Nancy Stinson Webboard User Reg: 12-26-2004
Posts: 164
Loc: Tennessee
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I had to take my male into the vet several weeks ago for a horrid ear infection. This was his first visit to this vet since our out of state move. While I liked the vet - he did agree with my views on vaccinations. His concern was for Kato's weight.
Kato only weighs 90 lbs and is on the thin side. Well, basically you can see his ribs a bit. He is in no way emaciated. He is an extremely active dog but has always been thin. Even on a raw diet he was thin.(Thyroid tests done previously were within normal range.) Of course the vet recommended that I switch to Science Diet dog food. That is not happening! Kato is on Evo red meat and Orijen adult. He is fed twice a day and eats about 3-4 cups each feeding. I mix the two foods due to the cost of Orijen. Is there a supplement out there that can help him gain the weight he needs?
Anne Jones Webboard User Reg: 04-29-2004
Posts: 3825
Loc: Northeast
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Can you feed him another small meal rather than to add more food to existing meals? That will often help put a bit of weight on without feeding really huge meals. If you really feel that he needs more weight. I sometimes think that the vets get so used to seeing overweight dogs that they may not recognize a proper weight dog anymore. I don't know how old your dog is...but my male looked like a skinny cayote up until about 6 months ago (raw fed). He just turned 3 yrs old the end of Aug. He was just so active that he would just run off his food (I assume he has a high Met rate, also). He is not a huge dog though...he is only 75+ lbs. I do tend to keep my dogs on the thinner side, though. I am sure that there are products out there for this purpose, but I would be reluctant to use something like that for my dogs. I feed 2 x a day & I just added a 3rd meal when I felt that he needed to put on a pound or 2.But that is just me.
Reg: 01-12-2008
Posts: 372
Loc: High Desert, California
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Maybe I'm wrong but isn't 90 pounds in the range for GSDs? My GSD is around 85 pounds. I don't think you want your GSD to be any bigger. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Nancy Stinson Webboard User Reg: 12-26-2004
Posts: 164
Loc: Tennessee
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Yes 90 lbs is in range for a typical GSD, but for this guy he is too thin. He is from Hungarian working lines, his sire weighed in at 100+ lbs and was solid as a rock. He was also very tall. I want to say he was 29 inches but I cannot remember without pulling out all the paperwork. His dam was smaller of course, but still on the large side.
I had him on feeding 3x a day but took it out after he just let it sit there. He is extremely high energy, so anything he does consume he seems to burn up. The vet said neutering him would slow his metabolism down a bit but that was not what I was looking for.
I will try adding another feeding again and see how it goes. I guess I could throw in a raw feeding to keep him interested?
Melissa Thom Webboard User Reg: 12-04-2007
Posts: 2781
Loc: Upper Left hand corner, USA
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For my underweight prone dog I simply started throwing in snacks/treats that are a bit fattier and adjusting when he was fed. So for snacks we went to dehydrated chicken thighs and as far as feeding times we went to before midmorning naptime and bedtime. He's still on the thin side but he did put on a couple pounds and is having fewer weight fluctuations.
BTW seeing the ribs a bit isn't really underweight, in fact it's normal healthy weight usually. If we're talking really seeing ribs, a pronounced tuck, and feeling hipbones like a dairy cow now we're talking skinny.
Even if he has reached his adult wieght though, I wouldn't worry about it to much. If that's his wieght (shrug), that's his wieght.
He's eating well, he's got plenty of energy, he's healthy and bright. What more does one want?
Cathy Goessman Webboard User Reg: 12-03-2007
Posts: 1231
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
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Quote: Melissa Hoyer
What about a current photo - side shot and one from above?
This would be pretty useful considering that most vets are used to seeing fat dogs all day. Our vet thinks that Alli is too thin when really he is just a slighter built guy who needs to be kept a little on the light side due to hip dysplasia.
If he truly is too thin you might try mixing in canned food with a mid day meal or one of his existing meals. Canned is richer than most dry and it's easier to find a high quality canned than dry food. PetSmart's Blue Buffalo is good and PetCo has a bunch of good foods if those stores are all you've got around you. We always use canned/dry mix when we get a foster who's too skinny.
I used to freeze canned food in an ice cube tray for my terrier. She was a crazy chew monster and they weren't that messy.
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