# 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 ha… ## Thread In Shiba Inu · started by brada1878 · 23 replies - **Category:** [Shiba Inu](https://nihonken.org/community/c/shiba-inu) - **Forum:** [Nihon Ken Forum](https://nihonken.org/community/) ## brada1878 (admin) · 2008-07-11T14:32:12.000Z 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. ---- ## brada1878 (admin) · 2008-07-11T14:33:18.000Z I didn't mention - you cook the meat before you add it. This isn't a RAW diet [not that I am against RAW]. ---- ## brandon_w (admin) · 2008-07-11T14:35:22.000Z How many feedings is that recipe? Looks like cookie dough. I hope it beefs him up! ## JessicaRabbit (admin) · 2008-07-11T14:54:25.000Z I threw up a little. Which generally means a dog will love it! Good luck ## tsukitsune (moderator) · 2008-07-11T14:58:36.000Z do you not feed raw to the shibas anymore? ## sujewel · 2008-07-11T15:01:33.000Z Um, it looks like it's already been eaten. GROSS. ## brada1878 (admin) · 2008-07-11T15:10:46.000Z I know... it really looks gross. lol. It does look like its already been eaten. lol! 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. ---- For Maui, this is what we are going for... Joking of course! ---- ## brandon_w (admin) · 2008-07-11T16:07:33.000Z Everyone else thinks it looks gross, I think it looks like cookie dough? What is wrong with me. I was even thinking that without the dog food, it's almost a good dip. Add some curry paste in there and you could have a peanut buttery, creamy, beefy, curry dip! ## Leonberger (admin) · 2008-07-11T16:08:51.000Z Or stuffing for chicken, hehehe. Good luck with Maui's bulking up! ## _dlroberts · 2008-07-11T19:27:06.000Z I hope he plumps up like a pig before going to market. ;-) ## ddowdemers · 2008-07-11T19:50:09.000Z Good luck on Maui....that gunk would fatten anyone. ## Michelle M · 2008-07-11T20:09:47.000Z Nothing, and I mean NOTHING is more gross than putting raw beef liver in a food processor and hitting frappe. I nearly hurled three times. 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! ## sujewel · 2008-07-11T20:31:36.000Z Ok, my gross meter totally went off the rails wen I thought about what this concoction would look like coming out!!! ## tsukitsune (moderator) · 2008-07-13T01:13:56.000Z how is maui doing on this beefcake-gunk so far? btw - how cute would the name "beefcake" be for a dog! ## brada1878 (admin) · 2008-07-13T02:28:35.000Z So far so good, he seems to like it - tho he will not eat a whole portion in one sitting so we have to spread it out a bit. ## brada1878 (admin) · 2008-07-16T19:00:52.000Z Well, Maui stopped eating his Beefcake food. :o( He may have gained a pound, at most. We just dont know what to do with him - he's so odd. 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? ---- ## kwyld · 2008-07-16T19:04:38.000Z I know it would be a huge pain, but maybe taking him to an Internal Medicine specialist to get an abdominal ultrasound? ## tsukitsune (moderator) · 2008-07-16T20:05:02.000Z if they don't think thyroid meds (hyper?) would hurt, then why not? 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! ## zoiegirl · 2008-07-16T20:50:47.000Z Hope he gets some weight on keep us posted ## StaticNfuzz · 2008-07-16T22:52:09.000Z hummm....I think the results can take several weeks to get back. 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 ## brada1878 (admin) · 2008-07-16T23:23:10.000Z I agree, its kinda hairy [putting him on meds]... and the strange thing is he feels fine, he acts totally the same he is just slowly getting emaciated. :o\ He is really a frustration. Hopefully the tests will yield some results, quickly. ---- ## JessicaRabbit (admin) · 2008-07-16T23:29:16.000Z Poor little man. ## _dlroberts · 2008-07-17T00:47:06.000Z I agree with Snf, putting him on meds blindly is pretty tricky. While a thyroid condition may seem like the leading candidate, if it isn't, the effects of the drugs could mask the diagnostic symptoms they would need to actually find out. Then you would have to detox him so they could perform the test they need and you may loose a few more weeks before you get some answers. How long has it been? Can you hold out another week or two? I know its a huge hassle, but it sounds like a specialist might be something to consider seriously. Of course I'm the poster boy for getting good results with a specialist. 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. ## okiron · 2008-07-17T04:50:55.000Z I'm watching the beefcake episode now and thinking of Maui :P --- **Navigate:** [Forum home](https://nihonken.org/community/?format=md) · [Sitemap](https://nihonken.org/community/sitemap.xml)