# dogs and suet



## Giraffe76 (Jan 22, 2010)

Hi all,

We have a huskey cross and a miniature yorkshire terrier amongst others who are underweight, we got told that feeding them a little suet on their food will help them put some weight on, is this true as it seems a bit strange to me.

Can anyone tell me other things to help put weight on these 2 dogs of ours.

Regards Mark


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

It's something a lot of old working dog people used to do. I've even done it myself when one of my dogs had a very hard few weeks working.
I've never looked into it in detail but it used to be common practice.
I think you would have to be extremely careful using it, but a teaspoon a couple of times a week wouldn't do much harm I would think, as long as it's short term.


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

I give suet when it gets colder, it is after all just fat.

Or you can give vegetable oils.

Dogs get their energy from fats not carbohydrates so you might have to experiment. Too much will also result in rather loose stools.


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## Pinkchi (Feb 5, 2011)

What food are you feeding them? How much excercise do they both get?

If they are doing alot of activity then increasing food amounts a little should help them to gain weight/keep a healthy weight. But it could also be down to the food quality, depending on the brand you feed, it just might not be the best brand for your dogs if more than 2 are underweight on it.

Are they wormed regularly? Internal parasites and other medical problems could cause weightloss so a vet check up to confirm or rule out other possibilities would be useful.

Tripe can be useful to help dogs gain weight. Pets at home sell it in frozen blocks and freeflow mince. Just defrost and feed a bit once a day.

I certainly would not feed my dog suet


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## babycham2002 (Oct 18, 2009)

Its only the same as what rawhide is. Ie animal fat. Not that i feed rawhide but thats only cos of my old dog choking on it and it wrecks the carpet

Yes i have used it for one of mine. Was pleased with the results too


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## Giraffe76 (Jan 22, 2010)

Thank you very much for all your comments and advice, some useful things to think about and possibly change.

Our dogs do get wormed regularly and all are very active.

Regards Mark


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

I've looked into it a little and there has been quite a few studies.
Working Sled Dogs have a very very high fat diet.


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

I suppose if you think about it suet is a natural animal fat so no reason why they shouldnt have it.
If fed raw, they probably get some in their diet anyway


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## bordie (Jan 9, 2012)

they get a spoonfull 3 times a week.but they are worked hard


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