Calorie Dense Canine Cooking
January 21, 2023 2:08 PM Subscribe
Frank the Adorable Wombat is dying. At this rate, he's going to starve to death before the heart failure kills him. What are the most calorie-dense foods I can cook for him?
Due to his heart failure, he is unable to effectively move fluids through his system which results in ascites. We are taking him to the vet to drain his abdomen regularly, but unfortunately, as his abdomen inevitably refills, he has less and less room for food. This little guy has lost 25% of his body weight and every calorie counts now.
The only calorie dense, palliative food I can buy here is made from chicken, and that is a gastronomic and gastrointestinal disaster. Therefore I am going to start cooking ground beef for him, and need suggestions of calorie dense foods that are dog safe to add to his meals. I have eggs and full fat Greek yogurt on my list but welcome other suggestions.
Nutritional composition is not important at this life stage, just palatable canine calories. Thank you.
And yes I absolutely will put him down when the time comes but he is alert and engaged and that time is not now.
Due to his heart failure, he is unable to effectively move fluids through his system which results in ascites. We are taking him to the vet to drain his abdomen regularly, but unfortunately, as his abdomen inevitably refills, he has less and less room for food. This little guy has lost 25% of his body weight and every calorie counts now.
The only calorie dense, palliative food I can buy here is made from chicken, and that is a gastronomic and gastrointestinal disaster. Therefore I am going to start cooking ground beef for him, and need suggestions of calorie dense foods that are dog safe to add to his meals. I have eggs and full fat Greek yogurt on my list but welcome other suggestions.
Nutritional composition is not important at this life stage, just palatable canine calories. Thank you.
And yes I absolutely will put him down when the time comes but he is alert and engaged and that time is not now.
When my dog was nearing the end of her life and wouldn't eat her normal food, we had success with rice, rice with dog-safe chicken or beef broth and a bit of canned pumpkin on it, boiled chicken breast cut into cubes, little lamb and pork meatballs (buy ground meat, ball it up, and cook it in a frying pan until you would eat it), dried fish and chicken jerky dog treats, freeze dried beef liver, stinky bacon cheese dog treats, cheese, and chicken broth ice cubes. We also tried blueberries, apples, broccoli, and carrots but she wasn't interested in any of them.
My thoughts are with you and Frank.
posted by A Blue Moon at 2:39 PM on January 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
My thoughts are with you and Frank.
posted by A Blue Moon at 2:39 PM on January 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Canned mackrel, or salmon blended with cream, so it is lappable. Blend the chicken with cream and garbanzo beans.
posted by Oyéah at 2:48 PM on January 21, 2023
posted by Oyéah at 2:48 PM on January 21, 2023
pretty much anything can be blended up with cream to make it calorie-dense and easy to lap up. Fish, beef, cheese, sweet potato...
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:00 PM on January 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:00 PM on January 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
I know you asked for food to cook, but air-dried food is a bit more compact. Introduce slowly for non-gastrointestinal distress, but all dogs I’ve come across loves Ziwi Peaks, and the lamb formulation has 5600 Cal/kg. My dog had a lot of GI problems as a pup and this worked pretty well. They have a calculator for amount of food and for a 20lb senior dog, he would need 2.8oz per day. As far as fresh foods go, chicken and rice is low calorie dense so would recommend organ meats like liver (we used chicken and rice to reset her stomach while she was on a diet).
posted by sincerely yours at 3:02 PM on January 21, 2023
posted by sincerely yours at 3:02 PM on January 21, 2023
Totally mistaken on the organ meat thing; mixed up what our trainer said (since we do a low-calorie diet).
Here’s a breakdown for more meats — maybe pork would also be a good choice.
posted by sincerely yours at 3:13 PM on January 21, 2023
Here’s a breakdown for more meats — maybe pork would also be a good choice.
posted by sincerely yours at 3:13 PM on January 21, 2023
Can dogs eat butter? That got my cat (bless him) through a rough patch. I’m sorry about your friend.
posted by eirias at 3:27 PM on January 21, 2023
posted by eirias at 3:27 PM on January 21, 2023
Best answer: People with heart failure need to be hyper-vigilant about dietary salt, so it might be a good idea to check with the vet before giving him foods higher in salt, like cheese or canned fish, despite their calorie density. I'm sorry about your pup!
