Dog needs to put on weight

MotherOfChickens

MotherOfChickens

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Need to put about a kilo on Quarrie. Vet thinks he's a tad too lean and I do agree but its not for lack of trying. I changed from the kibble he'd been on (Eden semi moist) to Edens Working dog as its higher protein and because they stuck their prices up over £15 a bag for the semi moist. Fitz looks amazing on it but it didnt agree with Quarrie.
I've now put Quarrie back on Millies Wolfheart -the endurance mix and he's seems good on it digestion wise, bit early to say whether he's put weight on with it. going by the feeding recommendations he's on the maximum and I've split it into three meals a day. He loves the MWH but he's not a massively greedy dog. He's active but at still only 13 months old, I'm not running him ragged-there's lots of play now of course. He's always been lean (and his mum is very slight). He's still pretty leggy. They do get RAW extras such as a bit of tripe weekly etc
Would you be worried? coat etc I think he looks great, doesnt lack energy and is alround fabulous but I did feel a bit crap when leaving the vets yesterday that I have a skinny dog!
 
What weight is he? I really wouldn't worry and I'd rather see a dog of that breed lean to be honest. Less strain on the joints.

I add eggs, coconut oil etc and feed a lamb or duck food for weight and condition.
 
he's just under 27kg, about 500g less than when he was last weighed a while ago but figured that could be due to the food not agreeing with him. He's mostly been on duck and lamb, plus salmon oil and they get the odd egg (couple of times a week). and obviously worming is all up to date.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
he's just under 27kg, about 500g less than when he was last weighed a while ago but figured that could be due to the food not agreeing with him. He's mostly been on duck and lamb, plus salmon oil and they get the odd egg (couple of times a week). and obviously worming is all up to date.
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Is it actual duck and lamb though or just what's in the kibble? Because there's a big difference in quality/calories there.

I add raw egg to most meals. If I'm feeding just kibble, which is very rare, I drizzle it with olive oil.

I also feed a lot of fish in oil, raw mince which is frozen first, and whole milk with bran a few times a week.
 
SpringArising said:
Is it actual duck and lamb though or just what's in the kibble? Because there's a big difference in quality/calories there.

I add raw egg to most meals. If I'm feeding just kibble, which is very rare, I drizzle it with olive oil.

I also feed a lot of fish in oil, raw mince which is frozen first, and whole milk with bran a few times a week.
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he's been mainly on kibble-high end kibble. I was feeding 50/50 RAW (RAW minces with muscle, bone and offal) and kibble but it didnt agree with him (very soft poop, anal gland infection some months ago) and he's been fine on plain kibble. the other one can eat what he wants, never seems to affect adversely but Quarrie seems to not do well on very high protein. He eats salmon but turns his nose up at white fish. I also feed kibble as the dogs are with me all day and I cant be lugging RAW around with me. they do get RAW tripe and duck necks weekly as these dont seem to affect him.

Personally I am wary of adding too much egg to a young dogs diet-the Eden had egg in it (the MWH doesnt) and egg allergies are quite common in adult dogs.
 
To put weight on rescue dogs it is usually recommended to increase the daily quantity by offering an extra meal. Too much fat can upset the digestion of some dogs, as can too high the protein content in some dry food, and again overfeeding will result in loose BMs. If you find a food he tolerates well, I would try giving him an extra meal. That should not upset his digestive system if you start small.
 
planete said:
To put weight on rescue dogs it is usually recommended to increase the daily quantity by offering an extra meal. Too much fat can upset the digestion of some dogs, as can too high the protein content in some dry food, and again overfeeding will result in loose BMs. If you find a food he tolerates well, I would try giving him an extra meal. That should not upset his digestive system if you start small.
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yes, think thats a good idea-his lunchtime meal is the smallest, I'll up that and monitor. The other dog came to me needing a little more muscle and weight-he looks perfect I think, a hint of rib standing and well muscled. Quarrie, under the hair, could do with a bit more. Mind you, people used to say that about me when I was a teenager #thegoodolddays!
 
MotherOfChickens said:
he's just under 27kg, about 500g less than when he was last weighed a while ago but figured that could be due to the food not agreeing with him. He's mostly been on duck and lamb, plus salmon oil and they get the odd egg (couple of times a week). and obviously worming is all up to date.
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i reckon my dog can loose that amount in a poo :)
 
Performance mix is higher in calories from Millie's I think? Mine looks great on it (she is on the go about 6 hours a day nearly every day so needs the calories!)I also add salmon oil.
 
benz said:
Performance mix is higher in calories from Millie's I think? Mine looks great on it (she is on the go about 6 hours a day nearly every day so needs the calories!)I also add salmon oil.
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thanks for the suggestion-thats a high fat one I think? I am going on their advice and they recommended the agility or the endurance-I've tried the agility but only a small bag and am currently on the endurance so need to make a decision as to which one I order next. I am reluctant to put him on a higher protein kibble seeing what happened the last time.
 
The little terrorist is of a slim variety. She is happy to eat but has a limit on volume otherwise it upsets her guts.

