# Satin Balls Recipe (Weight Gain)



## Havtahava

In the topic on watching the Fiesta Litter grow, I mentioned how skinny Martha is after whelping the 3 puppies and that I'd be giving her some Satin Balls after they thawed.

Satin Balls are used among a lot of show dog people for adding weight to their dogs and assist the coat at the same time. My Hillary has so much energy that she burns calories faster than she can consume them so we use this often for her. A nice bonus to it is that it does not give the dog loose stools either.

This is a VERY large recipe, so you probably want to consider cutting it in half. After you mix it up, you can freeze it in smaller portions - balls or patties.

The following information came along with the recipe when I received it. My notes are in italics.

*Satin Balls Recipe*
This recipe is one for putting weight on an animal quickly, as some use it for putting a couple extra pounds on a show animal prior to the big day, or an animal that may have been ill and needs a weight gain program. It has also been reported that this recipe will help with some forms of hair loss, such as when your dog(s) blow their coat, to keep the coat healthy and shiny. This recipe is intended to be fed raw.

10# hamburger meat _I use the highest fat percentage of ground beef - 24%?_
1 jar wheat germ _20 ounces_
1 lg box of oatmeal (uncooked) _42 ounces - do not get quick cooking_
1 1/4 Cup vegetable oil
10 eggs 
10 sm pkgs unflavored gelatin 
1 1/4 Cup unflavored molasses
A pinch of salt
1 lg box Total cereal (2lb's)
(You may also add a pinch of garlic powder to add flavor)

Mix all ingredients together well, much like a meatloaf....put into separate freezer bags and freeze, thawing out as needed. It puts weight on in a very short time, not to mention the gloss in their coat. You can use it every day when they have a show to do and it does not produce diarrhea. It can be fed alone or with kibble.

This recipe was originally received from Dianne Carreon​
Caution: Not for dogs with wheat allergies.


----------



## windfallhavs

Hey Kimberly!

Funny you posted that today, I just mixed up a batch earlier this week. I do a half recipe and separate into individual 1/4 lb freezer bags. If you spread the mixture out in the bag so it is flatter, like a patty, it freezes and defrosts quicker. I just take two out the night before and they are ready to go the next day!

Here is what I use for the half recipe:

5 lbs ground beef
5 cups crunched up Total cereal
5 cups oats
2 1/2 cups wheat germ
3/4 cup oil 
3/4 cup molasses
6 eggs
5 packets unflavored gelatin

Even the half recipe makes a ton....and the dogs love it! I use it to keep weight on Katie....she tends to lose a lot of weight quickly when we are on the road. My only problem is getting her to eat her kibble! LOL

Congrats on the beautiful litter, Kimberly! Martha done good!


----------



## irnfit

The recipe sounds good. Could you give us the feeding guidelines, please. How much are you feeding per meal, etc. I wouldn't use it for putting weight on mine, but it might be good as a supplement for their coats. Or I could just give them all that oil mixed with the wheat germ. :biggrin1: I do add olive oil to their food, because they will not eat if i use any fish oils.


----------



## Havtahava

Diane, that is just about what I do also. Smart move on crushing the cereal and measuring. I mix it with my hands so the big flakes stick out quite a bit as I am blending it. I break mine up into sandwhich size baggies and flatten into patties, then freeze for a couple of hours and put all of those small baggies into one large freezer bag. Like you, I pull a patty out at a time to thaw overnight in the refrigerator. It is much easier to break chunks off as I go (and less time consuming than making a bunch of balls).

Michele, I just use it as needed. Like Diane, when I'm on the road, my girls don't eat their kibble much, so I put some frozen patties into a cooler and then mash one some into their kibble so they are getting both kibble and Satin Balls. For Martha right now, she'll probably get about one whole hamburger patty size over two days. I will continue this for at least a week for her, possibly two. She needs all the extra calories and fat right now.


----------



## Havtahava

OH! I'm going to edit the original post because I forgot to say that I always get the high fat ground beef (24%? fat). My butcher always looks at me funny when I get the big chubs of high fat beef, and then everything else is lean and I always get a lot of fish from them. Ha ha!

Diane, do you get a certain percentage of fat?


----------



## irnfit

So, if I wanted them to not gain weight, I should just give it every other day, or so?


----------



## Havtahava

I'm not sure it would be beneficial for coat if given sporadically or occasionally. The primary purpose of this recipe is specifically for weight gain and I think the benefit to the coat is only secondary because of all the extra calories, fat and oils. Does that make sense?


----------



## Thumper

That sounds like a GREAT recipe for a nursing mom! The molasses is REALLY good for them. Blackstrap molasses is a source of calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron. "One tablespoon provides up to 20 percent of the daily value of each of those nutrients." I always try to add it in cookies/biscuits or meat patties that I make. I think the sweetness of it makes them wanna gobble it up. lol

I actually make something similar to this, but I use fortified Rice Baby cereal. I wonder if the Total has more vitamins? Gucci loves the rice baby cereal, she'll eat it plain! She prefers it to real rice. lol

Michele, Flaxseed is a great supplement for coats, and other things. There is a thread about it. I think Amy is using an Omega supp for Biscuit's coat, and is raving about it. The Flaxseed has Omegas, too.

