[Oliveview]

Charlie was 28kg when we bought him home from the refuge.  He used to launch himself at the food, he ate like it was the first/last meal he had ever had, food flew everywhere. He now is the best of the 4 dogs, he sits quietly and waits for his dish to be put down on the floor and then he will sit and wait to be told to ´go on´  He eats steadily not in a rush.
He gets an upset tummy very easily, so we are back on the supermarket more expensive dog food
 He still looks skinny, he now weighs 30kg  so he has gained a little, but we can still almost count his ribs 
He has been wormed, he had very bad worms when he arrived here, he sicked some up    I went to the vet and showed the vet  the worms (I had them in a jam-jar)   We have seen no sign of  worms in his poo.  All the dogs are due to be re-wormed at the beginning of December.
We give Charlie 4 cups of food at night (530g)  and I have started to give him 250g with some tinned dog food in the morning, I have to do it secretly, the other dogs don´t need feeding up 
Also,  Charlie is a chewer, of his paws and legs, he makes them bleed  He cries as he is doing it so it must hurt him. 
When he came here he was a terrified dog, scared of everything and anything, he is now a happy and not so scared dog.  He had been hit by a car and had run off, he was lucky not to have been killed I was told.  He was later found abandoned in a park, absolutely terrified, so he has had a rough life. He was terrified of leads and collars and when we picked up the broom to sweep he went into a real panic.  He does not do that any more, just as well, as we have to sweep the floor loads during the day   
Another problem Charlie has is body odour-  he stinks-  any suggestions how we can improve his smell?  We have bathed him, washed his bedding, but still Charlie smells, and then the other dogs share the mat in the living room so they end up smelling too 

Any suggestions for Charlie´s weight, chewing and smell please?

Pamela

[snow white]

It could be the food you are giving him not agreeing with him.  Try a non allergenic food without beef or wheat and make sure the meat protein is the first mentioned on the list of ingredients.  Paw biting could be an irritation due to allergies as could the smell.  Try introducing the new food gradually over two weeks and go from there.  Give it a month on the new food.  If you want of fatten him up then raw meat is the way to go. Easily digested and pure raw protein.  Can you get some tripe or other animal protein to mix with his food?  Can you get Bittrex where you live to spray on his paws?  It may get him out of the habit of chewing.  Or give him something else to chew on - a bone maybe?  You may have to separate him when he has a bone to prevent jealously. 

Hope he gets better soon.  So glad he has found his perfect home. 

[Oliveview]

The vet and pet food supplier does Royal Canine (?)  food, trouble is it is hugely expensive    We had a look at one lot, the light food, it was 30€ for a small (ish)  bag  :ohmy    I will have a look at the non- expensive brands ie Breckies I think it is called,  we have to go to Sevilla to get that.
Tripe is available here (they eat it a lot!) I will buy that on Monday.  Would I have to cook it or just give it raw?  They could all have some mixed with their biscuit.
I have put a doggy cream with tea tree on his cuts, at first he left the cuts alone, now he licks the cream off. 
Could I make up his food myself, ie veg, tripe, rice etc?  I would not want him missing out on the vitamins etc he should be getting.  I could cook a load at one go and then feed it over a few days.  I would have to feed all the dogs on it, otherwise there could be a war!!

Thanks for your comments Snow White

Pamela

[shoozie]

I'd get Charlie checked out for mites Pamela if he is constantly chewing and licking his paws.  Epsom salts might soothe the irritation - but, if it's mites you'll need to get something to treat them and any infection they've caused. 

