Rosalinda van den Ham wrote 05/05/2008 08:17 PM Q: help, my GSD is getting too thin! #193542 - 05/05/2008 08:17 PM
Rosalinda van den Ham Webboard User Reg: 10-14-2007 Posts: 208 Loc: Aruba Offline	I have been feeding my GSD about 900 gram raw meat daily for six months, about the same quantity of kibbles I used to feed him before switching to the raw diet. Although he is not extremely thin, his ribs are sticking out and he now weighs 35 kilos. Should I be concerned or not ?
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Carol Boche wrote 05/05/2008 08:28 PM Re: Q: help, my GSD is getting too thin! [Re: Rosalinda van den Ham ] #193544 - 05/05/2008 08:28 PM
Carol Boche Webboard User Reg: 10-30-2005 Posts: 4531 Loc: South Dakota, USA Offline	If he is otherwise healthy, I would say to raise the amount of food he eats as what you have him at now is not enough. Ideally, dogs eat 2-3% of their IDEAL bodyweight with raw diet. My Mal bitch eats 4-5% to maintain her ideal weight as she is SUPER active. Edited to say: Sudden weight loss is cause for a vet visit in my opinion. If it was very gradual, then more feed should do the trick. Make sure you have good meat to bone ratios and also, you could try adding some fat to his meals as well. Until The Tale of the Lioness is told, the Story will Always Glorfy the Hunter
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Rosalinda van den Ham wrote 05/05/2008 08:43 PM Re: Q: help, my GSD is getting too thin! [Re: Carol Boche ] #193550 - 05/05/2008 08:43 PM
Rosalinda van den Ham Webboard User Reg: 10-14-2007 Posts: 208 Loc: Aruba Offline	Thanks for the reply. The weightloss was gradual so I will feed my GSD more and add fat as well. If he does not gain weight after a month, I will visit my vet, which I do not look forward to(she is dead set against raw diets and I am a very bad liar/actress). But I will go if I must.
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Carol Boche wrote 05/05/2008 09:06 PM Re: Q: help, my GSD is getting too thin! [Re: Rosalinda van den Ham ] #193553 - 05/05/2008 09:06 PM
Carol Boche Webboard User Reg: 10-30-2005 Posts: 4531 Loc: South Dakota, USA Offline	Make sure to add fat gradually in small amounts. I usually just trim the meat I cook for us and add it to the dogs that need a little extra fat. Until The Tale of the Lioness is told, the Story will Always Glorfy the Hunter
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Mike Armstrong wrote 05/05/2008 11:39 PM Re: Q: help, my GSD is getting too thin! [Re: Rosalinda van den Ham ] #193561 - 05/05/2008 11:39 PM
Mike Armstrong Webboard User Reg: 08-06-2005 Posts: 615 Loc: San Diego, CA Offline	Quote: rosalinda van den ham I have been feeding my GSD about 900 gram raw meat daily for six months. . . now weighs 35 kilos. I'm "conversion challenged" but that seems to be about 2 lbs. for a 77 lb dog. That's pretty much in line with the suggested amounts, but it always depends on the individual dog, energy/activity level, etc. My first GSD lost weight on raw food and may have looked skinny compared to many of the porkers I see, but he was just lean. My current female is pretty much the same. In your situation, I agree with Carol - I'd up the amount about 10% and see what difference it makes in a couple weeks. If there are no other indications of any health or eating problems, I'd just tinker with meal amounts until you got his weight to where you want him to be. The last thing I'd do is pay $$ to a vet to get a lecture about the dangers of raw feeding, etc. OTOH, I wouldn't hesitate to go if you think there is some other problem or just want to be on the safe side. If you go, just tune out the vet when she starts her rant. You're there for medical issues, not advice on nutrition. Mike Suppose you were an idiot. Suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself. -Mark Twain
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Mallory Kwiatkowski wrote 05/06/2008 12:09 AM Re: Q: help, my GSD is getting too thin! [Re: Mike Armstrong ] #193565 - 05/06/2008 12:09 AM
Mallory Kwiatkowski Webboard User Reg: 11-23-2007 Posts: 947 Loc: Cold-ville, Wisconsin. Offline	when i went to raw, ALL my dogs lost weight. For 3 of them, they still looked good. 2 got very thin, and no amount of raw feeding would fatten them up. I mean, very thin. I was feeding insane amounts of raw, and got no where. For those 2 dogs, i have to do half kibble. Maybe if those were the only 2 dogs i had, i could feed the several pounds each they needed every day, capone was eating more than triple what his ideal weight warrented. I would up the food and see. Also, maybe some links to some pics, i still get so in so is too thin comments, and i know that that dog is fine, but many people are used to seeing flabby overweight dogs, and i have had vets(not mine) tell me that you should not be able to even feel ribs. So imagine the shock when i bring in a dog that you can. Especially Bart, he is greyhound shaped. I would have real dog owners(i.e. not average pet owners)evaluate your dogs weight too.
