Could I feed my dog canned tuna in addition to her dog food to help her gain weight? She has always been thin (so is her mom) and is a picky eater. She won't eat expensive dog food so I have decided to start supplimenting since she will eat human food. I have tried various types of food of different prices and have only had real success with the food Im giving her now which is bottom of the barrel dog food. Eventually Im thinking I will start feeding her an all human food diet of various meats and vegtables but I am going to start small because A I can't afford all real food right now and I want to get her used to it. Tuna is inexpensive and high in potein. Is there anything in it like the murcury that will hurt her? I am also thinking about giving her an egg every day. What is the best way to prepare the eggs?

First and foremost... Stop feeding human foods. You need to get your dog onto a good dog food that will supply her with all the vitamins and nutrients that are designed for your dog. Your dog won't eat the more expensive foods because he is waiting for the treats. The grocery brand dog foods are compariable to McDonalds/candy... Of coarse he isn't going to like it. Its not sweet tasting.

If you're going to feed the raw/ barf diet please read up on it. Those diets consist of more than just throwing different types of veggies and meats together. And actually, if you're looking for a cheaper way to feed your dog, feeding the raw/barf diet is the most expensive way of feeding your dog.

A good food that isn't very expensive is called Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul - Adult. The brand name sounds corny,but the ingredients are pretty good quality.

Here is a website that will help you decide on a good food... Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble... And here is some information on feeding RAW/Barf "human"based food... raw_pet_recipes

As far as feeding tuna... For humans, eating fish as the main ingredient has risk... Dogs digest and things and metabolize different than humans. If you really are concerned about your dogs health, you should speak to an animal nutritionist.

I know a raw food diet is expensive but I have read up on it a bit and read that it is best as dogs in the wild eat a raw food diet. I don't feed her cheap food because it is cheap I feed it to her because it is all she will eat. She ate expensive foods before she was ever introduced to the cheaper foods and would never eat it. We had tried other cheap foods as well and it's not like she will eat any cheap food she just happens to like the one she's on right now. I know thst its not great for her and since she doesn't like the expensive foods I feel like switching to "real" food is my only alternative. I know she will need specific things in her diet so that it is balanced but in the intrum I just want to introduce her to one or two things she can have along with the dog food until I can get a balanced diet of real food planned out and have my credit cards paid off (which will be in a few months) so that I can fully support the indevor.
Thanks for your suggestions.

Plus aren't the better foods supposed to taste more like meat and whatnot? Cause if I give her meat or whatever she won't turn it away.

Not necessarily. I feed my dogs Innova.. one of the best foods out there. They'd still pass it up for Kibbles n Bits. My dogs hate the evo... which is an alternative to the raw diets... So I believe a lot of the lower quality foods are sweeter in taste... When the new bags of the lower quality foods are even opened,they smell sweeter (at least to me).

I don't know I just feel bad for her cause she's so skinny. Its like how long can I just sit and let her not eat and I don't want to keep feeding her garbage dog food. I feel like supplimenting with something more nutritious is better then eating the crappy dog food alone. I feel like I need to do something.

Well... Its your dog... Your dog will eat what you decide to give it. There are different variations of the more "expensive" foods that you could try. It also helps if you don't switch her around a lot during the search for a good quality food. Try and feed the whole 5lb bag before deciding if your dog likes it or not. If the 5lb bag seems to last forever, try something else. If it seems to disappear quickly, then you found a food that your dog likes.

Have you spoke to anyone else about this? Like at a pet Store?

I did a lot of research before I put my dogs on Innova. I went through a lot of different types of foods before I found what they liked. But they had to eat the full bag before they were switched. My dogs don't control me, they will eat what I give them.

As for the raw/barf diet... To actually make it count, you do need to be selective on what types of meats you buy. It can't be just any frozen chicken bought at a supermarket. Everything has to be fresh... and... the whole idea of Raw/Barf diets is to control what goes into the dogs body. Not only do the dogs eat fresh meat and veggies, but a lot of supplements have to be added to the foods as well. Also, the dogs do have to fast for one day. I don't really recommend the raw/barf diet. Its expensive and the dogs are fed raw bones, which I don't exactally feel comfortable feeding.

