Ok been a while but I've been busy.
Back in February we adopted a lovely hound from the fabulous people at the Blue Cross! he is a lovely chap but was terribly thin. So I had a couple of months off from doing much work whilst I concentrated on feeding him up and training him. His name is MAJOR TOM - or Tom for short, he is a lurcher (with a good deal of greyhound in him ! maybe some staffie/collie in the mix too?)
As you can see he has developed beautifully :)
If you are thinking of getting a dog PLEASE consider a rescue .... don't assume you are getting a dog with 'issues' many are simply unlucky or have had to have been given up by caring owners due to changes in their circumstances. We do not know Tom's history other then being found as an unchipped stray but we have yet to see any behaviour issues or signs of abuse.
So... what with a couple of hours of walks a day we have been busy - but as he sleeps about 16 hrs a day as well he's no bother!!! sighthound types are notoriously lazy once they find a comfy spot .
Also I have been making stuff for him - his coats, his beds and even his toys and food LOL . I had A LOT of interest when he was wearing his coats earlier this Spring and I think I will be offering these as custom makes soon WATCH THIS SPACE!!!!
Better sign off.... I need to walk the dog...XXX!
Wow, what a transformation! Our Lupin isn't nearly as thin as your Tom was when you got him, but she could do with building up a bit. Unfortunately she has a delicate stomach and is prone to diarrhoea so we have to be very careful what we feed her. Do you have any tips on what might be good for her? Having a vegan partner means cooking up chicken and stuff at home isn't likely to be an option, unfortunately. But I'm perfectly willing to buy meat for her, as long as it's not going to upset her stomach.
ReplyDeleteGo for better quality dried dog foods, lower/no cereal content and personally I would avoid those with maize/corn. Ours has Wainwrights and does well on it, try rice and lamb, I have heard Eden is good too. You can get tinned tripe mixes which are good for weight gain but they may be too rich at least to start with. If you could bear to cook it chicken and rice homecooked is good when they have upset tums. Pumpkin and sweet potato is good for delicate tums as well. Some people say a bit of probiotic/natural yogurt is good so you could mix that sweet potato to put in Kongs or look for probitic non dairy suppliments. White fish and rice might be another option - you can make it or buy fish based kibble.Eggs can be worth a try too. As you have only had her a short while keep her on something quite simple, some of her dietary issues could be due to stress and new routines. If you do introduce new foods do it gradually - small amounts. If you change her main food do it over a week and slowly phase in. You could also try puppy food for a while if you need to build her up.
ReplyDeleteIt will be trial and error for a while !