My husband and I adopted a puppy from the pound and he has kennel cough. They gave us the medicine for him, but I still can't get him to eat like he should be eating.
They also told me he was 11 weeks old, but they found him as a stray so who knows. He is very tiny and malnourished. I just don't know what I should do or what kind of food to give him. Please help.
By krystle from Killeen, TX
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Here are nutritious cookies to make for a dog that needs to gain weight. I have used this on a sweet adult hound dog which was brought to us with nothing but skin and bones. Kibble by itself will not put weight on, and depending on what kind of dog food it is, might actually hurt the animal if given alone. Kennel cough is so common, it takes a while to get over.
Here is the cookie recipe:
1 package of gelatin
1 pound of hamburger meat
1 or 2 cups of oatmeal
Package of macaroni and cheese
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Enough water to mix it into a dough like consistency
Mix this all in a bowl, make into patties, freeze, then put in plastic bags, and pop one out several times a day 4 for so, microwave for about thirty seconds, and feed it to the dog. If you don't have all the ingredients, still make it with what you have.
I like to shape this into patties, and then freeze on a cookie sheet.
When frozen put in bags, or all in a plastic bag enough to hold them all, and pop one out several times a day and microwave them. This is in addition to regular food.
Depending on how sick the dog is or how dehydrated, see this link for simply hydration formula to make at home.
www.k911.biz/
One dropper full of infant vitamin drops for a big dog, half a dropperful for a medium dog and 1/4 dropper full for a small dog
Also, instead of buying garbage treats, buy something like Pro Plan or Authority in little bags to give as a treat, it has meat as a first ingredient or second ingredient. Meat by-products are not really the best food.
I supplement my dogs all the time, just not as often since I can't afford the best dog food.
They can also eat green beans, mashed potatoes, don't give them raisins, grapes, broccoli or chocolate of any kind. There are websites on the net about what is toxic to dogs, and what is not.
Lots of love and have fun. God bless you for your efforts on behalf of this little soul.
Our buddy Gus was only six pounds underweight when he came to live with us but he was difficult to feed in that he has some eating habits we were not used to seeing (DH and I had Labs and Golden Retrievers growing up, not dogs known for being picky about food!). For the first three weeks or so he would barely eat from his bowl so we hand fed him making every handful a reward for doing something with plenty of praise, tedious but better than watching him not eat. We learned shortly after that an old owner would not provide food or water to Gus unless the owner was eating a meal (this explains a lot), and have learned since that Gus will eat his food (or drink water), on his schedule and ONLY if he has an audience.
We also helped a friend rehabilitate a boxer that came to her severely malnourished (Mia weighed 22 pounds...now weighs 60!). Her mom had to supplement her dog food with human food; for six months she would mostly stick to eating the "human food" component of her food, when she was back to a more or less healthy weight she began to eat her dog food. Those "cookies" Robyn suggested sound like a great idea, wish we had known about them three years ago!
We had this problem and the vet told me to moisten the dry food and add a little beef boullion to the food until we got him to eat.
Try cooking some hamburger, rinse it off with hot water to remove the grease and mix with cooked rice add some to his regular food. This was told to us when our dog got cancer and was unable to eat just regular dog food
As young as this puppy is, please take him to the vet. The vet will tell you all you need to know about how to care for him and what to feed him.
Take the puppy to the Vet ASAP. I would not try any home remedies. All of my dogs have come from rescue, and I've had a lot of problems with health issues, but nothing the Doctors could not fix :-) Jennifer Northern Virginia
Also a note, the cheerios with the two different kinds of wheat are full of vitamins and these can be mixed into the cookies I mentioned above. Also if you don't have the drops or in addition to them. I would have it to the vets to have a worming. Try to find a vet that doesn't charge an office visit. Also I would set up an account for the puppy, and save a little every so often in it so you can get it to the vets when it needs it...sometimes they get ear infections and such.
Keep antibiotics also and remember if it is impossible to get to a vet you can order fish antibiotics on line and go online to find the dosage based on weight. I always keep a z pac pill on hand for my animals. It works so a broad spectrum of problems, but don't try it if you are not sure you know what you are doing from research. The simple fact is that you are taking a risk when you self medicate, but sometimes that is the only way.
Another note, I have found frontline not to work so don't waste your money on it. It might be that it has changed hands to be marketed by walmart or whoever, and the formula has changed to reduce the price. Robyn
Of course you have taken the puppy to the vet. What did he say about his age and his appetite? If you haven't taken him yet, you should do so right away.
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