Putting Weight On?

[Teal]

My 11 month old male boxer has always been a bit skinny, at first i assumed it was because he is a growing puppy but we recently saw his brother from the same litter who has filled out a lot more. I want to get some weight on my boy as he is quite ribby!

He has never really been that interested in food to be honest, tried heaps of different things but he will always have a little bit then leave it, and eat some more later on when he feels like it. I can't just feed him more as he won't eat it. He currently gets 1kg tuckertime and 4-6 small handfuls of coprice puppy food, spread over two meals. He will eventually eat most of this, leaving some of the coprice uneaten. Is there something I can add to encourage him to eat, or perhaps some sort of supplement that will put weight on. I also have horses who have canola oil in their feeds to help put on weight, is there something similar for dogs?

[Rysup]

I have a dog who is very thin too.

I think you should go to a better quality dry food. I have been using Artemis, but after winning some Nutro (Lamb & Rice) I have been using that on my boy, he LOVES it.

Also try things like Lamb Flaps. That is what I am trying at the moment.

[Crisovar]

I would be feeding a more nutritionally dense food, that way you wont have to try and get him to actually more food.

Other things to try are lamb or mutton breast they are excellent for adding condition and good for his teeth as well.

[persephone]

Try him on fresh raw meat - lamb flaps are great for putting weight on- but introduce them slowly.... the good (expensive ) dry foods may help you as well.

[SkySoaringMagpie]

Agree with better quality kibble. Do you have a photo you can post?

If he's just a bit of a ribby youngster I wouldn't fret too much providing he is eating regularly and is healthy. Dogs from the same litter can look REALLY different and not all of it is how they are kept. I also think that in show world anyway, there is too much emphasis on trying to make adolescent dogs look like fully developed adults. It's perfectly natural for a young dog to be a bit light on compared to a 5 year old.

With his food, I would get into a routine of taking it up after half an hour and not giving him any more until the next mealtime - and don't fuss. I know it's hard, but he will eat when he is hungry and some dogs can become fussy because their owners start to fret about how much they are eating or they feed too many tidbits between meals. Rather than putting oil in his food I'd drop a tin of cheap sardines in olive oil or mackeral in oil on his kibble a couple of times a week.

[Teal]

I have tried several of the higher quality kibbles - eukanuba, royal canin, advance,

and several cheaper ones - purina one, supercoat and beneful, and have recently started on the coprice. He just isn't interested in food that much! I have also tried raw for a while, but I'm thinking of doing that again?

[Dogsfevr]

Dont compare to his brother.

Tuckertime is great for weight gain BUT i agree you need to add more BUT some Boxers can be prone to not absorbing there food so no extra may work.

I too agree with not leaving the food done,your enabling his lack of interest .

Have you had him vet checked??

What diet did the breeder suggest & have you contacted them for advice on there lines??

We have found some picky eaters often have tonsil issues which often isnt considered by many vets or people .

[twodoggies2001]

It might be worth having a talk with the vet about adding digestive enzymes to his meals. It could be that he is not absorbing all his food.

[delta]

Lamb flaps and necks are good, but i found them often to be too fatty for my dogs. If I want a dog to put on some weight I give them as many chicken necks as they would eat. Often at first, dogs are not interested in them very much, and will only eat one, but once they get use to them they keep coming back for more.

[Cathie]

Hi,

I have a similar problem, i have a 14 week old Great Dane Puppy and she is quite skinny but she also has a sensitive stomach and gets diarrhea if she eats anything out of the ordinary.(Which is Eukanuba Large breed puppy, about 4.5 cups a day) Does anyone have any suggestions on how to put weight on her without given her anything too rich that will upset her tummy?

[sas]

Don't be too concerned at this age, I'm sure he'll fill out when his body is ready to.

Tuckertime is a good balanced dog roll.

[sas]

Hi,

I have a similar problem, i have a 14 week old Great Dane Puppy and she is quite skinny but she also has a sensitive stomach and gets diarrhea if she eats anything out of the ordinary.(Which is Eukanuba Large breed puppy, about 4.5 cups a day) Does anyone have any suggestions on how to put weight on her without given her anything too rich that will upset her tummy?

It's not unusual for a Dane pup to be on the skinny side, it's not a bad thing for them at all as you want to grow them lean.

The pups tummy shouldn't be that sensitive though, have you had a chance to chat to your breeder about it?

