Very under weight rescue

[Melonie]

We have just rescued a 6 year old ex breeding giant, he’s 30 kilos and very bony with it. The breeder was feeding him grain free food, we have the same and are mixing it with some which I feed our other doggie family member has. At the moment I am giving him 600 grams in the morning with half a tin of meat and the same in the evening. He’s the 7th giant that I have rescued over the years, but it’s been about 8 years since I have had one, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas. I am taking him to the vets for a check over on Thursday.

[zeta1454]

I have no experience with GS but would generally always recommend raw feeding for dogs as being the most biologically appropriate food and our minis and affens have thrived on this for the past 13 plus years. This is pre-prepared frozen raw food from specialist raw food for dogs companies. However, whatever food you are feeding it could also be worth looking at supplementing it with bone broth either homemade or ready prepared (there are many different suppliers online although I would try to find those made from grass fed beef / organic / high welfare sources.

https://www.bdws.co.uk/bone-broth-for-dogs/

https://www.boilandbroth.com/5-benefits ... -for-dogs/

Other supplementary products worth considering are Dorwest Herbs Tree Barks Powder which is helpful during convalescence; a good pre / pro-biotic such as Yudigest and, to support his joints, Yumove Plus:

https://www.dorwest.com/product/tree-ba ... -and-cats/

https://yumove.co.uk/products/yudigest-for-dogs

https://yumove.co.uk/products/yumove-plus-for-dogs

The reason I mention the digestive supplements is because it is often poor absorption as well as inappropriate diet that leads to weight loss or lack of weight gain in dogs and people. Gut health is vital to overall good health and, if Magic has not been fed a good diet in terms of the right nutrients his joints and bones may also be affected although the Yumove supplements can be helpful for any older dog.

Hopefully the vet may be able to help identify if there are any health issues that may also be affecting his weight and give you some guidance.