Hi Mom T, nice thing you have done taken in an old boy….. I have a 7 yr old with IBD & Skin problems & he has problems keeping on his weight, so I feed 4 smaller meals thru the day & more then what it says on the kibble bag. Patches kibble says 2 & a 1/2 cups kibble per day but I cook as well so I give 1 heaped cup kibble a day…
I would not feed any puppy food, it’s made for high energy puppies, like you said the puppy food would be too high in fat, find a good kibble & I feed 4 meals a day…Holistic Select has their Senior kibble chicken meal & rice that’s easy to digest… http://www.holisticselect.com/recipes.aspx?pet=dog#category5
I cook then freeze the cooked chicken or beef in 1 cup sections & I freeze small kangaroo mince balls, like a rissole that I bake, I add 1 egg, some parsley, some people add Turmeric powder & coconut oil for arthritis, you can bake small balls of beef, chicken or turkey mince rissoles & give as a treat or mix thru the meal…. Patch gets cooked meal for breakfast & dinner, I feed cooked chicken breast, tin Salmon, boiled potatoes, broccoli, zucchini, some times, beef, Kangaroo, sweet potatoes a bit of pumkin, boiled egg etc make sure you add the fish (tin Sardines or Salmon in spring water drained) for his omega’s for his skin… I prefer to add Patches omegas naturally thru food not the fish tablets….. Fish oil tablets made Patch feel sick, you have to remember these dogs were not looked after probably most of their lives & when we rescue them & start adding all this healthy new stuff etc some dogs stomachs/bowels can’t cope…. then I give 1/2 cup kibble for lunch & another 1/2 cup kibble for late dinner….that’s for a 39lb dog……. Kibble keeps & puts the weight on, I have found…. look at the Kcals on the kibbles web page for the Kcal/per cup the higher the Kcal per cup the better around 380-400Kcal/per cup…..Once you start feeding 3-4 meals a day his weight will slowly start to come back, nice & slow, it may take about 4 months but it will be healthy weight not a diet full of fat..
Here’s a calculator to see how many Calories he should be eating a day, it gives you a ruff idea, just enter the weight he should be & he’s a senior dog..
http://www.german-shepherd-lore.com/dog-food-calculator.html