We have reached a status quo on MWH peak performance, which is high fat. Can feed a small enough quantity that the guts cope whilst just about keeping sufficient weight on.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
thanks for the suggestion-thats a high fat one I think? I am going on their advice and they recommended the agility or the endurance-I've tried the agility but only a small bag and am currently on the endurance so need to make a decision as to which one I order next. I am reluctant to put him on a higher protein kibble seeing what happened the last time.
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Yes it's much higher fat but protein is the same. TBH he doesn't sound ridiculously underweight, I'd probably stick with whatever he's eating and is keeping poos solid and just keep an eye on the weight. Reassess if he's getting leaner (but he could be going through a growth spurt?). You can always add your own oil and see how he reacts?
 
benz said:
Reassess if he's getting leaner (but he could be going through a growth spurt?).
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a few weeks ago my trainer saw him for the frst time in nearly 8 weeks and said he'd got bigger so thats a possibility! doesnt seem like it to me buts its harder to tell when you are around them. I'll make a habit of popping into vets to weigh him regularly and see how we go. I'm not unduly worried-at least he's not fat-but you know what people are like. There's another 2yo entire working goldie at class and they can't get him to put weight on either (he's also not 'too' thin, just a bit thin!) so I'm not alone.

if I need to consider another food I'll ask about the Performance one-I must have looked at the wrong one ad I thought it was 65% whereas the agility/endurance is 50% protein.
 
At Quarrie's age I wouldn't be too concerned tbh, especially as he is fit and healthy in all other ways. My old GSD bitch was like a hat rack until she matured at between 24-28 months of age.

If he can tolerate it, adding a little extra to each meal or an extra meal per day may help - or up the amount of raw duck/tripe he has. Is he okay with lamb? You could try adding a meal of raw lamb mince/chunks every week too.
 
WorkingGSD said:
At Quarrie's age I wouldn't be too concerned tbh, especially as he is fit and healthy in all other ways. My old GSD bitch was like a hat rack until she matured at between 24-28 months of age.

If he can tolerate it, adding a little extra to each meal or an extra meal per day may help - or up the amount of raw duck/tripe he has. Is he okay with lamb? You could try adding a meal of raw lamb mince/chunks every week too.
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I think the extra meal is the way to go, if you give him too much he wont eat it apart from anything else. I can give him extra tripe-OH will love that!
 
When I was last drinking coffee with Thistle on here she was telling me how much her young lab dog eats and I was astounded. She has problems keeping weight on him too. He is on MWH. I think he has 3 pint mugs a day? Not sure.
My spayed bitches have a thermos lid a day! With the odd extra.
 
Clodagh said:
When I was last drinking coffee with Thistle on here she was telling me how much her young lab dog eats and I was astounded. She has problems keeping weight on him too. He is on MWH. I think he has 3 pint mugs a day? Not sure.
My spayed bitches have a thermos lid a day! With the odd extra.
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A thermos lid! :o


you can remind me in 4 years of this day if I have trouble keeping weight off him :D

there's lots of playing/wrestling with Fitz and tbh, Fitz is happy sleeping when he's inside whereas Quarrie keeps going up until we go to bed unless he's had a very busy day. he's still got his balls, dont think I've had a dog at 13 months that was still entire before.
 
Honestly MoC it is such a individual dog by dog thing as I'm sure you know - out of my four two keep weight on really easily, one is always lean and needs feeding to the hilt, and one is an unknown as she is new :) I would expect a teenage dog to go through a lean phase so I really wouldn't be bothered personally - 500g is absolutely nothing in terms of weight change IMO :)
 
I wouldn't worry - most people seem to want dogs too heavy. I get comments on the weight of mine now and again (last rib just visible and hard muscled all over) at 17 and 19kg.
 
my experience of that age of dog - I couldn't get weight on my collie as a juvenille regardless of how much food she got but as she got a little older she filled out and was a nice weight without any extra effort.
So long as your dog isn't emaciated or lacking in energy or has poor coat etc then I really wouldn't worry
 
thanks everyone. it wasn't so much that he's 500g underweight, just that he didn't have it to lose in the first place-that and the fact he's likely grown does mean he's a little skinny. sure he'll be fine, will weigh in two weeks and see what we've got then :)
 
Rather ironic MOC that you are worrying about an underweight Goldie just as I lose a rescue that has been overweight for most of his life, from what I can gather.
I am sure Quarrie is very healthy , better a little underweight. I never want to see an overweight dog again, but then I am traumatised at the moment!
I do think the vast choice of dog food these days is a minefield.
 
aww, bless you Chiffy. agreed, better a little lean! I do know how hard it is to be very strict with a good doer whos primary function is to eat but I've never had a fat dog. see too many of them, even young ones :(
 
Chiffy said:
Rather ironic MOC that you are worrying about an underweight Goldie just as I lose a rescue that has been overweight for most of his life, from what I can gather.
I am sure Quarrie is very healthy , better a little underweight. I never want to see an overweight dog again, but then I am traumatised at the moment!
I do think the vast choice of dog food these days is a minefield.
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Sorry to hear you have had to say goodbye to your Golden, Chiffy :( x
 
Thank you WGSD, I was devastated so couldn't really post about it. MOC knows though.
I got 11kg off him but his joints were badly damaged and in the end he collapsed. He was the most lovely dog and didn't deserve such a raw deal in life. He did have some fun here though for 8 months. I got so fond of him in that time and my flatties loved him too.
 
Chiffy said:
Thank you WGSD, I was devastated so couldn't really post about it. MOC knows though.
I got 11kg off him but his joints were badly damaged and in the end he collapsed. He was the most lovely dog and didn't deserve such a raw deal in life. He did have some fun here though for 8 months. I got so fond of him in that time and my flatties loved him too.
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You obviously did so much for him even in the relatively short time you had together and loved him dearly and that counts for so much. Have a big hug x
 
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