• the Daily hi thread just say hi :)
  • All contentious threads including politics, religion, crime, immigration, laws, elections etc are banned & will be removed. There is still a Gun Related Politics section for relevant topics.

Help from dog owners .

D

dj1

Active member
Joined
Oct 25, 2025
Messages
168
Reaction score
262
Location
west yorkshire
I have two Schnauzer dogs, can someone recommend a dog food, not raw, that will put some weight on these dogs. They have been losing weight for the past year, yet if I give them more of current food they just poo more. So, I need some advice and recommendations on a dog food that will help to increase weight but not poo. Thanks.
 
This might be unpopular here but....

I always feed my dogs a mixture of dried kibble - preferably fish and potato or salmon and rice - and some canned meat.

None have bern underweight for long.

Plenty of fresh water needed 24x7 of course.

What does your Vet say?
 
dj1 said:
I have two Schnauzer dogs, can someone recommend a dog food, not raw, that will put some weight on these dogs. They have been losing weight for the past year, yet if I give them more of current food they just poo more. So, I need some advice and recommendations on a dog food that will help to increase weight but not poo. Thanks.
Click to expand...
What food are you currently giving them? Some kibbles are the equivalent of canine Haribo which may be causing the excessive poo. I use 2 teacups of Royal Canine kibble (which admittedly is expensive) mixed with a teacup full of chopped up,cooked and boned chicken thighs from the supermarket-at a fiver for a big tray. I cook it in one go and chop it up and put it in the freezer until needed. She gets that twice a day. My Gordon Setter -who was fussy- enjoys this and it maintains her weight and her coat is nice and glossy. She weighs about 25kg so you could adjust the amounts to suit your dogs.
 
A shooting pal of my son has a Labrador and a sprnger spaniel. They both get fed exactly the same and both have exactly the same amount of exercise. The lab is slightly tubby and the spaniel looks underfed showing his skeleton under his nice coat.The vet has done all sorts of tests and can find nothing whatever to explain him not keeping weight on. The owner resorted to giving the spaniel extra food which he eats and still looks starved (excellent gun dog though )
 
Our lab used to poo about 4 times a day on a kibble type food and not small ones at that! Also had to get his glands emptied every month despite us trying to get a premium no fillers type food.
Switched him to Pure food which is just dehydrated whole foods. Ordered online and it’s made such a difference. Poops 1 to 2 times a day and glands get done about every 6 months.
You fill in a questionnaire when you sign up and it’s tailored to your dog based on breed, activity level and health profile.
Only thing we found is as a softer food it was causing a bit of plaque on his teeth so we bought a cheap amazon kibble, cut back 1/4 of his Pure food and give him a small handful of kibble after each meal to keep his teeth clean. Has worked a treat the past 4 years or more 👍🏻

First picture is it dry from bag, 2nd is after it’s been mixed up with warm water which takes about 20 seconds
 

Attachments

  • IMG_9827.webp
    IMG_9827.webp
    320.6 KB · Views: 7
  • IMG_9828.webp
    IMG_9828.webp
    394 KB · Views: 7
You can feed your dogs the most nutritious way on a budget!
1- Cheap large (economy) tins of mackerel or pilchards, mix with boiled potatoes and carrots
2- Offal and bits from your butcher, boil and add gravy stock, with peas and potatoes.
3- Boiled rise mixed with sardines (Supermarket economy) , in tomato sauce, mixed with decent kibbles
4- Mix and match any of the above.
 
Homemade is good if you batch make and freeze but you do need to be careful with shop bought stocks and sauces. They can be high in sodium which is bad for us but dogs are far more sensitive to salt and can end up with kidney and liver issues longer term. Best to do that from scratch too if you’re going that way.
 
dj1 said:
I have two Schnauzer dogs, can someone recommend a dog food, not raw, that will put some weight on these dogs. They have been losing weight for the past year, yet if I give them more of current food they just poo more. So, I need some advice and recommendations on a dog food that will help to increase weight but not poo. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Have they been wormed properly? Losing weight is a classic sign of worms.
If both have been losing weight for 12 months what does your vet say?
My Lab has been 39.kilo all his adult life (13 now). His total food for a day is two beakers of kibble and a tin of meat spread over two meals. My sprocker gets about two thirds of this.
 
I use Pooch and Mutt dried adult food for my GSD, I put cooked Chicken on top, not much. She is high energy and now an ex working dog (S&R), toilet once a day and is normal. Her annual check showed nothing wrong and healthy, she was 8 this February. I did use Bounce and Bella but there always seemed to stock problems with them so I changed, both supposed to be a very natural food without all the grains and rubbish in them.
 
Apart from finding a food your dogs can eat that suit them, I would see a vet. My dog lost weight over a year and became a bag of bones, the vet found out she had a fat intolerance. So we had to avoid any pet foods with a high portion of fat in them. Turned out good old Chappie worked a dream.
 
This is not a personal recommendation, but a few years ago I met a Rottweiler breeder, who had a few champions, and she used to feed her dogs Burgess Supadog, its cheap but her dogs thrived on it, and they were big dogs! She also ran a boarding kennels, and if any dogs came in without their own food, then she used to feed them Burgess Supadog Sensitive as she said it didn't upset their stomachs and produced less poop.
 
Johnno said:
Apart from finding a food your dogs can eat that suit them, I would see a vet. My dog lost weight over a year and became a bag of bones, the vet found out she had a fat intolerance. So we had to avoid any pet foods with a high portion of fat in them. Turned out good old Chappie worked a dream.
Click to expand...

Opinion from a Vet needed here.

Also an answer to how recently and regularly they have been wormed.
(Some dogs seem to get reinfected.more quickly than others.)

From my own experience .......

Canned Chappie was the only food my Poppy Collie cross Retriever could digest as a pup - terribly runny poos with everything else.
After some months of Chappie she could and would eat anything.

My last Dobie always had a delicate stomach and a few days on Chappie put him right every time - usually after he overdosed on treats * or ate something he found rotting.


Until we know more about the Vet's opinion and the worming question we are all just guessing here.

*
An acquaintance accidentally split open a new bag of treats not long after I got Bailey.
He hoovered them up in an instant!
 
Last edited:
Thank you for all your reply’s and suggestions.

Both dogs are wormed once a month, current food is Cobbydog Optimum Chicken Cold Pressed that I feed twice a day. Also started to give them some cooked chicken as a midday snack. They have just recently been to the vets for their annual injections and checkup. No problems reported by the vet and are weighed every visit. It was me looking back through my records after the vet visit that I notice they were dropping in weight so started to feed them more hence more poo.

So, I’m thinking to change their food, but that’s a nightmare so many brand’s and types and change over time to see if it’s working. :unsure:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top