Need to up weight !

Basenji Feeding

  • My girl is a little on the ribby side ,when I got her from
    Previous owners they said she was picky …,doubt it because I bought her FROMM duck and sweet potato and she
    Adores it !,did start to add some macaroni and cheese into it just to see of she'll eat a tad more
    I give her 2 cups a day -she was about 14lb when I got her a week ago I think now she's at least 15 or 16
    Her weight is going up slowly but I'd love to know that feeding her well so she gets to her appropriate weight
    Any suggestions ? I'm taking her to the vet on Wednesday to get stitches out so I'll see if maybe a dewormer might be the case??

    :)here's two pictures of her one out for a walk today and one of right now after her lunch lol passed out on the couch


  • How old is she?


  • 1.3yrs or should I not worry and her weight will get to what it should be soon ?


  • Just feed her good stuff - quality kibble and fresh meat - and she'll be fine.
    We feed 3 days of kibble and 1 day of meat: kibble about 1% of body weight (per day), meat about 2% of body weight (per day).


  • Agree Kjdonders, good quality food…. she is still a youngster.... What does her breeder say?

  • First Basenji's

    this recipe has been around and it is yummy and put on weight! guess if she doesn't like it, maybe a neighborhood dog would! I made them once, you can omit the garlic if you choose, and if you don't want 'grain' just up the amount of the oatmeal. I feed raw, but I guess you can bake it. Search this forum for more info! she is a cutie! glad she is with you!
    SATIN BALLS
    #10 of cheap hamburger meat
    1 lg box of Total cereal (1 lb box in USA)
    1 lg box of oatmeal (uncooked) (the 32 ounce in USA)
    1 jar of wheat germ 10 eggs
    1 1/4 c. veg oil
    1 1/4 c. unflavored molasses
    10 sm pks of unflavored gelatin
    pinch of salt and garlic
    mix all ingredients together well, much like a meatloaf… put into
    separate freezer bags and freeze, thawing out as needed. I mixed it in
    with kibble. Make "meat"
    balls (golf ball sized) and mix with food as well.


  • :) thanks everyone for the info and yes it lookes like she should also maybe start to bulk up a bit of the spay
    -stitches not out for another 4 or 5 days >.<, but did all her shots UTD ;)


  • Again… have you spoken to her breeder?... is this the usual body weight of this breeders "breeding"...?.... and if it is... you have what you have.... I would never use this even with a show dog... I don't agree with "cheap fat filled beef"... this is used by handlers to put quick weight on dogs for the show ring, again... I don't agree with that either... They are what they are... and some dogs do not reach maturity until 3 or 4 yrs of age...


  • @Buddys:

    this recipe has been around and it is yummy and put on weight! guess if she doesn't like it, maybe a neighborhood dog would! I made them once, you can omit the garlic if you choose, and if you don't want 'grain' just up the amount of the oatmeal. I feed raw, but I guess you can bake it. Search this forum for more info! she is a cutie! glad she is with you!
    SATIN BALLS
    #10 of cheap hamburger meat
    1 lg box of Total cereal (1 lb box in USA)
    1 lg box of oatmeal (uncooked) (the 32 ounce in USA)
    1 jar of wheat germ 10 eggs
    1 1/4 c. veg oil
    1 1/4 c. unflavored molasses
    10 sm pks of unflavored gelatin
    pinch of salt and garlic
    mix all ingredients together well, much like a meatloaf… put into
    separate freezer bags and freeze, thawing out as needed. I mixed it in
    with kibble. Make "meat"
    balls (golf ball sized) and mix with food as well.

    IMO, this is for a dog that is a show dog that needs extra pounds for the ring… this is not (again) IMO for a normal healthy dog... they will gain or not weight depending on their body type... this only last for a few days.. it is not something that puts weight on them for a long period...


  • I've been reading this thread and wondering what the heck is the rush? If the dog is healthy, just feed her a quality food that she likes and time will take care of the "problem". Too heavy is, IMO, more of a health issue than being on the light side! An active dog is often slender. I do prefer they have a bit of "reserve", because it gives them an edge in case of illness, but pushing too much food in an effort to get a fast weight gain strikes me as unwise.


  • I'm just feeding her 2 cups of dry kibble with a bit of canned mixed in for her bigger meal which is lunch , plus with the spay she will get up in weight slowly , I will get her weighed again once we get back to the vet to get her stitches removed -went yesterday and was told to go again in 4 days :), breeder said she is underweight a bit again I'm her second owner ,

  • First Basenji's

    Hey, I just added the original recipe that has been around the forum for some time. It is up to the reader's discretion to use it or not. Just FYI information. I am not a breeder or shower, just thought it may help. I did not write the recipe either-would not use low quality meat in an underweight dog either….

    Tama, The menu for your dog sounds sufficient! Hope all is well!


  • Satin balls are fine if you have a dog who won't eat, is seriously underweight and just trying to get something into them. It was never intended to be a regular thing as it's not that healthy. And yeah, have seen show folks use to fatten up fast. But you don't want fast, you are doing slow and steady.

    First, check for worms and perhaps do a prophylactic worming if your vet thinks it might help. Then get on regular heart wormer which also helps with other parasites.

    IF the dog eats a lot but stays thin, Pat could be right and just that line. But you do want to rule out issues with absorbing nutrition. Since the dog is gaining, I doubt that is an issue. But keep it in the back of your head in case because malabsorption issues do arise. You might want to add in some probiotics for healthy gut to help her use the food she eats more efficiently.


  • She's now eating Now Fresh from Petcurean , small breed , loves it ! 2 cups a day gone , I also did get her a dewormer from the vet when
    I went into get her stitches out and vaccines UTD :), we have to go back on the 21st,
    What brand or type of probiotics would you reccomend?,



  • Thanks ;) hope they ship to canada ! :)

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