This is our latest addition Nico;



He's a 15mth male, and although the picture doesn't show it too well he's extremely skinny. He's very ribby, and his hips and spine are pronounced.  We rehomed him two days ago, his previous owners had been feeding him a discount kibble named "Wagg".  They told us that his stools were always loose.  

His coat is very wiry and sparse, not at all like our other dog Skye;



We've started him on the same raw meat diet as Skye.  A couple of chicken wings for breakfast, and some Anglian Meat Products Prime Choice in the evening.  Hopefully he will start to fill out a bit soon.  Does anyone have any suggestions how to put some more meat on his bones?

Ah! Poor guy! I can definitely see his hips, and I'm sure it looks worse in person. I would suggest searching for 'satin balls' for weight gain. A lot of people have had good luck with that.

wpskier222 wrote:

Ah! Poor guy! I can definitely see his hips, and I'm sure it looks worse in person. I would suggest searching for 'satin balls' for weight gain. A lot of people have had good luck with that.

I've been looking at satin ball recipes. Molasses isn't a very common product over here, but we do have Black Treacle;

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=257090354

Would this be a suitable alternative?

http://food-drink.blurtit.com/72519/what-is-the-difference-between-treacle-molasses-and-golden-syrup

Disclaimer: I know nothing about this - but was curious myself.

I think you could use black treacle instead as it seems that it's very similar. It would still provide the high calorie content that normal molasses would.

simplify wrote:

I think you could use black treacle instead as it seems that it's very similar. It would still provide the high calorie content that normal molasses would.

Cool, I'll give that a go then. The wife has been fretting over Nico because his ribs stick out like a xylophone. I keep telling her not to worry, that we'll have him in tip-top condition in a couple of months.

Give it time. You don't want to put weight on him too fast. Also, overfeeding him to try to give him more calories may also cause loose stools. Good luck!

while you are working on getting him to a healthy weight and to add some meat to him (he is to skinny right now) also keep in mind his is still in the lanky teenager faze where they are supper skinny to start with!
glad he is in a better home with you now! good luck.

When we picked up Nico his previous owners cautioned us that his stools were rather loose. Since we changed his diet they've improved 110%.

You know, I've got a similar problem with my dog. She's 1 1/2 now, skin and bone, hips, spine, ribs sticking out. She won't eat her dry kibble, nor will she eat raw foods anymore. I call it extraordinarily picky, however, it could be something else.

I found it helped her weight when I added wet food to her dry, but, that started getting expensive, so I'm trying something different. (Not working; I'll have to go back to adding the wet food). Anywho, it's something you might want to try.

(Oh, by the way, the coarse, wiry fur is a symptom of the wolf hybrid. He might not be all husky.)    

Sister wrote:

(Oh, by the way, the coarse, wiry fur is a symptom of the wolf hybrid. He might not be all husky.)    

coarse wiry fur is also a sign of a poor diet

Excellent advice from everyone. Miya has had weight issues as well, she is 20 months old, so yea she is that awkward teenager age. Wiry fur, like Jennifer said can also be from previous poor diet. I'm so happy for you, given your other husky a companion, and giving your new guy a much deserved better home. With Miya, since she dislikes all kibble, and she doesn't tolerate grain, I have been successful at giving her grain free(taste of the wild) kibble and then I cook up approximately 4-6 ounces of either 80/20 hamburger or turkey burger and mix it with her kibble, she gets excited about eating and has helped with her weight issues, a few times a week I also add about 3 table spoons of pure pumpkin to that mix. Looks terrible but she loves it, eats it all, and has a soft, shiny coat, and her stools have become firmer.
By the way, your Nico looks a lot like my girl. Such handsome markings.

Looks like the new guy is a lot happier! Congrats! Dont know much about beefing him up sorry. But for the wiry coat fish oil might help a little.