[Oliveview]

We are taking him to the vet next week, I have asked the refuge to check with the vet they use, as they get a discount for the micro-chip.  I have been looking on-line about home made dog food, I will look in the pet food supply place on Monday for vitamin supplements before I start making the food, don´t want them missing out on their vitamins etc. 
One of the recipes was 18 raw eggs, liquidised with their shells, 10lb minced beef (I would use half tripe to beef mince) about 4 cups of rice, cooked.  Everything is mixed together and then baked in the oven, it made 48 cups of dog food. 
The butchers are shut here now until Monday- and by then the bag of food we have will be all gone.
Off to look for more recipes

Pamela

[compostqueen]

My son worked at a dog kennels, and as well as boarding, they took in rescue dogs. They had a tripe and chicken cooker but it makes a huge stink that clings to your clothes    They fed starving rescue dogs a meal of a big bowl of cooked  pasta spirals or penne on arrival as it didn't upset their tummies as they would snaffle it down in seconds 

There are loads of recipes for home cooked dog food and the addititives necessary for the dog's coat etc. Plenty of information online too about feeding dog's a raw food diet.

My neighbour had a smelly labrador and it got so cheesey they had to house him outside. He was very healthy though. He was fed the same as the other dogs but they didn't pong.  I hope you can fathom it.  He could well have mites or scabies or some such thing but the vet should be able to sort that out. It could take a while though as they have to have lots of medicated baths. More good fun for you 

[Oliveview]

After my sister persuaded me to take Charlie ( it was an easy choice really)  she informed me that Labs can be a bit smelly!  He has taken to creeping up onto the sofa- the last thing we want is us to smell of smelly dog!  So he, and the other dogs to make it fair, are banned from the sofa and chairs too.

Pamela

[ANHBUC]

I agree it could be scabies which can be really bad so the vet will prescribe something if it is that.  The can get it from foxes.

Have a read of this topic about a smelly hen, I suggested bathing the hen in tea and it seemed to do the trick!   
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=96209.0

It is always worth a try.  Good luck.   

[mobilekat]

It may be worth trying feeding him on RAW- we switched our 2 lurchers over a few months ago and they are much happier, less smelly, and produce much less poop!

We have been buying in bulk boxes of frozen raw meat and then eat day just take out a couple of packets- and feed it raw.
They weigh 25 and 30Kg, and between them eat about 2lb of meat (1Kg) a day.
We vary the meat that they get so its a range of chicken, beef lamb and tripe- the company we get it from mince some bone in with the meat- but we also pick up bones from the butcher. They also get a few eggs each week too, and any 'dog safe' leftovers.

My friend (who has more time than I do) gets tripe and 'left over' raw meat from the butchers, including chicken carcasses and feeds these- but due to work we cheat and buy frozen!

if you google RAW feeding for dogs there is loads of info on the web- about what to feed, and how to change over.

The main reason we changed from dry food was that Ash has always had a really dodgy tum, and could produce wind that cleared a room- this has stopped!
Plus he didnt like eating his dinner no matter the makes that we had tried.
Since changing over he has such a better tum!
And they both have much better skin and fur too!

[Oliveview]

Thanks for the replies.  I am scared at the thought of raw meat,  especially bones,  I don´t know about Lola, Charlie and Timón, but Jumbo has never been given a bone, the others could have before we got them I guess. 
I will give the raw food a lot of thought, but not lamb ,  costs an arm and 2 legs here for lamb   

Pamela

[Oliveview]

We had a look at the raw chicken, it was going to cost us over 10 pounds a week just for the meat alone, so we went to a big supermarket and bought some dog food for dogs with digestive problems, so we will give that a try first.
The lamb was 2 arms, a leg and a body !  it was just over 8€ for two  ´ends of the leg´ I can´t remember the cut, there was mostly bone and hardly any meat    So lamb will not be on the menu for Charlie and co!! (nor me at that price  )

Pamela

[Oliveview]

We have given Charlie the new food and he seems to be ok, so fingers crossed.

Pamela

[ANHBUC]

That is good news.   

[Oliveview]

He is still a smelly lab though    He is so lovely though, and strong, especially when we get up and let them in first thing or have been out, he leaps off the floor, all 4 paws, then he falls at our feet and demands his belly is rubbed.  I just swept the floor (they should all be bald the amount of fur I swept up)  Charlie used to run away when we picked up the broom, I swept right up next to him and he just lay snoring 
I never ever wanted, or thought I would have 4 dogs!!  But we have, we must need our brains testing     

Pamela

[compostqueen]

   They are so lucky to have you