My dog has Cushing's and is picky. How can I add calories to her food?

As you know, Cushing's disease causes excessive cortisol (steroid) production, which can lead to an increased appetite. With the cortisol levels under control, Lucy's appetite may have regulated, but 13 pounds is a pretty significant weight loss. Normally, you should be able to easily feel (but not see) a dog's ribs and see a waistline when looking down on them from above. We can easily become accustomed to seeing overweight dogs as "normal" and can perceive a healthy weight as being too thin. (Without examining Lucy, I can't comment as to if she is truly underweight, or if her weight is appropriate.) Since her appetite has become picky and her Cushing's disease seems to be well controlled, there is also a chance that she has developed some primary intestinal issues (such as inflammatory bowel disease) chronic pancreatitis, or intestinal parasites. At this point, I recommend taking Lucy to her vet for another exam to assess her overall body condition and consider additional diagnostic testing (CBC, chemistry and abdominal ultrasound) to try to get to the bottom of this issue. I hope that all goes well!

Hi, is she on medications for her stomach ulcer ? Ulcers are sooooo painful so any food will make her uncomfortable. I think she should ate least be on Omeprazole .. regarding food a natural diet such as Almo Nature would be my choice ! Best wishes

Provide food that is high in calories, like puppy food or a food that’s designed for active, athletic, or working dogs. Higher protein and fat pet foods are best. Underweight pets should be eating foods that are around 30% protein and 20% fat if they’re eating dry kibble; 7% protein and 5% fat (or higher) if you’re feeding a wet food. Intersperse your pet’s diet with small amounts of high-calorie supplemental canned food or canned products made of 100% meat sources. These will have a high protein and fat content, like 100% pheasant or bison, for example. They won’t say “complete and balanced” but rather “for intermittent or supplemental use” because they’re not meant to replace regular feeding. Some moist foods may be easier to digest, so your pet may retain more nutrients, and more importantly these products tend to be more palatable and tempting to a pet who isn’t eating enough. Any diet changes should be done gradually over a week's time as to not cause any GI upset. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

First, I think it is important to determine Malia's ideal weight for her size. If your vet says she is underweight, then you may need to make some changes. But if she a good weight at 32 pounds, then eating a couple cups of food a day should be adequate for her weight. My 30 pound dog only eats about 1 cup per day. Don't forget that it is much healthier for a dog to be a little lean. If Malia is underweight, then you may need to look at foods that are more dense in calories. You can consider some of the super premium foods like Natural Balance, Wellness Core or Orijen which tend to have more bio-available calories in each cup. You may also consider The Honest Kitchen which is a dehydrated food and dense in calories. https://www.thehonestkitchen.com/ Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

You may try adding a scoop of canned weight loss dog food. This would likely have less calories than chicken or hamburger. You must also remember that dogs try to train us. As long as she is healthy, she will eat when she is hungry. It is OK for most dogs to miss a meal here and there as long as they don’t have a metabolic health concerns (like diabetes). You may also try mixing the canned food with water to create a gruel and pour this over the kibble and mix well. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

At this point it sounds like she needs a higher amount of calories. There are some food you can try but with her history of the pancreatic cancer component it could cause inflammation of the pancreas. I will discuss with your veterinarian something like hills a/D, recovery diet, are you at Max-Cal diet. Sometimes something like Ensure works as well. Sometimes we also use kitten or puppy food as it has a high calorie counts as well. But again your veterinarian maybe concerned about him on a fat with your dog having pancreatic issues.

Foods have very different calorie contents so it’s difficult to knownif 2 cups twice daily is enough since there are several different limited ingredient foods by Nutro. I calculate up to 1400 kCal per day for an active 45 lb dog - she might need more or less depending on her weight. You also might want to check in with your vet and see what they think her ideal body weight would be.