Fattening Up My Gsd's

[wolfgirl]

Taste of the Wild :)

You could also add some Turkey Mince in with the kibble, mine get it along with sardines in oil, yoghurt or raw egg varied around.

Edited May 2, 2013 by wolfgirl

[freundhund]

I am concerned about the amount of dry you are feeding, please, whatever you do a GSD should never eat more than 4 cups of a good quality dry food like Advance, Royal Canin GSD formula, Pro Plan Working Formula or Eukanubra GSD formula. More than 4 cups of dry is too heavy for a GSD stomach and can lead to stomach stretching and bloat.

Double coated breeds like GSD's Siberian Huskey's and Alaskan Malamute's <excuse spelling> all need higher fat levels in their food than single coated breeds, as well as higher protein content 25%. (I think from memory, but if you have Dr Karen Hedberg's book available at your local library she actually states the percentage.)

I have currently a showline bitch 58cm who weighs 25 kilos, she runs 8 kilometres a day, she gets a chicken wing of a morning and of an evening she is on a cup and a half of dry, 100 grams mince/egg/can sardines depending she is perfect weight for height.

You possibly have quite healthy dogs that don't need any more weight put on them.

[bianca.a]

Yep my two GSDs are fed Canidae (gave up on Black Hawk due to poor coat on my male) and Cooper gets total 2 1/2 cups per day and Molly gets 1 1/2 cups per day plus meat/eggs etc.

Good luck and please let us know how they go :)

[Staff'n'Toller]

I used to feed Advance and my lot were all fat on hardly any. :laugh:

Ditto! :laugh: Turkey and Rice formula was what I was feeding.

[Tazar]

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I really appreciate it :)

They had 3 cups of porridge/honey and a cup of black hawk this morning, and 8 chicken drummette's, two eggs plus 3 cups of black hawk for dinner tonight. I am awaiting the Advance and will up their meat intake.

Freundund - the vet says they are better lean, which I agree with, but maybe a couple of kilo underweight. I will be putting them through some pretty intensive training regime's in the next couple of month so want them at peak.

Interesting the dry food though, I though Black Hawk was good but I agree that 7-8 cups is too much.

[alpha bet]

Have had many, many GSD's in the training classes and boarding kennels who have trouble keeping their weight and also with poor coats - at times very itchy. It has been a problem with the GSD ever since I first got into them during the early 80's.

Have seen very dramatic improvements when switched over to Royal Canin - Marked improvements within 3 weeks.

[hippo]

Not GSD - but my 11 year old greyhound has weighed about 27kg in the last nine years she's lived with me. Since switching from kibble (rotated through all the super premium brands) to raw with VANS, she's gained a kilo and looks in better condition than ever. Poos are much smaller and quantities of food eaten have dropped too.

[OSoSwift]

8 cups of food is a huge amount and I would be worried about bloat. I used Advance Active on my Dobe many moons ago but there are some really good foods for active dogs.

I would try a different food and see how they go.

[huski]

Have you considered looking into feeding a raw diet? I shudder to think how much dried food my Mal would go through to keep weight on!

[Kavik]

I've found it much easier to keep my GSD at a good weight now that I've switched to a raw diet (kind of forced to when his spleen twisted and had to be removed! The dry food the vet recommended after that I had to feed ridiculous amounts of and he was still too thin!).

The Kelpies are much easier to keep condition on!

[persephone]

Your dogs MAY have a thinner coat as they are kept very warm .... ?

solid wooden kennels would probably be preferable for sleeping in ..as the wood is insulating , and , if well made, totally draft proof . Thick scrunchy bedding in which a nest can be made ..and they should not need jackets, and warming pads .

At present all our dogs sleep outside .. in various kennels /sheltered spots , with old blankets/ raw wool /mattress protectors, and are toasty in the mornings :) ( and we have had a couple of minus temps already :) )

[tarope]

Both my GSDs get 3 cups of kibble per day and it's broken down into three small meals...as I'm scared of bloat too.

[Tazar]

Hi, my dogs are in heaven. So eager for dinner. They have always gotten scraps but not a huge amount. My brother bought 1/2 cow, froze it and didn't eat 3/4 of it so gave it all too me on Saturday for the dogs, raw meat along with porridge, honey, sardines, eggs and bones they will be in great shape in no time. Bit more effort but worth it.

Should I still add kibble (advance)? The gas is deadly though, stinky puppies

[Flaves]

Ditch the black hawk. You shouldn't have to feed 8 cups a day of any dry food. I feed porridge and/or lamb flaps for weight gain.

Ditch the blackhawk

Maybe try a performance food like Artemis Power.

Add fatty beef or lamb to their meals

8 cups a day is HUGE!

My guys get 2 cups of artemis plus about 400grams of fatty beef from the meatworks in Seymour.

If Daire is looking thin and he can i will up the dry by about 1/2 a cup

Also feed them breakfast, either a lamb flap or a couple of chicken frames :)

[mantis]

How about adding carbs to their diet, like rice or potatoes.