I've had my dog for over 2 years and she's been on about 7 different kinds of food. She's always eaten the whole bag but it takes forever. There's been several cheap foods she won't eat either Kibbles and Bits, Purina, Pedigree and some more expensive ones. When we got her the nutritionisnt at PetSmart suggested Nutromax because it was reasonably priced (although about 30% more then purina or pedigree) and didn't have any garbage main ingredients, we didn't have any success with any of these including the Nutro. The food she's on now is from Price Chopper (a Canadian chain) and is their store brand. She eats the 20KG bag in about 2-3 weeks but still isn't gaining because I suspect she's not retaining much from it.

If I can somehow find a food I can give her that isn't garbage and she will actually eat is there anything I can safely give her in addition to the food to help temorarily put on a few pounds while we are looking for a quality food that she actually likes?

Ive heard macaroni helps put weight onto skinny dogs. You could also try a small chunk of butter mixed with cottage cheese at each feeding.

Is your dog a real high energy dog? And what is the main ingredient in your food... and how high is the protein content level on the food you are currently feeding?

She's a large breed, White German Shepard/ Siberian Huskey mix. She doesn't do a whole lot of running cause our yard isn't fenced in. My brother has a dog now so Im going to start bringing her to the dog park in his car when the weather gets nice since he will allow dogs in his car. I try to sit out with her for a bit once in a while so she can run around the backyard but she isn't overly active. Since its below freezing most days right now.
The food is 21% protein and the ingredients are corn and wheat but I already figured that.

Technically... the lower grade foods will cause dogs to get fat, not maintain skinny body conditions.

You could try Eukanuba. Its sugary, a lot of picky eaters like Euk. You could also try ProPlan. The new formulas have freeze-dried chicken meat chunks in the food.

When was the last time the dog has seen the vet?

In the summer she was with my sister in law cause they have a farm and we were living in an apartment. They regularly had a vet come to the farm and check all of their animals but at that time they were feeding her meat so she weighed more then she does now. My sister in law divorced her husband and he was the one who was feeding her so I can't ask him for advice on what to give her either. I'm skeptical of getting recommendations on food from the vet though cause they seem to always want to put your animal on Iams or Science Diet which have corn and wheat as main ingredients as well and thus aren't really any better but cost 3 times more.

Oh no! Don't talk to your vet about food... But perhaps her not gaining weight could be a problem a vet would need to see her for.

If you have the ability, go into a family run feed store. Petmart isn't very food savy... They only know of what they are taught through a work book that can be completed within the first day.

Have you ever tried Innova? Its extremely good food. You could also try the 3 meat Natural Balance...

The person I talked to wasn't a regular pet smart emplyee she worked with just the food. She made good points about the food my dog just didn't like it. She's always been slim though and like I said so was her mom so that's why I've never really thought it was a health issue. I'll take a look for some of those foods and ask the vet next time I go. I have to take her soon cause she is due for her shots.

You can try giving more organ meat in her diet, I buy fresh hearts, liver and kidneys, bbq them cut them up in small chunks, and then freeze them. The organ meets are high in protein. When I got my last dog, she was severely neglected and very under weight. I stared feeding more of these treats, especially while we were training, and she slowly started putting on weight.
Here is a recipe that my vet recommended to me:
10 lb (4.53kg) Hamburger
10 oz (.28kg) Oats
6 Egg Yolks
10 oz (.28kg) Wheat Germ
10 oz (.28kg) Molasses

Put in a big bowl and mix.
Roll into one inch balls and freeze.

Here is a website with some more recipies.

Putting Weight on your Dog - Chinaroad Lowchens of Australia -

You can also try adding meat based baby food, hard boiled eggs, or scrambled eggs. Of course I would mix these things in with the dog food. Giving it to them alone as a meal will definitely make her NOT want to eat ANY dog food.

As always, consult your vet first before proceeding with a weight-gain diet. Your vet will know whether your pet should gain weight; it might not be underweight in the first place.

