[kellylouise12]

I have a 4 year old german shepherd called karly I rescured her about 3 months ago as she was all skin and bones and kept out side in the cold with no shelter and 3 other dogs who kept fighting with her for her food the proplem is why I have had her she will eat her food but she will be really interested in it then a few days later she will not eat it she acts like the food is going to hurt her and she cries at it I do not know what the preveous owners has done to her but it does not look very nice when she is scared I have tried tripe,mince,pork the onily thing she really loves is chicken but she does go of that to she has been to the vet and they are worried about her as she onily weighs 25.6k she should 35k or even 30k she does put on about 2k then take her to the vet every month and she would have dropped the 2k every time if anybody has got any answers to some tasty food ideas for her or anything that may help please let me know thank you very much from kelly:(

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[wildandblue]

Shepherds are such great dogs its sad to think she was so unappreciated before you got her. You can fatten the dog up on the same kinds of things that make us fat--cheese curls, pork rinds, pizza crusts, bread and butter and fried chicken skin and gravy. Any table scraps you can spare.She might have a problem with sore gums or sore teeth due to her previous lack of care and doesn't want to chew hard foods you might have to try the canned wet diets or the dry with water poured over it. An easy way to add weight is to pour a few tablespoons of corn oil onto the regular dog food also gives her a shiny coat. Her thyroid may be acting up due to her mistreatment causing her metabolism to go into high gear "the fight or flight response" causing this crash weight loss. Or she may be gorging herself on food still thinking another dog is going to take it, then gets uncomfortably full and won't eat or even her bowel microflora is deficient due to chronic malnutrition--vet may be able to give her vitamins etc. for it.

[kellylouise12]

Thank you for the advice I shall let the vet know about the vitamins I never thought of that karly is being fed on dog meat and complete biscuites she does chew on bones so I don't think they is anything wrong with her teeth but when I took her to the vet the vet did not cheak her teeth or ears so I don't think karly will be going bck there they are rubbish I never thought of the oil though it's a good idea karly does not take it to well when I leave her nether she cries and howls till I come back she follows me around the house all day she does not leave my site if you would like to chat on email my addrease is [email protected] :)

[teachnk]

Puppy food is high in calorie and is well balanced nutritionally for your dog. It can be safely used to increase your dogs weight. Wet food might be more appetizing to your pup. If she is nervous eating, stay close to her or put her in a small area were she will feel safe eating I would NOT recommend processed unnatural people food. If you are trying to improve her health you will need to give her a sound diet, well balanced for her system. If you choose to feed her a home cooked diet I would recommend researching the proper balance of proteins, fats and grains for dogs. It is a lot of work, but can be done. I always recommend discussing major diet changes or concerns with your vet. They will always be your best reference. If they are not... it's time to find a new vet. Good luck.

[wildandblue]

Oh no I wasn't saying feed just "junk food". Her dog is anxious and refuses to eat even thoiugh she has food right in front of her. And it is really underweight, practically emaciated. I was giving ideas to use to tempt the dog to eat anything at all she can worry about a balanced diet after it packs on a few pounds. Long period of poor nutrition can cause all kinds of nasty problems. The owner should not be too hard on the vets' This can be a difficult problem to solve with an animal known as a "poor do-er" or diagnosed as "a failure to thrive" Evewn the cheap store brand of dogfoods is much better nutritionally balanced than something you come up with at home I agree.

[kellylouise12]

Hello I don't know were you are getting the bit were I was being hard on the vet from do you live in chesterfield uk as the vets down here are not very good as it stands we have to travel 7 miles just to get a good vet as the one we took her to and paid £30 for a health cheak they did not even touch her they just looked at her that in my eyes is not a good vet me and my partney are taking karly to anough vet for blood test and further test to see if anything is wrong with her as it is the onily way the vets will do anything me myself do know what to expect from a vet but I did not like paying money out to get her cheaked over then they did not even cheak her teeth I do apologise if this sounds nasty but I am very worried what these test are going to come back and say thank you very much karly and kelly

[carolbcac]

I had a German Shepherd once that sounds a lot like Karly. Tasha was a rescue, very nervous, always thin to the point that I hated taking her out in public. It took several years to find out that the underlying problem was a chronic whipworm infestation.
I don't even know if whips are found in the UK. Ask the vet about them. They are often hard to find in a fecal, and once the dog has them they never seem to completely be rid of them. They also tend to cause a LOT of gas and occasional runny poop. I had to deworm Tasha once a week for several weeks, and then use Interceptor, the Heartworm preventative that also kills whipworms. She eventually gained some weight and didn't look like I was trying to starve her to death.