Mike, I'm not a RAW food expert, although I feed it, but it sounds like 2-3 cups of veggies/fruit a day (if I read your post correctly) is a bit much and am wondering if that has anything to do with the pup not putting on a little more weight. The RAW experts may know more about this, and I'm curious as to the answer also.

If you're going to feed more, it should be more RAW. Can she eat beef? If so, that would be a good supplement - beef seems to add more weight, not sure if that's so, but "seems" to. Hamburger meat or steak. When various cuts of steak go on sale, I pick some up and stuff it into my already overloaded top freezer. Got some london broil the other day for $1.79/lb (normally $5.09/lb here) and feed such cuts in addition to chicken or turkey, etc. (Yeah, Lear is eating london broil - so spoiled!) I don't grind it, just hand it to him.

Seems your pup is getting enough bone, but needs more meaty cuts added, like maybe another 1/2 lb per day more. But watch carefully as they can put on weight fast and you may need to cut down later.

Hi everyone: I’m fairly new to the raw diet (about 1.5 months) but one of the things that sticks out in my mind is from the “Feeding a Raw Diet” Q&A section here on the Leerburg website that states “puppies eat anywhere from 5-10% of their body weight daily while they are growing. It’s important to keep young dogs lean and not overfeed them. I like to see a hint of rib, but not too much. Skeletal development is something that can be compromised by putting too much weight on soft, still developing puppy bones. Be vigilant about your pup’s body condition and adjust your feeding accordingly.”

I saw where Mike said he feeds roughly 2-2.5 lbs a day which is a little more than 5% of her current body weight. Assuming the vet is correct about the baby being 5 lbs underweight, why not increase her diet to say 7% of her body weight and see how that goes? You can safely go all the way up to 10% depending on the amount of exercise she is getting. I’m no expert either but agree with Sandy (unless we missed something) it sounds like Mike is not feeding any muscle – I feed ground turkey mostly because I buy 5lb chubs (frozen) for $4.95 at Smart & Final.

5% X 37 lbs RMBs=1.11 lbs Muscle=.65 lbs Organ=.09 lbs

7% X 37 lbs RMBs=1.55 lbs Muscle=.91 lbs Organ=.13 lbs

Hi Mike. We've been raw feeders here for over a year, with overall great results. Our female always seems on the "thin side" which is a regular concern. She's not losing weight where we worry about things like EPI, but even with the upticks in her food quantities, she's just always on the lean side of the equation.

I recently went just for a consult with a holitstic vet, who is a raw feeding supporter. She also lives as we do, on a large piece of land where her own dogs have access to wild prey, etc. -on a good day for them.

She agreed with our existing program that I will call Random Worming. She also reminded me that even the best of standard worming products don't cover every possible thing they can get if they have ready access to natural wild prey. She recommended a full poop check of all of our dogs (and not even with her - with our local vet) a few times a year.

For Kimba in particular who seems perpetually underweight, she absolutely recommended the random poop check, just to rule in or out any obvious parasites.

Funny side note, when Gary took our male to the local vet today re: the bladder/prostate issue, I sent along a poop sample from the female. Unfortuantely, due to our recent and extended cold weather conditions, I'm going to have to go after another sample that can be kept "above freezing temperatures" at least according to the local vet. Lesson Learned: Don't try to get a "steaming pile" in single digit weather.

Beth

I'm feeding 3 times a day now...so she's getting 3/4 of a whole chicken now plus veggies/fruit, omega oils, kelp, and 1 egg...I'll see how fast she puts on the weight with this routine. I'm also going to post some pics I took of her today where you guys/gals can see her better

http://s139.photobucket.com/albums/q284/mikemorrison281/

Mike, the pic of Brenna with the ball (she's standing) - was that just taken Friday? If so, she doesn't look thin to me but it may just be cause it's hard to tell in a photo, the fur hiding the ribs. But the ribs and back don't protrude through the fur in the photo. Just an observation and not meant to contradict the vet since I'm looking at a photo.

She's soooo beautiful! She's growing up great. Such shiny fur.

Feeding 3 times a day til she's about 6 months is a general rule of thumb. I continued with 3 times a day til Lear was almost 7 months, slowly "weaning" to twice a day. But Brenna looks very healthy and sturdy from the photos.

well, we went thru a 20lbs bag of chicken quarters, a few cans of mackeral, our usual fruits/veggies, and 6 eggs this week...one more week and I'll update the thread for posterity.

thanks for all the input, everyone.

Mike, have you considered feeding Brenna red meats (possibly even game meats)?

Chicken is a nice staple food, but red meats are far richer and nutrient-dense. That'll put weight on her much more effectively than white meats like chicken and turkey

She's such a beauty! Maybe she's just naturally on the smaller side or maybe she just hasn't hit her final growth spurt yet.

My pup (also GSD) was very small and thin (despite a voracious appetite) growing up and was the smallest of his sibblings until about 5 months old (he was in the 40 lbs range and 3 of his brothers outweighed him by over 10 lbs at the time). Then, all of a sudden, without any diet change, he bulked up a little and got bigger and bigger and bigger.

By 9 months he was the largest of his sibblings. He's now around 95 lbs. at 10 months and I can still easily feel his ribs.

Yuko,

I haven't done alot of red meats, but I'll start...I do add beef liver every so often and once she got used to the texture she slurps it down like a fruit roll up

I found a meat market that does grinds for dog owners!!

My problem is they only do them in 30lbs bags...I have an over the fridge type freezer so it won't fit in there...but, they'll grind whatever I want...as soon as I can get a seperate freezer for the garage, I'll start doing that...and this place has bison and venison all the time....then I'll be able to do the 80/10/10 ratio that I see alot of you guys/gals doing straight to the grinder which will make things for me much simpler...

btw, my Vet told me that Brenna would probably be around 70lbs...that seems a little small compared to her dad who looks like a bear and is very large, even for a german import...he's from the Quanto line and her mom is out of the Krschental line and is more lean looking. But who knows? She may bulk up after she gets out of her puppyhood days.

Gotta say one thing with regard to Yuko's comment about "game meats" and putting on weight. I gave mine vension as a staple for a few weeks because that's what I had, and mine lost a bunch of weight. Venison is extremely lean, and the switch from whole chicken w/fat,skin, etc. really did a number on my GSD in particular, so I'd say it may depend on what the dog was eating before. Like if someone ate McDonald's every day, 3xday, for their whole life. They may lose weight if they ate it only twice a day, whereas a person on a "normal" diet would become a blimp if they started eating McDonald's 3xday. Not the best analogy, but you get my drift...

Mike's dog does not look thin to me-or at least not too thin. Vets sometimes seem to have their perception skewed by all the abominably fat dogs they see in their practice. I'm constantly reminded that mine is at least 10lbs underweight, to which I reply "underweight for what?". I tell them to forward me any hot-off-the-press studies on the dangers of being thin. They just love me there.

Thanks Jenni,

When my Vet said that Brenna was underweight, she said in a very "coy" tone, "oh, that's right, you're doing the raw diet."



And of course, she has 300lbs of Science Diet in her lobby.

hmmmmmm