Oh that recipe was for a large amounts to be made at once, you can cut the recipie in half, or in quarters

Sorry,. but even those brand food reps. Only know that food that they talk about. I still wouldn't rely on their opinion too much to find something that works. Nutro was a good food. Their ingredients went downhill the moment they were discovered to be a good food. I use to feed nutro... I also use to feed science diet until I found what type of trash that food is.

That website is an extremely good website. Its analyzed by food critics,not personal opinions. To be quite honest... I would find a food that I thought was adequate for my dogs needs and stick to it. Your dog won't starve herself... she'll eat. Some dogs just have strange eating habits.. My moms dog eats every three days... A healthy dog doesn't need to eat every day.

Your dog is probably furry... Run your hands along her sides and on her back... If the back bone and ribs are very prominent then yes,she probably needs to gain some weight... If the backbone and ribs are barely felt, in other words,covered buy enough fat,then your dog is at good weight. Fat dogs are unhealthy dogs... Your dog could just be a lean type of dog.

Aurora... I've heard of those meat balls! My mom was going to give those to her dog before she was diagnosed with cancer. Before we could move forward with anything, she died... :( But I have heard those meat balls work wonders for finiky eaters!

Lucky, those meat balls are awesome!

I know some people say that Iams is not a good quality dog food, and then recommend Eukanuba. They are made by the same people, and actually have the same amount and quality ingreedients.
I am going to copy and paste an email I received from an Iams/Euk rep. Now this was info I was obtaining for a woman who recently rescued a small breed dog, but you can get the idea, mainly I just want to show the protein and other ingredient content etc...

Dear :
Thank you for taking the time to write. I would be delighted to address your inquiry.

We currently offer the Eukanuba Small Breed Adult Weight Control Formula in our weight control formulas for small breeds. Below is the guarantee analysis:

Crude Protein not less than 22.00 %
Crude Fat not less than 10.00 %
Crude Fat not more than 12.00 %
Crude Fiber not more than 4.00 %
Moisture not more than 10.00 %
Vitamin A not less than 70,000 IU/kg
Vitamin E not less than 140 IU/kg
L-Carnitine not less than 40 mg/kg*
Omega-6 Fatty Acids not less than 2.1 %*
Omega-3 Fatty Acids not less than 0.3 %*

I was wondering if you could get the same list from your dog food Lucky just to compare.
I usually feed a Hollistick diet, but have recently switched back to Iams.

Sure...

This is for what I feed my young dogs...

Crude Protein (min) 24 %
Crude Fat (min) 14 %
Crude Fiber (max) 2.5 %
Moisture (max) 10 %
Linoleic Acid (Omega-6 Fatty Acid) (min) 2.5 %
Vitamin E (min) 300 IU/kg
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) (min) 500 mg/kg
Omega-3 Fatty Acids (min) 0.6 %
Total Microorganisms (min) 90000000 CFU/lb
DHA plus EPA 0.1 (min) %

Calorie Content:
3,694 kcal/kg
504 kcal/cup

The Healthiest Pet Foods in the World – Natural & Organic Pet Food – Natura Pet Products... They have pretty good diet formulas if your looking for a weight maintence.

NO actually she was very happy with the Iams or Eukanuba especially after we compared it to the vet brand dog food.
So, doesn't look like there is much of a difference between your brand and Iams?
I did notice that your brand had microorganisims, the Iams I feed has prebiotics. I think that is great. My dogs get fresh fruit and yogourt as well.
I haven't done much research on different brands (aside from the holistick brands that are manufactured here in my town) I know enugh to stay away from the cheaper brands like kibbels n bits etc, I look for how much filler is in them, and how much meat by products are in them. I do know that my vet pushes their brands, but the funny thing is, the nutrisionist they have working for them feeds her dogs Iams!

To the OP, a good friend of mine has 2 rather large breeds dogs, one was very under weight, while the other was very over weight. She fed them seperatly, and tried every food out there including vet prescribed.
You know what worked for her? The barf diet. I can tell you I have spent many Saturday nights making dog food. If you are dedicated and have researched, then it is a good diet.
But to each their own. You have to find something that works for YOU and your dogs.
Her dogs both score a 2.5 on their body scores (0 being amaciated, 5 being over weight).