posted by citygirl at 3:29 PM on January 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by citygirl at 3:29 PM on January 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
I would do egg yolk only, for density. My vet advised cream cheese and peanut butter in smaller proportions, plus beef or pork fat mixed in with your meat, and if you can get your hands on bone marrow easily it's fatty and nutrient rich and can be especially compelling to a dog who is disinterested in eating or could benefit from a few extra bites every feed - more as a dressing than a large proportion of your mix.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:41 PM on January 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Lyn Never at 3:41 PM on January 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
At the end of my girl's life (also suffering from heart failure and an undiagnosed tumor), she was similarly having trouble with food. What did the trick was salmon in olive oil-- she was tiny, so I would cook up a fillet and split it with her for meals. She seemed to be disinterested in food unless it was 'mine'-- maybe there was some extra thrill in getting human food.
So sorry for you and Frank, I hope he is ready for lots of love and tasty meals ahead!
posted by actionpact at 3:44 PM on January 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
So sorry for you and Frank, I hope he is ready for lots of love and tasty meals ahead!
posted by actionpact at 3:44 PM on January 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
If you cook eggs and some cream into an unsweetened custard (maybe stir in some butter at the end for extra calories), you could keep it on hand as a base to mix with other high-calorie ingredients—peanut butter, canned tuna or salmon, yogurt, cooked meats.
posted by theotherdurassister at 5:04 PM on January 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by theotherdurassister at 5:04 PM on January 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
The late Mathilde Bonapurrt, small cat, would pour herself with alacrity from her deathbed cubby and towards a can of Gerber Chicken / Pork / Beef / Turkey Baby Food, which the vet said was good at her stage and was what they gave to hospitalized pets that otherwise refused to eat. I encourage you to try the non-chicken ones. If you read the label you will see they are entirely meats, no herbs or spices or such. You can get individual cans at the grocery store, and six-packs online.
I also bought one slice of every deli meat, and some cheese, and would prepare tiny smorgasbords. But nothing was as absolutely scarfed as the gerber.
posted by Hypatia at 6:09 PM on January 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
I also bought one slice of every deli meat, and some cheese, and would prepare tiny smorgasbords. But nothing was as absolutely scarfed as the gerber.
posted by Hypatia at 6:09 PM on January 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
He's a sweetie! My Boston Terrier went through this and the biggest hit with her was duck. I would simmer the duck breasts and she would lie just outside the kitchen, making sobbing noises if she thought it was taking too long. We rotated through other meats. For some reason she really enjoyed bison and she did like chicken livers but the one thing she would eat without fail was duck.
All the best to Frank.
posted by BibiRose at 6:30 PM on January 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
All the best to Frank.
posted by BibiRose at 6:30 PM on January 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Goat cheese. My dogs both love goat cheese. They love goat cheese more than peanut butter, more than meats, about the same as eggs. Goat milk is really good for dogs' digestion generally as well.
posted by phunniemee at 6:42 PM on January 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 6:42 PM on January 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Wet/canned kitten food is very calorie dense, and I suspect puppers will love it. (It may have chicken however). Blend it with cream (perhaps goat, cow can cause tummy issues) or cheese for added calories.
posted by cgg at 8:02 PM on January 21, 2023
posted by cgg at 8:02 PM on January 21, 2023
Satin balls? There are a few different recipes when Googling.
posted by GrimmblyTuna at 9:43 PM on January 21, 2023
posted by GrimmblyTuna at 9:43 PM on January 21, 2023
If you normally fed your dog kibbles or wet food, you can go to an expensive pet store and buy the most ethical raw foods you can find. Here's a map of pet stores that will sell these sorts of foods. I know you're asking for calorie density but if the main concern is palatability this just happens to be the part where calorie density and nutritional completeness overlap.
OH also apparently dogs on a mainstream kibble-based diet make more and bigger poops than dogs on a raw food diet, because dogs on a raw food diet are using more of what they eat. So in that sense it is more efficient which I think is another part of your goal of calorie density.
Budget-wise, it only makes sense if your dog is small, dying soon, or you have disposable income.
They say leaving it raw is better for the dog because the dog needs the enzymes you get from raw food and that dogs don't have human digestive systems. When I heat it, my dog gets even more excited, I think because it emits more food smells.
posted by aniola at 12:12 AM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
OH also apparently dogs on a mainstream kibble-based diet make more and bigger poops than dogs on a raw food diet, because dogs on a raw food diet are using more of what they eat. So in that sense it is more efficient which I think is another part of your goal of calorie density.
