Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi everyone. Just wanted some advice/personal experience on trying to gain some weight on Max. Unfortunately, gaining weight isn't a problem for me, John or Linda. Anywho, Max is a lean 62 lbs. We would like him to be 65 - 70, but of course, cancer is getting in our way. We currently feed him a high protein, low carb diet. We think maybe cutting down on the carbs (plus cancer, of course) is causing the issue. We feed him a large breakfast and dinner, plus a mid-day snack of fish (baked salmon, some sardines, and some freeze-dried raw food patties). He is wolfing down everything we give him, but he hasn't gained an ounce. Okay, actually he gained 3 ounces in 3 weeks, but that's not good enough for me. Any suggestions?
Thanks, Di
Well, I'm no expert... but I, myself lost 50-something pounds in a little over a year by going on a low carb, low fat, high protein diet... I don't know if the low carb, high protein diet is optimal for Max... It's definitely not the way to go to gain weight... So, definitely talk to your vet about it...
Angel Jake's Mom
Jake, 10yr old golden retriever (fractured his front right leg on 9/1, bone biopsy revealed osteosarcoma on 9/10, amputation on 9/17) and his family Marguerite, Jacques and Wolfie, 5yr old german shepherd and the newest addition to the family, Nala, a 7mth old Bengal mix kittie. Jake lost his battle on 11/9/2009, almost 8 weeks after his surgery. We will never forget our sweet golden angel… http://jakesjou.....ipawds.com ….. CANCER SUCKS!
Jerry cowed out noticeably and pretty quick with lots of cottage cheese in his diet.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
And to think I kind of called Maxi fat when we first met! 
Don't you wish?!
It sounds as though Max has a good appetite, so I don't understand why you can't just give him a bit larger portions and lots of fat. If he takes any pills or supplements, you can wrap them in butter (probably not the greatest for nutrition, but loads of fat) or cream cheese. Other sources of fat: higher fat yogurt, cottage cheese (so maybe just buy the higher fat options, e.g., 3.5% and up). Gosh, Tazzie could only dream if I were to willingly let him gain weight. I give Tazzie a bit of yogurt or cottage cheese before bedtime and sometimes during the day.
They say fat is good to fight cancer so it is probably a win-win situation. So rather than think of Max's diet as low carb, high protein, try to think low carb, high protein and high fat. Tazzie says . . . Yummmy fat
I actually had to cut back on the cottage cheese because caira gained a couple pounds. She gets cottage cheese and fruit with each meal (thus Tazzie lovingly calls her a fruitbat!). She also gets those freeze dried cheese snacks at times. I have also read that low carb, high protein and high fat (if not getting the dog fat) was good for fighting cancer. Of course, sometimes caira's dad gives her a bite of biscuit, or sandwich, or donut. Sometimes she gets carbs...we just don't tell anyone. Try cheese and peanut butter--maybe not mixed, although I don't think Caira would say no to that either!
May 2001-Jan 21, 2010.....I'm a dog and I'm AWESOME!..... Always.
Thanks everyone, those are really good suggestions. Sounds like cottage cheese may be the way to go. I'm already giving him huge portions for his breakfast/dinner, but I guess he can have huger portions! I had no idea cottage cheese was so fatty; I've never eaten it before b/c it looks kinda gross! I was thinking maybe some hot dogs would be okay too. I guess truthfully, my boy can have what he wants, as long as it's semi-healthy.
Thanks again for all the replies,
Di
If you do go with bigger portions of the dog food it might be better to feed Max three times a day instead of two big meals to lessen the chance of bloat. Is your vet worried about his weight? Emily was losing weight very quickly and even though it was not healthy we fed her McDonalds and hot dogs. Unless your vet is worried about his weight I would not suggest it for Max though. Good luck gaining weight, Max.
Debra & Angel Emily
Debra & Emily, a five year old doberman mix, who was diagnosed with an osteosaecoma. She had a right rear leg amputation on May 19, 2009. On November 10, 2009 she earned her wings and regained her fourth leg.
Max, you eat like a king!
If you do get more cottage cheese, watch out for runny poo, that can sometimes happen.
