Maui starts the "Beefcake" Diet today
So Maui had his vet appointment and his blood work has been sent to Michigan State. Our vet knew the Doctor some of you mentioned we should send his blood work too - so that was reassuring. She has been doing research on Maui's issues... that makes us feel good.
Anyway, one of the issues Maui is having is weight. He will not gain weight and is losing weight and getting very thin. He looks really bad - the dog just will not eat much.
Prior to the vet visit Jen did a lot of research and found some homemade weight gain diets. We had our vet check them out and she said they were fine.
So we started Maui on the diet today - hopefully he will gain some weight. Here is the diet and some pics:
- 2 Cups of crushed dog food [we used Innova due to its high calorie content]
- 2 Packs of Cream Cheese
- 1 1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
- 1/2 Cup Oil [we used Olive Oil]
- 1 Cup Cottage Cheese
- 1 Pound of Meat [we used fatty ground beef]
Mix until doughy, then spread on a pan and let it set in the refrigerator.
Here is what it looked like:
Pretty gross huh? Maui liked it tho - so that's good.
Our hope is that we will be able to "normalize" his weight on this diet and then move him back to his kibble w/ a little more higher calorie items mixed in. Obviously this diet is not a long term deal since its horribly unhealthy long term... but if it gets some weight on him the we [the vet and us] feel it is worth it.
I'll get a weight on him as of today later so we can track his progress.
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Anyway, one of the issues Maui is having is weight. He will not gain weight and is losing weight and getting very thin. He looks really bad - the dog just will not eat much.
Prior to the vet visit Jen did a lot of research and found some homemade weight gain diets. We had our vet check them out and she said they were fine.
So we started Maui on the diet today - hopefully he will gain some weight. Here is the diet and some pics:
- 2 Cups of crushed dog food [we used Innova due to its high calorie content]
- 2 Packs of Cream Cheese
- 1 1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
- 1/2 Cup Oil [we used Olive Oil]
- 1 Cup Cottage Cheese
- 1 Pound of Meat [we used fatty ground beef]
Mix until doughy, then spread on a pan and let it set in the refrigerator.
Here is what it looked like:
Pretty gross huh? Maui liked it tho - so that's good.
Our hope is that we will be able to "normalize" his weight on this diet and then move him back to his kibble w/ a little more higher calorie items mixed in. Obviously this diet is not a long term deal since its horribly unhealthy long term... but if it gets some weight on him the we [the vet and us] feel it is worth it.
I'll get a weight on him as of today later so we can track his progress.
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Comments
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I hope it beefs him up!
Which generally means a dog will love it!
Good luck
I think that makes like 2 weeks worth of food for Maui. You are supposed to feed it to him throughout the day - I'll ask Jen tho, she will be more familiar with how much of that stuff he eats and how long it lasts [she isn't home right now, so I'll post it later].
We do feed the Shibees RAW - but this recipe called for cooking the meant to make it even more tempting for him... it will also keep longer.
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For Maui, this is what we are going for...
Joking of course!
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Good luck with Maui's bulking up!
Ronan isn't thrilled with raw meat as he is with cooked. He'll eat it, but not nearly as much. He also won't touch peanut butter - silly boy!
btw - how cute would the name "beefcake" be for a dog!
We spoke to our vet about him and we are considering just putting him on the thyroid meds before we get the blood work tests back just to see if he improves - the vet didn't feel it would hurt him.
What do you guys think?
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BUT I have heard - with no experience in the matter - that thyroid meds might do a number on their immune system.. i don't know under what conditions.. and if you are giving him supplements - make sure none will interact!
I am not sure ....placing him blindly on meds without some backup verification seems tricky. My thinking is ....Thyroid meds can alter endocrine & metabolism and if you need more testing, then the data will be skewed if he is on something he does not need. If you vet feels it isn't a problem though, i guess go with what he recommends.
It's a tough call...you want Maui to start eating and feeling better soon.
Snf
He is really a frustration.
Hopefully the tests will yield some results, quickly.
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Sorry he's being such a pain, I know how tough it is to not be able to figure out what is going on and not be able to fix it for him. Keep your chin up, things will get sorted out. You just have to be patient and continue giving him the love that you do.