Budget-wise, it only makes sense if your dog is small, dying soon, or you have disposable income.
They say leaving it raw is better for the dog because the dog needs the enzymes you get from raw food and that dogs don't have human digestive systems. When I heat it, my dog gets even more excited, I think because it emits more food smells.
posted by aniola at 12:12 AM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Yeah, be careful with the salt. Unless he doesn't want to eat. In that case, anything, even shredded cheese, is better than nothing.
There's nothing wrong with giving him just beef for a little while. This doesn't really answer the question...but on the off chance you don't know this: baby food is loved by dogs universally. It's low in salt, free from additives, and already cooked and pureed - so you can feed it right out of the jar. You can get a beef base and feed that pure, or give him one of the many options with beef, rice, and a vegetable like carrots or pumpkin. Peas are fine, too. My dogs love the salmon, rice, and carrot type. They go crazy for potatoes, carrots, and beef as well. And there's pure turkey, in case you want to see if he can stomach that. Because most of the time, poultry is easier to handle than beef.
I wouldn't do a lot of experimenting once you've found something that works. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to switch to raw food now - ask your vet? I think you're supposed to do that slowly and in general, I'd try to stick with what your dog's stomach is used to.
If you're feeding peanut butter or sweetened yoghurt, make sure to not get anything with artificial sweeteners. Those are toxic. Sugar is okay in this situation. If he gets really weak, try squeezing yoghurt pouches or the doggy liver sausage that comes in a tube in his mouth.
posted by toucan at 12:41 AM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
There's nothing wrong with giving him just beef for a little while. This doesn't really answer the question...but on the off chance you don't know this: baby food is loved by dogs universally. It's low in salt, free from additives, and already cooked and pureed - so you can feed it right out of the jar. You can get a beef base and feed that pure, or give him one of the many options with beef, rice, and a vegetable like carrots or pumpkin. Peas are fine, too. My dogs love the salmon, rice, and carrot type. They go crazy for potatoes, carrots, and beef as well. And there's pure turkey, in case you want to see if he can stomach that. Because most of the time, poultry is easier to handle than beef.
I wouldn't do a lot of experimenting once you've found something that works. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to switch to raw food now - ask your vet? I think you're supposed to do that slowly and in general, I'd try to stick with what your dog's stomach is used to.
If you're feeding peanut butter or sweetened yoghurt, make sure to not get anything with artificial sweeteners. Those are toxic. Sugar is okay in this situation. If he gets really weak, try squeezing yoghurt pouches or the doggy liver sausage that comes in a tube in his mouth.
posted by toucan at 12:41 AM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure if it's a good idea to switch to raw food now - ask your vet? I think you're supposed to do that slowly and in general
Yeah, I was assuming it would be better for Frank the Adorable Wombat cooked based on the circumstances. Transitioning to raw food should happen over several weeks.
My dog had a bad reaction to meat baby food. Loved it, but it gave them the shits any time I tried it. Maybe baby food is the same way?
I think which of the above options you go for will depend on Frank's particular preferences, needs, and circumstances.
posted by aniola at 12:49 AM on January 22, 2023
Yeah, I was assuming it would be better for Frank the Adorable Wombat cooked based on the circumstances. Transitioning to raw food should happen over several weeks.
My dog had a bad reaction to meat baby food. Loved it, but it gave them the shits any time I tried it. Maybe baby food is the same way?
I think which of the above options you go for will depend on Frank's particular preferences, needs, and circumstances.
posted by aniola at 12:49 AM on January 22, 2023
Best answer: I'm so sorry. What a sweet, sweet baby. You can try liverwurst, eggs, and ice cream. The boys love all of these. Sardines are another but, they are SUPER stinky. Goat milk is another that will work. You try buttermilk, too, depending on his lactose tolerance.
I would be cognisant about feeding Frank super high-fat stuff (as opposed to high-calorie foods) because you don't want to verge toward the possibility of sending him into pancreatitis. Mix both together in equal amounts and see how he does.
Love on that sweet boy for me. You know I have a special place in my heart for Frank and his brethren. Big, big hugs to both of you.
posted by dancinglamb at 4:52 AM on January 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
I would be cognisant about feeding Frank super high-fat stuff (as opposed to high-calorie foods) because you don't want to verge toward the possibility of sending him into pancreatitis. Mix both together in equal amounts and see how he does.