The other thing my pawrents did to help me gain weight was they mixed more Innova Evo kibble into my raw diet, along with some canned too. That did the trick.
Good luck buddy! My Mom says she wishes she had that problem!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hey Max
I eat lots of meals throughout the day. Some forms of cottage cheese (and yogurt) are low fat. Some are higher fat. Just check the label. Cottage cheese does not always agree with my tummy. I think yogurt is easier on it.
Tazzie
Max has two regular meals per day, and one mid-day snack. The vet feels his weight is normal, but they've also told us the cancer will be a problem from here on out. It's not like we see his ribs or anything; it's just that he's below his normal weight, and has been, so it really bugs us. I guess to us, it's just another way the cancer is edging ahead. Mental thing, I guess. We consulted a nutritionist because we wanted to feed him healthy because of the cancer. She didn't really suggest any fatty foods; she liked the Orijen kibble we use, suggested raw freeze-dried patties, some veggies, and a specific wet food. She suggested salmon and sardines, plus the raw freeze-dried patties as his snack. We do all that, but to no avail. The good thing right now is that he's not losing weight either, so that's a positive. We'd just like to pack on a couple more pounds, I guess for our peace of mind, and his future.
Di
This was the closest subject I found to my question:
Daisy is going to start back up with physical therapy but she lost alot of muscle mass over the winter. I want to "feed her muscles" without having her pack on fat pounds.
She is a picky eater- she loves cooked brown rice with chicken or beef mixed in as an add it to her regular meals.
She hates veggies and cottage cheese. I have forced probiotic yogart down her when she gets irregular but she wont eat it willingly.
Monkeybutt Samson and I on the other hand have porked out this winter......
Daisy earned her wings on Oct 22, 2011 at 14 years old
She is now the official greeter at the rainbow bridge
Everyone is guaranteed a welcome sniff and Dalmatian smile
Max, Oh Max -
If only I had your problem. I would first ask for french fries and then a cheese burger. Those might not be very good, healthy options but they do taste good 
Not sure if you're into supplements, Daisy's Mom, but this supplement comes to mind to pack on some muscle. I use it on Maggie. Also, what has helped Maggie gain muscle in her remaining rear leg is some hillwork.(along with her PT exercises.). This supplement is also great for picky eaters.
http://www.k9po.....-fuel.html
Tracy, Maggie's Mom
Maggie was amputated for soft tissue sarcoma 10-20-09
Maggie lost her battle with kidney disease on 8-24-13
daisy2010 said:
This was the closest subject I found to my question:
Daisy is going to start back up with physical therapy but she lost alot of muscle mass over the winter. I want to "feed her muscles" without having her pack on fat pounds.
How about just packing a lot of healthy meat into her diet? Although Max never gained or lost much weight before the end, that might have been because his cancer was growing a little faster than we realized at the time (we lost him about a month and a half after my wife's last post on this thread). In Daisy's case, try stuffing her full of those canned sardines, which we always found repulsive but Max inhaled like candy. Maybe some of Stella & Chewey's freeze-dried raw food would appeal to her as well. Some vets have concerns about potential germs in raw food, but we got around that by doing freeze-dried only, which is safer and a lot less gross to handle. We also used to cook several boneless chicken breasts at a time and then add those to his daily meals.
Fresh raw & freeze dried have exactly the same propensity for contamination....Very minimal! Almost all pathogen related dog food recalls have been kibble. Lew Olson PhD, http://www.b-naturals.com cited multiple studies in her response to the Delta Society's raw food policy. It can be found it it the newsletter archives. There are also quite a few good nutrition articles, with suggestions for both raw & home cooked diets.
Meat protein will help Daisy increase her muscle mass, especially with physical therapy. Carbs (brown rice!) are going to fill her up without much benefit. Why don't you just incorporate a probiotic supplement regularly? I use a probiotic daily and lactobacillus 2x/week. Be careful with products like Missing Link & others containing molasses & unnecessary carbs. Fat is preferable to carbs.
Canned sardines are really high in sodium and calcium. Maybe OK for a cachectic animal to get some calories in, but probably not for Daisy's purposes.
Isabelle says Daisy should just eat Samson......
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