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Elaine Matthys wrote 05/06/2008 12:16 AM Re: Q: help, my GSD is getting too thin! [Re: Mallory Kwiatkowski ] #193566 - 05/06/2008 12:16 AM
Elaine Matthys Webboard User Reg: 02-08-2007 Posts: 116 Loc: Offline	You should not get hung up by percentages or even try to compare amounts of raw to kibble to feed your dog. Every dog has different caloric needs and you just have to find out how much your dog needs. You could figure out how many calories you were feeding of kibble and then figure out how many calories you are feeding of raw. My own, just turned one year old GSD, very active dog, eats 4 pounds of raw a day and he's very lean.
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Sarah Morris wrote 05/06/2008 09:13 AM Re: Q: help, my GSD is getting too thin! [Re: Elaine Matthys ] #193597 - 05/06/2008 09:13 AM
Sarah Morris Webboard User Reg: 08-29-2006 Posts: 2324 Loc: Central Coast, California Offline	Here's the conversion: 900 grams = 1lb 15oz. of food 35 kilos = 77lbs GSD A little more food will probably put some weight on. My male is 80lbs and gets, roughly, 2-2+lbs/day of raw and he's very lean. Any amount less than that and he gets too thin. True
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Rosalinda van den Ham wrote 05/06/2008 09:43 PM Re: Q: help, my GSD is getting too thin! [Re: Sarah Morris ] #193684 - 05/06/2008 09:43 PM
Rosalinda van den Ham Webboard User Reg: 10-14-2007 Posts: 208 Loc: Aruba Offline	Thx for all the helpful comments. From what I have read my GSD is not the only one who lost weight on the raw diet (maybe I should go raw instead of going on a conventional diet :crazy Nice picture, Mallory, by the way, is that you (or Cesar Milan disguised as a woman) walking your dogs? Wow, that is a pack leader walking her/(his?) dogs, I wish I could walk my dogs like that. Well, at least my GSD, who is normally very dog agressive, simply ignores the Chi ... maybe I am not such a bad dog owner after all or...maybe it is like I have said before ...that he thinks she is a rat, oops, let's up the food before he gets too hungry.
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Mallory Kwiatkowski wrote 05/06/2008 09:56 PM Re: Q: help, my GSD is getting too thin! [Re: Rosalinda van den Ham ] #193687 - 05/06/2008 09:56 PM
Mallory Kwiatkowski Webboard User Reg: 11-23-2007 Posts: 947 Loc: Cold-ville, Wisconsin. Offline	hahaha, that's the only time they behave that well, and on hikes too. I actually get some kind of cesar milan reference each time i walk them all together, it makes me feel weird, because i know how they can be, all the issues. I guess when i really think about it, they are pretty good dogs. i have considered eating raw too, lol. imagine if hollywood got ahold of raw dieting...... i bet if you fed your GSD that chi, he would pick up some weight, lol, the new live chihuahua diet! j/k, i had a chi for a while, i actually miss him, never thought i would, btu he lives with my neighbor now.
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