like that with dog food! Although for some reason he thinks he's a vacuum cleaner when it comes to non-edible things on the floor...sigh.

He doesn't like plain yogurt unless it's goat's milk yogurt, but he'll pick around the food to get it haha. I'm thinking I'll have to switch his food again!

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davidh · Jun 5, 2014

We have used Parisian cheese and Feta cheese before, plus ours like the Stella and Chewy's freeze dried food as an add in. That being said, you really don't want a chubby Frenchie, as this is unhealthy for them. A lean Frenchie is a healthy one. Male Franchies should not be over 28 lbs. The average weight for males are 25 to 27 and females are 24 to 26. Plus some just stay skinny, as our Hilary, she eats the same amount as Hazel but is on the skinny side. You can see her ribs, but she is getting enough food, it just depends on their metabolism.

eeturk · Jun 5, 2014

davidh said:
We have used Parisian cheese and Feta cheese before, plus ours like the Stella and Chewy's freeze dried food as an add in. That being said, you really don't want a chubby Frenchie, as this is unhealthy for them. A lean Frenchie is a healthy one. Male Franchies should not be over 28 lbs. The average weight for males are 25 to 27 and females are 24 to 26. Plus some just stay skinny, as our Hilary, she eats the same amount as Hazel but is on the skinny side. You can see her ribs, but she is getting enough food, it just depends on their metabolism.

I just feel like he's too far on the lean side, plus I worry more about the fact that he's supposed to be growing and maturing and won't eat! He has to get the nutrients somewhere! He's 20 pounds now, but he also isn't the typical Frenchie build as I wanted one with a longer back and legs so he's a little larger in frame.

I just need to make sure he's actually eating some food and not just existing on treats!

Thank you!! I'm going to try the Stella and chewy food I think

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