Need help with a liquid diet.

emaleigh

Hey guys,

I was wondering whats the best way to go around a liquid diet? When I adopted my little ten year old Jimmy Choo he weighed just 1.6lbs and had lots of rotten teeth. I had most of them removed (he still has fangs and molars for the time being) I tried to adjust his diet by soaking his dog kibble in meat broth and feeding him more canned food. He does eat the occasional dry kibble and will lick and suck on leftover bones. I feed him canned veggies because they are soft. Or fresh veggies cut up really small.
Jimmy now weighs 4lbs, but is still quite thin. I can't feel his ribs anymore, but I can still see his back bone.
I read somewhere that soaking kibble in water can give them an upset stomach, although I do monitor his 'waste' and its ok. And I was soaking it in a broth.

He will likely need the remaining teeth pulled in 3-5 years the vet said.

I was hoping for some diet pointers as I'm at a loss of how I can improve further. I thought about getting a blender and blending down some meats, and veggies for him. But I am not sure if you can blend meat? Can I feed him minced meat? Is it a healthy option?

The canned food we feed is Blue Buffalo, along with the dry kibble. He will eat 1-2 bowls a day, I always offer 2 but sometimes he doesn't eat it.

I read pasta can help them gain weight.... but I switched to grain free two months ago... so I thought doing that would be like going backwards a step and be the wrong kind of fat he needs? And high calorie easy to eat diets out there?

Thanks, Ema-Leigh and Jimmy Choo! :]

GreatDaneMom

i would suggest blending it. that would be easiest for him. as far as soaking it in broth, watch that. most broths are very high in sodium which isnt good for dogs.

LDMomm

Have you considered trying the Honest Kitchen?

It's a dehydrated food that you mix with water. It's soft and contains a balanced meal of meat and veggies. The Embark is their higher-calorie grain-free version.

DeeSpark

I think just going for raw meats and maybe a bit of kibble, and blending, maybe with a bit of water.

Mikey

you can blend anything

Honestly I'd get advice from your vet.
But imo dogs dont' chew much-they have sharp teeth for ripping and shredding. In fact many people are alarmed at how their dog doesn't chew-just swallows. That's normal. They are also Superb at bringing stuff up if it's too big-very strong throat muscles.

So honestly I wouldn't imagine it being THAT big of a handicap. I'd think sliced meat, cooked rice and chopped veggies would be FINE.


I really think liquid would be hard to do. But check with your vet.

emaleigh

Thank you for all the responses. Our vet recommend feeding just canned food mixed with white rice. But since Jimmy doesn't eat too much I wanted every bite to be good for him. So I thought the rice would be bad? Hes been on grain free for 2 months now. The vet seems to think his back bone will always stick out a bit as well.

I will stop the broth, although it was all homemade so just the water/juices from cooking meat with no added salt/spices.

I have been thinly slicing meat and then kind of shredding it up. I also picked up a dog gravy from a pet store, which he seems to love.

I also tried blending meat and then adding diced meat + veggies and he loved it!

Is it okay to feed him rice as well?

And is bacon healthy to feed them often? He seems to love it, but right now he gets it every Sunday about four slices for a treat. Hopefully a high fat moderately healthy one!

emaleigh

After further research I won't be giving him any more bacon. Since its too high in sodium and not a healthy treat. I was just hoping it would be a fatty piece of meat for him but I guess not.

DeeSpark

I think rice should be ok. It's more healthy then pasta etc. Yes bacons not too good for anyone (unless you count nourishing our taste buds with wonderful flavours as a good thing ) save it for christmas and birthdays lol

emaleigh

Thank you for the response. I'll start offering him a bowl of rice with meat + veggies each evening as an additional meal. I'm sure he will wolf it down, or well schlop it down :]

2Greys

One of my dogs has teeth but he never chews his dry food just swallows it. If you soak his dry in warm water it will swell & then be softer and also help release some smells. I sometimes add a bit of tinned sardines/mackerel as the oily fish is good for their coats.