NewlyDutched wrote:I'll be making the switch to raw but I don't want to change everything at once.
Do you feed raw to your other dog now? The only reason I ask is because I've never had an issue moving a dog to raw from kibble when pulled from a shelter situation.
Which kibble are you feeding now? How much are you giving each time?
When trying to put weight on an emaciated dog, I would suggest feeding smaller meals at least 3 times per day, but I would add a 4th so that his system doesn't get overwhelmed. Without going into too much detail, starvation does horrible things to the system and organs. Too much food too fast can go wrong and at the very least you can end up with diarrhea. I wouldn't expect (or even shoot for) more than adding 2 pounds per week.
If you are going to stick with kibble instead of raw, you might want to add canned in for one meal. A quality canned food is higher in meat protein than kibble, is higher in natural fats than kibble, lower in carbohydrates than kibble, is more filling, and typically has fewer chemical additives. For canned foods, I would recommend Merrick, Canine Caviar, Tiki Dog, Wellness Core, Lotus Dog.
Whatever you feed (kibble, raw, canned), I would add a probiotic to help the flora in his gut and digestion. You can either buy a probiotic (I like Mercola's pet probiotic) or you can use an organic yogurt (I prefer goat's milk yogurt because it's easier to digest). If it were me, I would also make some bone broth. Bone broth is very nutrient dense and I've never met a dog who didn't love it. I also like using colostrum with sick, emaciated, or otherwise immuno-compromised dogs. You can mix it in with the yogurt. I would also start him on fish oil & vitamin e.
Be careful about too much coconut oil at this stage. Coconut oil has lauric acid in it and it can cause diarrhea in sensitive tummies.
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