Any tips for putting weight on?

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SadKen

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Long, but want to put everything in!

My young gsd is skinny. The vet says he's ok, and that some shepherds are just slim. He hasn't got anything wrong with him, he's wormed and has a very shiny coat.

I'd like to put about 3 kilos on as I can feel his spine and ribs, and I think he'd be better slightly plumper.

He's on skinners hypoallergenic as he can't tolerate gluten. I feed twice a day, three mugfuls of food each time. He has a Kong with peanut butter, tripe sticks and more food, frozen, while we are at work. Exercise wise I tried to cut it back, he has limitless energy and has about 40 min off lead running a day. Poop is good, solid and regular.

Willing to try most things except raw that's obviously animal (hooves, ears etc) as I'm veggie and I just can't do it! I have no freezer though. 😞
 
Having labs I have never had this problem, but people swear by tripe - if, as a veggie, you can stand the smell.
 
With my dogs who needed to put on condition I just fed them little and often as you are already doing - one greyhound gets double what she "should" get each day to make sure she keeps condition on, in her case she is elderly and cannot seem to keep weight on. Sounds like you are doing all the right things, maybe try raw tripe as that is great for putting condition on if you can bear it - minced is quite innocuous if smelly?
 
Our lab was like this as a youngster (strange for a lab) we added veg oil for calories to his food which helped, but really think age did it as he filled out by about 3.
 
I feed the rescue lurcher skinners same as you but bulk out with veg, pasta and boiled potatoes. They still go through growth spurts occasionally that leave them bonier than I'd like but the soon fill out again. Even the fussy saluki loves pasta :-)
 
I can't give him pasta due to the gluten issue 😞 which is a shame as it puts weight on me pretty quick! (did try this pre gluten diagnosis but the results were, um... Messy). I may be able to do tripe, or rather get OH to do it if it's relatively easy!

If giving it raw, shall I just see if I can get it from aldi or something to start with? Smells don't really trouble me, I'll just breathe through my mouth! Hehe
 
Gosh no, it smells absolutely foul if you cook it - for the sake of your sanity, please don't cook it :) If you fed it raw make sure you do so at different times to kibble (not as part of the same meal) but otherwise feed raw without any problems. it comes in little square frozen blocks from your local petshop if that makes it easier (not taking the mickey, just trying to make it better/easier for you :) )
 
Ooh no levrier I am most grateful for anything that makes it easier! Generally, gooey stuff that doesn't look like animal is more acceptable to my sensitivities than things that are identifiably bits of animal. Mince is fine really.

I'm away for a night soon. Would it be incredibly mean to leave OH with a big pile of tripe and instructions to cook it? Cackle.
 
Oh god that would be really really cruel :D They do make tripe in chunks, but minced is a lot easier and more less identifiable. The dogs will find it easier/quicker to eat too
 
I would get your OH to feed the chunks then, they are quite...ummm... strange looking. They are also quite tough and encourage chewing though, so sound to be a good option for your boy :)
 
Tripe is actually quite low in calories. It's very popular because of the smell, so most dogs will wolf it down.

I say feed more and more often. I have to say, chicken wings put weight on my creatures pretty quickly. It may just be that he's a youngster, he'll fill out soon. My two youngsters were skinny wretches til they were about two.
 
I can chuck him more food, he will be pleased! He's 3 now but a total baby, he looks like a giant puppy and still can't do big boy wees. Maybe he will chunk out eventually.
 
I have had good success with fresh or frozen tripe fed raw to put on weight. You need the frozen stuff from the pet shop. Do not use the bleached tripe the butcher sells as it is missing all the good stuff?
 
How old is he now, and what does he weigh? Young male GSDs are often lean until fully mature, far better slim than too heavy, as long as you can't see his ribs I wouldn't worry too much, vets are used to seeing a majority of overweight dogs so if the vet says he is fine he probably is. Is he on the Skinners Duck & Rice, when my girls were on that they had about 1.5 mugs twice a day, so it does sound as if he is having more than enough. I would agree that tripe is a good way to put on weight, although there is probably less fat in the frozen than when I used to feed it cutting chunks from the whole tripe, which had a layer of fat attached (sorry probably too much infor for a vegetarian! )

ETS, sorry I have just seen his age. He is working lines isn't he so is never going to be a big bulky dog.
 
