Any good dog food to put on a bit of weight

galaxy

galaxy

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Harley is now 16 months (GSP). He has always been lean, but I've put that down to growing. However that is slowing down now.

When he went to the vets in Nov he weighed 27.8 kgs (GSPs should be 27-32kgs). I spoke to the vet about him being lean, and he wasn't too concerned. He's not THAT skinny and he just put it down to him being a very active dog.... when we go for walks, he does not stop running!

At the moment he is fed Burns Pork and Potato. I feed him this because apart from Orijen (which is too expensive) it had the least amount of grains in a dog food I could find (just a small amount of maize). He is well on this apart from being a bit skinny. He already gets about an extra 25% for his size than it recommends on the back of the packet. He constantly gets treats etc throughout the day (training rewards). He does very well on this food in every other way. His poos are very solid and not too regular (as in often!)


When I say skinny, I mean when I look down from the top of him I can see the outline of his last 3/4 ribs. He is also a bit more "whippet" like than GSPs usually look.

My vet was not remotely concerned that anything was wrong with him.... I was just wondering if there was a more fattening feed he could have? ( with low amounts of grain). Or anything anyone could suggest I could add to what he already gets? I would love to feed him raw, but I just have no freezer space to buy in bulk, and he's a big dog, so feeding large amounts bought regularly is very expensive.
 
I would start with about a small tuna can size a day and they change as you see fit. If he gets fat give less if he is staying skinny add some more.

You might try the salmon mousse they have on fish4dogs.
 
Am feeding the salmon mousse to my skinny gsd type dog on cc's recommendation, and he's starting to put weight on now, all be it slowly!
 
As he's only 16months he still has plenty of time to fill out. I've been told about 1month per inch in height, so, assuming he's around 24-25inches that will be around 2 years, even then he may take a bit longer to "fill out". Obviously whilst he is still developing food intake is important but, I wouldn't worry too much, as long as he's happy, active and healthy. Stuff like a tin of sardines (in oil or tom sauce), lamb mince or even suet balls if he really drops weight are all good additions to his diet if you want.

Just remember though, he's a lean mean hunting machine!!!;)
 
Tripe is good for putting on weight, or oily fish as already mentioned. As he is still young and is within the recommended weight limit I really wouldn't worry too much.
Re the suet balls recommended above, I have recently been warned that they can cause pancreatitis in dogs if eaten, it may not be true but thought I should mention it.
 
Tillypup said:
As he's only 16months he still has plenty of time to fill out. I've been told about 1month per inch in height, so, assuming he's around 24-25inches that will be around 2 years, even then he may take a bit longer to "fill out". Obviously whilst he is still developing food intake is important but, I wouldn't worry too much, as long as he's happy, active and healthy. Stuff like a tin of sardines (in oil or tom sauce), lamb mince or even suet balls if he really drops weight are all good additions to his diet if you want.

Just remember though, he's a lean mean hunting machine!!!;)
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just measured him (poor boy, he was sleeping!) and he's 25" to his wither? He's a tall boy! He was the biggest in his litter....

Where can you get salmon mouse from?
 
galaxy23 said:
just measured him (poor boy, he was sleeping!) and he's 25" to his wither? He's a tall boy! He was the biggest in his litter....

Where can you get salmon mouse from?
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My dog is 25" tall and also weighs 27kg - he doesn't sound that far off ideal, in all honesty - I know mine is a different breed but still a working type dog.

Fish4Dogs Salmon Mousse - twice a year they do a BOGOF deal on it so you can get 90 pouches for £21. :)
 
increase the amount of protiens in his diet first off, and as you said he is very active then make sure he has enough carbs, i know some people on here are opposed to this but boiling up some rice on top of his usual meal (so as it isnt substituting anything) is an effective bulker, a large amount of people i know who work their dogs over 4 times a week do this and find it an effective way of keeping their dogs weight and energy levels up without them putting on unhealthy amounts of fat

. as pps have said fish, eggs, and i have also been told suet can be used.

If you are looking for just a dog food then Pedigree chum, i see it as the macdonalds for dogs, not healthy but hell it will make your dog chunk up in no time. its always worked on any runty pups ive had as givng them fish can upset their tummies.
 
Burns pork & poultry is only - Protein 18.5%, Oil 8.0% - which is not enough for a growing and/or active dog.
Add a tin of sardines or some tinned trip but it may be better to choose a more appropriate dry food as well.

Fish4dogs @ Protein 26%, Oil 12% is grain free and more appropriate.
 
oh also, you said your dog is 16months old???

why isnt he still on puppy food, he'll be growing massively right now, its in the teen months i always find you have to almost double the pups rations and i always feed puppy food till they are two and the majority of their growing has stopped.

mind you i had a lady view a pup and tell me that she didnt need the 12k bag of food i'd supply because 'theyre only on puppy food till 12 weeks old anyway''!!!!
 
He's not on puppy food because the feed advise lines (not just Burns) told me to take him off puppy food a while ago. He hasn't got much growing to do at all. He's hardly changed in months and months. He just has a bit of filling out to do.

I have given him some tripe for his lunch and will be giving him some of that or a can of fish and see how he goes. I had a look at the fish for dogs complete food. It's about the same RRP as Burns, but I get about £10 off Burns on line, so going to do some shopping around and see if I can find a similar deal.

Thanks for the suggestion PP, but I don't want to feed him things like Pedigree and I try and I don't think grains are best for dogs. Would prefer to up him with meat. One day, when we move house I will be switching him over to raw.
 
How many meals is he on a day? If you try increasing it say from 2 to 3 meals (same weight of food overall just split across 3) and adding tuna etc as suggested he might be able to digest more of his food and put on more weight.
 
lq22 said:
How many meals is he on a day? If you try increasing it say from 2 to 3 meals (same weight of food overall just split across 3) and adding tuna etc as suggested he might be able to digest more of his food and put on more weight.
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He was on 2.... I was going to adding the fish as a lunch meal? Or would it be better adding it to the kibble and splitting it into 3 meals?
 
lq22 said:
I would split the fish across all his meals, or you might find he gets fussy and holds out for the fish.
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lol! I doubt it! He's a greedy gundog!! But thanks, I'll bare it in mind (it all comes down to whether I trust the OH to do it in the mornings!)
 
I know what you mean, my lab loves her food, but knows what she loves! She came from the breeder on bakers (i know! she isn't on it now) and would pick out the green 'peas' so by the end of her meal the rest of it was scoffed and there was a pile of soggy green cr@p beside her bowl! lol
 
Give him some sardines in sunflower oil. He'll love them and they will help with weight gain. However, he doesn't sound too skinny and you will find that he will 'fill out' as he matures between now and three - four years. It is healthier for a dog to be slightly underweight than overweight and if I were you I wouldn't be concerned.
 
galaxy23 said:
He's not on puppy food because the feed advise lines (not just Burns) told me to take him off puppy food a while ago. He hasn't got much growing to do at all. He's hardly changed in months and months. He just has a bit of filling out to do.

I have given him some tripe for his lunch and will be giving him some of that or a can of fish and see how he goes. I had a look at the fish for dogs complete food. It's about the same RRP as Burns, but I get about £10 off Burns on line, so going to do some shopping around and see if I can find a similar deal.

Thanks for the suggestion PP, but I don't want to feed him things like Pedigree and I try and I don't think grains are best for dogs. Would prefer to up him with meat. One day, when we move house I will be switching him over to raw.
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I agree that you are doing it right without adding crap to his diet.

If you can work it fish4dogs is a fantastic food.
 
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