[shepherdfan]

Hello Folks, I have the same problem many other owners have described... My female German Shepherd Dog, four years old, yo-yo's up and down in weight. She is active,friendly,funny,and a great companion. She was an SPCA rescue because she was way underweight (52 lbs @ 2 years old). At last vet visit (aug 09)she was 76 lbs and negative for parasites with normal blood work. She will eat ANYTHING I give her and she gets lots of fresh veggies plus four to five cups of dry kibble (lamb and rice,Prism brand)
What I am worried about is stool volume, seems like what goes in comes out twice. Is there a food suppliment that can help with digestion and absorption of nutrients for a large active breed? Thanks For the help.

[twinkiedooter]

I had almost the same problem of twice comes out that what seems to be taken in with my 13 pound Jack Russell female terrier. I solved the problem. Very simple solution. Get a teakettle and boil the dog's water at least 3 minutes and let cool. Since I started this practice my Dink's outtake has been hard, firm, and the right amount versus double the normal size. I feed Dink kibble, dog biscuits and meat tidbits from my plate. Not too many veggies as dogs normally don't eat veggies in the wild.

I have well water at the community I live in and I started boiling my water that I drink and cook with several months ago. I find that my body has straightened out digestive wise as well and so has little Dink's digestive system.

If your dog is parasite free then the only other problem is bacteria that is in the water. Don't bother with bottled water - just boil your regular water for at least 3 minutes.

[shazamataz]

Switch to a working dog food or higher end dog food.
Working dog food has a lot more calories and protein.
Higher end is food is just well... better, it contains less fillers and general crap that is not needed.

You can buy enzyme powders from pet stores to aid with the poop issue. The powder is added to their food and it help aid with digestion as well as reducing the odour and amount of faeces.

[susan7251]

Dog ower of 2 sheperds... Stop the veggies. No table food. Feed should be kept the same ,do nat change brands.Purina has a lot of different variety,Benetiful will put weight on her.Keep to one dog food.

[twinkiedooter]

I agree with don't change the dog food the dog is eating. Dink has been eating Purina Nutritionally Complete for over a year and the ONLY thing I changed was the boil the water she drank and nothing else.

[shepherdfan]

I am going to try the water thing and cut back on the veg treats ( that was the Vet suggestion anyway) I have been questioning the water issue as we have town water with fluoride and chlorine that is noticeable. Thanks For the help folks.I,m going to boil some water...

[Lucky098]

I wouldn't suggest beneful or any purina brand foods.. they're actually poisonous... the colored kibbles have dye in it that has been deemed unusable for human foods... a soup spoon of cottage cheese and a sliver of butter helps put weight on. What the body doesn't use leaves... try not to over due either ingredient, it could get messy

[Sariss]

Definitely do not overdue the butter - that's just pancreatitis waiting to happen. I'd personally skip it myself.

[shazamataz]

A small amount of butter is OK but never a great chunk of it.

Just switching to a higher calorie food should be enough plus the enzyme powder but if that doesn't work then you can come back and we can discuss some other weight options.

I use adding fats to the diet as a last resort.

[Sariss]

Not always - every dog is different, and I've seen very small amounts cause big issues in even large breed dogs. Usually it's fine, but there are the odd ones..

[shazamataz]

Oh I agree, same with Chocolate, some dogs are fine but others can have terrible reactions.

[Sariss]

Yep. We had a PUG eat a tonne of dark chocolate over Christmas, and the owners didn't come in until 5 hours later. Totally fine. o_O Last year we had a great dane almost die after eating half a milk chocolate bar.