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MM I definitely don't object to him being built for speed ;) but I think he's just a tad under. He weighed 38kg last time we had him weighed at the vet's, but prior to this he was 40kg and I think he looked perfect then. I don't like a fat dog by any means, but I think a little more weight would be good. His coat is thick, so you can't see his ribs but you can feel every one of them and running my hand down his spine makes me wince a bit. Just a tad more would be perfect!
 
If you dont want to go down the raw route then whatabout feeding a higher calorie meat tray food like Forthglade? I fed the lamb one to my boxer x and he, for the first time ever, ended up too fat and has had to go on a diet. This is a dog that always ran light and is always ribby. He's really food sensitive and can't have ANY gluten at all and he coped brilliantly on the Forthglade lifestyle complete one. They also do a slightly cheaper lamb version for dogs that also get kibble that isn't a complete feed. We also got an 8 month staff x boxer pup who was underweight when we picked him up and 2 weeks on that and he picked up enormously. I also fed skinners hypo allergenic kibble with it.

We are, however, swapping over to raw feed, currently dropped the Skinners and integrating a combination of Natural Instinct and Natures Menu into their routine. So far I've found it really easy to feed, no mess or hassle and the dogs LOVE it. The older dog has never really been a 'food' dog, but now he is falling over himself to get to his bowl in the morning. The pup is getting lamb and the chubby one chicken - so far so good :)
 
38 kg is a pretty good weight but obviously its hard to comment without seeing/feeling him and if you feel he needs a little more then I would try tripe. My two spayed bitches weigh 29 and 30 kg respectively at nearly 3 and nearly 7 years respectively and I think are about spot on weight wise.
 
The Natures Menu frozen tripe has a fat content of c.10%; an alternative may be breast of lamb for you to consider, also things like canned sardines in oil.
 
SadKen said:
I'm away for a night soon. Would it be incredibly mean to leave OH with a big pile of tripe and instructions to cook it? Cackle.
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It would stink your house out for a month!
We used to get it for the hound puppies fresh from the cow, it looked like green bath towels. Now we buy it frozen, in bags that you pour out the amount you want to defrost it. It is truly vile though, I warn you.
 
Clodagh said:
It would stink your house out for a month!
We used to get it for the hound puppies fresh from the cow, it looked like green bath towels. Now we buy it frozen, in bags that you pour out the amount you want to defrost it. It is truly vile though, I warn you.
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haha as long as I don't have to eat it, I'm cool!

Pets at home stock some nature's menu tripe meals. Thinking that might be worth a go for a trial? Then I can have a rethink re supply if they go down well.
 
cinnamontoast said:
You could add high protein kibble eg Orijen/Acana, but more food is the easiest route.

Was he neutered early?
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I've heard good things about orijen, I may try it, we do have to be a bit careful as if it doesn't agree with him it goes straight through and he loses more weight.

He's still entire, both of mine are, they get along great so didn't see any need to neuter as we have no bad behaviour. I do have a theory that this is naturally keeping his testosterone low as my big gsd is definitely in charge, and therefore keeping him in puppyhood for longer, but he's recently started to do the odd big boy wee so I guess he might just be a late developer!
 
I would personally get samples / small packets of different grain free foods and trial them on him. My girl (northern inuit) was also a skinny girl (she drops off with stress, cold, winter, more exercise etc) and I change between foods as she develops intolerences. We've been on orijen for a while but are about to use blangolden as it seems to produce the best poo results. To put extra weight on her I feed raw in addition, have a look at natural instinct or nutriment or
Wolftucker etc. hope this all helps. C
 
That's prob a good idea too Rocky - I will get a couple of trial packs when I'm getting some tripe at the weekend. He did seem to do well at the kennels on James Wellbeloved grain free (he was certainly a bit fatter, and as I'd expected him to drop weight while he was there, this was a bit of a surprise). I'll get a few and see how we do. Might report back with an update in case it helps anyone else.
 
I had great success with Simpsons Sensitive Duck&Potato. One of my young GSPs had a tendency to be a bit underweight and to lose weight easily (had tried various high-end,grain-free etc brands) but he looks fantastic on this & holds his weight despite being a v energetic dog. (Swopped my other GSPs onto it too and it suits them just as well.)

Also,you can get gluten free pasta (dry and sometimes fresh) in most supermarkets now (and the dry version in Costco,even). I buy it for the humans of our household. ;)
 
Forgot to say,I joined the Simpsons breeders club (it's about how much you buy,not whether you are a breeder) so get it cheaper, plus they do free next day delivery-fantastic!
Good luck with your boy. :)
 
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