Love on that sweet boy for me. You know I have a special place in my heart for Frank and his brethren. Big, big hugs to both of you.
posted by dancinglamb at 4:52 AM on January 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I forgot to mention - you can feed him "meatball mix". It's a combination of ground beef, veal and pork. Some stores carry it already packaged, or you can go and buy the meat individually and mix it together.
I've only ever given it to my boys raw (I make it into little meat balls and they looooove them), but if you want to cook them for Frank, mix the meat with an egg and some torn up bread that's been soaked in a little bit of milk (or cream!). You can then make the meatballs, put them on a baking sheet and then throw them in the oven at 375F for about 20 min (depending on size). Once they're done and cool, you can freeze them in a bag and take them out as you need them.
Honestly, though, the Pigdogs come running when they smell the meat in the kitchen. I wish I had a better way to help you and your Wombat. My heart is breaking for you.
posted by dancinglamb at 5:04 AM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've only ever given it to my boys raw (I make it into little meat balls and they looooove them), but if you want to cook them for Frank, mix the meat with an egg and some torn up bread that's been soaked in a little bit of milk (or cream!). You can then make the meatballs, put them on a baking sheet and then throw them in the oven at 375F for about 20 min (depending on size). Once they're done and cool, you can freeze them in a bag and take them out as you need them.
Honestly, though, the Pigdogs come running when they smell the meat in the kitchen. I wish I had a better way to help you and your Wombat. My heart is breaking for you.
posted by dancinglamb at 5:04 AM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
Can dogs eat butter? That got my cat (bless him) through a rough patch. I’m sorry about your friend.
Oh, can they! My three Frenchies get their meds in butter every day. It makes for amazing putty to wrap pepcid in!
posted by dancinglamb at 5:09 AM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh, can they! My three Frenchies get their meds in butter every day. It makes for amazing putty to wrap pepcid in!
posted by dancinglamb at 5:09 AM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
I promise I will stop after this. Did your vet tell you about Nutri-Cal?? It's a high calorie gel for dogs. Super gooey, and kind of like molasses in toothpaste form, but they love it. It's about $10-12 here. Amazon definitely has it.
Also, why not puppy food???? Super high calories!
posted by dancinglamb at 5:13 AM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
Also, why not puppy food???? Super high calories!
posted by dancinglamb at 5:13 AM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
My dog loves beef liver, which you can buy inexpensively at the butcher and pan fry.
posted by slateyness at 7:14 AM on January 22, 2023
posted by slateyness at 7:14 AM on January 22, 2023
Response by poster: Thank you all for the ideas and also for the warnings. I didn't think of the salt issue and am glad I am not planning meals built on cheese now, and Jesus Christ we need pancreatitis in this house like we need plague.
Today Frank had an entire babyfood hotpot for breakfast; a scrambled egg for lunch; and 120g of cooked ground beef with some added veggies and 60g of Greek yogurt on the side. He ate everything, and that totals around 450 calories which is great. He weighs less than 10kg now so that's a good bit more than he needs to sustain life.
Some 100% natural, salt-free peanut butter arrives tomorrow for pills, too, on the basis that it may offer slightly better nutrition than the butter he's been getting his pills in up until now!
We'll see about the state of my floors in the morning!
posted by DarlingBri at 12:47 PM on January 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
Today Frank had an entire babyfood hotpot for breakfast; a scrambled egg for lunch; and 120g of cooked ground beef with some added veggies and 60g of Greek yogurt on the side. He ate everything, and that totals around 450 calories which is great. He weighs less than 10kg now so that's a good bit more than he needs to sustain life.
Some 100% natural, salt-free peanut butter arrives tomorrow for pills, too, on the basis that it may offer slightly better nutrition than the butter he's been getting his pills in up until now!
We'll see about the state of my floors in the morning!
posted by DarlingBri at 12:47 PM on January 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
Diet-Related Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a thing in dogs, and it is associated with legumes in the diet. I don't know the details or even what DCM is, really, but since peanut butter is a legume, depending on your dog's life expectancy, it might be worth looking into.
posted by aniola at 6:40 PM on January 23, 2023
posted by aniola at 6:40 PM on January 23, 2023
Response by poster: His life expectancy is about 12 minutes so it's not an issue, but thank you!
posted by DarlingBri at 1:57 AM on January 24, 2023
posted by DarlingBri at 1:57 AM on January 24, 2023
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Jane the Brown at 2:32 PM on January 21, 2023 [7 favorites]