From memory many Dane pups do up to 6-9 cups per day broken into 3 meals, that's not to say this is what your pup should be on but you may want to go back and have a look at the feed instructions your breeder gave you or what's on the pack to confirm you are giving the right amount.

You might also like to pop into the Great Dane thread on this forum, there are 2 Vet Nurses there and some Breeders: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...&start=3645

[Tilly]

Teal - what is coming out the other end?

If it is tiny then feeding extra might help.

If it is a large volume then maybe he is not getting a lot from the food he is eating - I used to sprinkle a supplement on our elderly rottie’s food that was an enzyme which allowed him to get the full nutritional value from the food he did eat. I can't think of the name of it at the moment but maybe someone else might know it.

Having a young dog a bit on the ribbie side is not a bad thing unless he is extremely thin. Do you have some photo's - top, side views

[jedi knight]

chicken necks and whole chicken carcasses from a whole sale chicken place are the go and a night of pasta to break it up

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Puppy food at this age isn't really necessary IMO. Once a pup reaches 5 or 6 mths, they can transition to a good quality adult food. Euk and Hills are OK but not super premium unless you mean the Euk naturals range which is much better quality than the standard stuff. You may find you need to try lots of different and higher-end foods for your Boxer dog; they are naturally exuberant and energetic, so they can burn lots of calories just being themselves.

One of my dogs does well on Royal Canin which is specific to her size and lifestyle. One does well on a combo of Pro Plan Sensitive skin & stomach and the Euk salmon (she has severe food allergies). The other dog is currently on Purina lamb & rice and is doing fine on that although her condition has dropped a bit in the last few months. I'll be adding yoghurt to their food again to see if that helps. You may find adding a decent, full fat plain yoghurt to the dry food will help too.

Dog roll isn't what many consider to be a good food nutrionally speaking, same with Coprice. I'd suggest visiting a good quality pet food store and seeking out samples and recommendations. Some really good brands are: Nutro, Eagle Pack, Pro Plan, Artemis, Royal Canin.

Perhaps your dog isn't interested in the foods you've tried because they lack smell, taste and texture? One way to help the dog become interested in dry food is by putting warm water onto it and letting it soak for a while. You could also try a dog gravy, canned fish (sardines, mackerel etc) or adding some fish oil to the dry food to make it more appealing.

[trifecta]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned brisket bones - they really stack on weight.

Maybe feed these a couple of times a week along with lamb flaps on a couple of days too.

Ask the butcher to cut them up for you, then freeze & use as you need them.

[Andisa]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned brisket bones - they really stack on weight.

Maybe feed these a couple of times a week along with lamb flaps on a couple of days too.

Ask the butcher to cut them up for you, then freeze & use as you need them.

Brisket bones and ox cheek will put weight on fast if fed daily. Any Lamb cuts will increase weight, feed extra if you need to.

I "had" a fussy eater here - he was returned a few months back and was very fussy. 3 months on he will eat what ever I give him, has not been easy but he looks great now. He was fed RC for the 12 months he was gone and now he will not touch it - he thrives back on a raw diet.

[Miz J]

Hi Teal,

I have a 14 month old boxer who was really lean up till the last 6 weeks. I was really worried because you could see his ribs etc. I even was embarassed to take his coat off at one stage in case anyone thought I was starving him. I was reassured that he was fine, he had no parasites, he was and still is really healthy and active. I used to notice it more just after a growth spurt. I talked to the breeder and she said something interesting " we are used to seeing chunky pups" and I guess I was. Its probably better for his long term joint health to be leaner as some of the other DOLers have said. As long as hes wormed, healthy and is on good quality food he will catch up. I have Henry mainly on raw but I did introduce a premium kibble. Lamb flaps are fantastic, canned sardines, chicken and turkey necks. I have had to stop the brisket bones because both of my gluttons chew off chunks and swallow them then hurl them up everywhere!! Don't forget to add in veg and offal. There is some good advice on this thread and some recipes for making your own stuff. I make their treats and snacks now so I know whats in them, its quite easy and not to time consuming.

Henry will eat anything now, I caught him in the vegie patch snacking on the tomatoes and strawberries ( sod!!) he's still looks lean but hes weighing in at 35kg. About the fussiness, don't worry, he won't starve. Henry isn't food motivated and like yours he will leave food sometimes, I remove it and he gets no more till the next feed time, they eat what they need. Good luck

Edited May 3, 2010 by Miz J