Kara


----------



## windfallhavs

I try to get the fattiest ground beef that I can find...which around here is 20%. I never thought to ask the butcher if there was something with more fat in it....I will have to check next time I am at the store! Thanks for the tip!


----------



## Havtahava

Thumperlove said:


> I actually make something similar to this, but I use fortified Rice Baby cereal. I wonder if the Total has more vitamins?


Kara, have you ever watched a Total commercial where they pile up all the bowls of the competitor's brand and brag how it would take that much to match all the vitamins in a bowl of Total? Your question totally made that flash into my head. :laugh:

Flaxseed is an excellent suggestion, Michele, especially if your dogs don't tolerate fish oils. Good thinking, Kara!


----------



## Havtahava

I seriously can't believe I put a box of Total on my scanner, but here you go, Kara. If you want to compare it with your rice cereal, you won't have to go to the grocery store to do it. Ha ha!


----------



## lfung5

Would this be good for skinny little Bella? She is finicky and I would love to see her gain some weight. I think I would just add about an ounce or 2 of it to her meals each day. Would it be too much to feed this stuff daily?


----------



## Thumper

I'm SURE it has WAY more vitamins than the baby cereal! lol, especially if you factor in that baby cereal is based on the vitamin needs of an infant/toddler vs. a full grown adult. I'm not sure if I would need to add Total to Guch's diet, I think she gets enough between the cereal and K9-RX. I think its a great recipe for gaining/nursing, though!

I don't understand the name "Satin Balls".......It should be called "Donut Balls" or something like that! lol

Kara


----------



## Havtahava

Linda, I don't see why it wouldn't be good for Bella. Of all the people that use this, I've never heard any warnings on feeding it regularly. I do it every day when I need to. When we went to New Mexico for 2+ weeks, Hillary did get it every day. Piaget only got a nibble because he doesn't need it, but I didn't want him acting like a monster when he knew she was getting it. She would get a huge chunk and he'd get a sliver. 

Kara, I think the name comes from the shiny look of all the oil and fat in the meat if you roll them up! I'm not sure about that though. The original recipe came from somewhere that uses the metric system. Everything was originally in grams and other measurements. It took me a while to find the recipe converted, but I later found that many people already had done their own conversions. Most recipes just say "1 jar", "1 box", etc. Anyway, all that to say that Satin may have a totally different meaning from wherever it originated.


----------



## havanesebyha

Thank you Kimberly ~ just found this and I know I asked you what Satin Balls were.
I'll stash it away for later use.


----------



## lfung5

Thanks Kimberly!


----------



## lfung5

Ok, I made the satin balls tonight and Bella ate them! She still prefers the Natural Balance roll. I plan on feeding the satin balls mixed with K9RX, Natural Balance roll, Natures Variety freeze dried, egg and salmon oil daily. I hope this will be ok for her everyday.
I had to cook the satin balls to get her to eat them. Is that ok?


----------



## Havtahava

Yes, several people cook them first. Some just lightly brown them and others cook them through.

What is _wrong_ with Bella?! I thought all dogs would eat raw if they had the chance!!! LOL


----------



## lfung5

Bella has eaten satin balls for 2 days now and is almost 7lbs! I hope to get at LEAST 1 more pound on her.


----------



## Laurief

:whoo::whoo: Bella, we wont recognize you!!:whoo::whoo:


----------



## Callalilly

I finally got around to making the satin ball recipe, put a little in Callie's bowl to see if she liked it (Cuz I thought it looked NASTY!) and she L-O-V-E-D it! I've never seen her eat anything like that before! She was ravenous like a little wild/purebreed beast. I gave her just a little ball last night with kibble and another ball with kibble this morning and she ate all of it AND licked the bowl clean LOL. I'm excited to see her put on some weight finally. Should I feed it to her at both of her feedings or just once a day?

Thanks,
Lisa


----------



## lfung5

The satin balls are Bella primary diet. I also add K-9 RX to it. That's a supplement recommended by Kara.


----------



## Laurief

Is she finally gaining weight Linda?


----------



## Posh's Mom

I made this satin ball recipe for my dane when he looked like he needed the bulk. He loved them.

I have to admit it was truly an act of love from me, as I am a vegetarian, living in a total vegetarian household (except for Miss Posh), and buying meat and using my hands to form little "meatballs" was a pretty disgusting experience.

Ah, for the love of dogs...


----------



## Laurief

I agree that we do a lot of things for our pups, that we would never ever imagine - that is why a nice big box of surgical gloves come in handy!!!


----------



## lfung5

Laurief said:


> Is she finally gaining weight Linda?


I think she gained a half pound, but I'll take it!


----------



## Me&2Girls

*MeMe gained almost a pound*

I'm so excited - I thought they weren't working but finally after four solid weeks of feeding Satin balls, I'm happy to report that MeMe has gained 14 ounces - and weighed in today at almost 8 lbs. She went back to her regular high calorie kibble (EVO) and canned duck tonight and ate it all up. So at least I haven't created a monster. I'm going to keep a close watch on her weight though and add them right back if she doesn't continue to gain. I think she also grew about 1/4" - 3/8" so I'm very happy.


----------

