When you have a dog that needs more calories than his food is providing because he's been ill or is a finicky eater, try these recipes for "fatballs." You will probably need to introduce them gradually to your dog's diet, especially if your dog's stomach is sensitive to dietary changes. Because I have a number of dogs, I make big ones and take out a couple out of the freezer to split between four dogs a few times a week.  To  help put weight on dogs, I give one in place of the morning meal. This is a balanced meal, so don't fool around too much with the ingredients.

This mixture gave me another use for the huge bowl I bought to make dressing at Thanksgiving. If you don't have one like this, try a big soup pot. I also don't have enough cookie sheets or freezer space for all these balls, so I do one layer on the cookie sheet, cover it with foil and do a couple of layers on each sheet. Just be sure to spray both sides of the foil as well as all the pan with Pam or everything will stick when it freezes. They only need to be frozen enough that they don't stick together before you put them into a freezer storage container.

You can also add a cup of ground flaxseed, kelp, and/or garlic if you want. Sometimes I add peanut butter, too, or use ground turkey instead of beef.

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Meatballs Recipe #1

Ingredients

10 lbs. uncooked hamburger--Buy the fattest grind you can get, which will also turn out to be the cheapest. You can use ground beef, turkey, or lamb, but beef probably has the highest fat content.
20 envelopes of unflavored Knox gelatin
20 egg yolks (you shouldn't give dogs raw egg white, but if you hate waste, cook this up in a skillet and add it to the dog's food. The cooked egg whites will keep for several days. You can also use them in a soufflé or for meringue)
2 12 oz jars of wheat germ
2 regular-size boxes of Total cereal (I often use one box of Total and about 4-6 cups of cooked brown rice or oatmeal)
2 cups molasses (I like to use the blackstrap kind)
2 cups oil (the original recipe calls for corn oil but I prefer safflower oil or mix cold-pressed flax seed oil and safflower equally)
Some amount of garlic or garlic extract
(Optional)
2 large cartons of cottage cheese
2-5 cups of peanut butter

Preparation

Mix all the ingredients except the meat together.  Then crumble the raw meat into the mixture and mix well. This takes about ten minutes, and I've never found a better utensil for this than my hands. When everything is well blended, form individual balls about the size of a fist. Put them on a cookie sheet and freeze until hard, then store them in a container or bag. Frozen, they are a great hot-weather treat. Otherwise, thaw and mix in their regular food.

Received originally from Joanne Givens on Showdogs-L

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Meatballs Recipe #2

Ingredients

6 lbs. uncooked hamburger meat
1 regular size box Quaker Oats
1 regular size box Total cereal
1 jar unsulfured molasses
6 egg yolks
5 cups Oil (again I prefer Safflower)
4 packages of unflavored Knox gelatin
1 cup or more of chopped garlic (or substitute 2-3 tbs. garlic powder)
1 cup water

Preparation

Mix all ingredients except meat and mix well.  Break raw meat into small pieces and knead well into mixture. Form into balls an appropriate size for your breed of dog (about a cup--fist size--for an Akita). Place on cookie sheet in freezer until they are hard. Remove and place in container or plastic bag.

This recipe makes a quantity more suitable for a smaller dog breed.

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Dog bone and bowl rule courtesy of Fuzzy Faces