Not keeping on weight.

GsPJustin · Post by **GsPJustin** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:15 pm

Sorry if theres another topic like this already.

Anyway my 11 month old pup is eating Canidae and hes not keeping the weight on. He eats 4 cups a day. He hasnt been excersising much because of the weather either. Is it time to find a new food or what do i do?

Kurzhaar · Post by **Kurzhaar** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:17 pm

Justin:

If the dog is losing weight, it is not getting enough nutrients! Rather than switch feeds why not try giving the dog more groceries? It just might be the simple solution to the weight loss issue.

Jim

bruin · Post by **bruin** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:39 pm

Put a little peanut oil with your dog food. It will put weight on. Any ways that is what I did for my gsp.

GsPJustin · Post by **GsPJustin** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:12 pm

The only thing is after he gains the weight back he might not beable to keep it.

Plus its alot simpler to just put food in a bowl. It gets kinda excessive after taht

Post by **Ayres** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:43 pm

What does your pup weigh in at, and what do you consider "not keeping the weight on?" At 11 months he may be hitting growth spurts that make him look lanky when actually he's not really losing weight.

4 cups of Canidae is an awful lot of nutrients already, and at 468 kcal/cup it's nothing to sneeze at. If he's really losing weight and/or can't keep it on after that type of feeding, I'd see a vet.

GsPJustin · Post by **GsPJustin** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 10:40 pm

Well 3 months ago he was pushng 63. then he dropped to 57 now he back up to 59. his parents are both 75+ and hes skinny like his ribs are coming out to be noticeable

Post by **Ayres** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 12:17 am

Seeing ribs isn't necessarily a bad thing, unless it's just way too much. On a good field conditioned dog you may see some ribs. It doesn't mean that the dog is malnourished, it just means that there's no fat there acting as an insulator and keeping heat on the dog.

59 pounds isn't the end of the world for a GSP. How tall is he? My vizsla is 24" and weighs in at 53 lbs.

SwitchGrassWPG · Post by **SwitchGrassWPG** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:24 am

Don't get stuck on using the parent's weights as a measure for your own dog. Yes, it will give you an idea of potential size but remember every dog is different.

How old is yours? If less than 6 mo, still has some growing to do. If over 6 mo, it may take another 6 to 12 or more for him to mature and fill out.

As long as he's acting/behaving fairly "normal", don't be concerned. If anything has noticably changed, see your vet.

GsPJustin · Post by **GsPJustin** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 8:22 am

hes 25 1/2" tall.

Im using the parents only as a prediction im figureing he should be atleast 25 3/4 70+ thats my minimum assumption from the sizes of the past generations. but only a guess.

The only reason i think he looks skinny is becasuse whe he was 24 1/2" he was a ideal thickness. no bones, no spine, not to much dip in the stomach area.

The only reason im so concernd is because if he can keep weight on now. With 2-3, 1 1/2 hour runs, a week. What will happen when i start training him seriously again?

Post by **kninebirddog** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 8:54 am

He just may not be getting what he need from the food

What is the protein and fat level also

The food I feed The
Enhance Hunters Edge is a 24 18 570 k/cal per cup which has a maintance food which my dogs do better on the pro plan performance 30 20 and only 493 k/cal cup
and when we go on the road and trial for the added stress we up to the Enhance Pro Athlete 30 22 635 K/cal per cup
on both food my keneel dogs to my active preserve dogs/trials dogs maintain very well and have lots of energy plus I am able to feed less as the food
even my females when they are whelping I have noticed the pups are healthier from the start and my females also after whelping and through nursing maintain extremely well
plus it has chelated minerals in the food which inables the dog short digestive tract to absorb more of what is needded for them to stay healthy

mountaindogs · Post by **mountaindogs** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 9:17 am

I had some trouble keeping weight on my GSP at that age, but he seems to have outgrown it. I wondered if it's like teenage boys - eat eat eat and not really put on weight.

Post by **ezzy333** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 11:44 am

You got it Mountaindogs. That is normal for any healthy pup to go through a growth period and get thinner. We get so caught up in our dogs feed we forget just common sense things that apply to practically every animal including us. I see much more concern about what our dogs are doing than we do our children. Wonder how many of us weighed the kids everyday and changed their diets if they lost or gained a pound along the way.

Dogs are dogs, they gain a pound or lose a pound quite often and it shouldn't be a concern if they are health and active.

Ezzy

Kurzhaar · Post by **Kurzhaar** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 12:17 pm

Ezzy:

I like you, you nailed it yet again!!!!!!!!!!!

Jim

ezzy333 wrote: I see much more concern about what our dogs are doing than we do our children. Wonder how many of us weighed the kids everyday and changed their diets if they lost or gained a pound along the way.

Dogs are dogs, they gain a pound or lose a pound quite often and it shouldn't be a concern if they are health and active.

Ezzy

Post by **Ayres** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 12:48 pm

Canidae is a great food so don't switch out. Ezzy and mountaindogs hit it on the head.

At 25.5" and 59 lbs I don't think he's underweight. Yes he has some filling out to do, but that will come with age. I'd guess that he won't get much taller, if any, but he will gain up to another 10 lbs. over time. This is just something that his body and metabolism will do, there's really not anything you can or should do to put the weight on him prematurely.

And remember, you'll likely see a few ribs in a good field-conditioned dog.

GsPJustin · Post by **GsPJustin** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:11 pm

heck definatly gain more than 10 more pounds. im sure he will be atleast 70 i mean its not a for sure thing but...

As for the ribs being noticable, today when i took him on a walk i noticed his ribs stick out way past his shoulders so im thinking hes starting to fill out a little and thats why he looks so skinny. but i still believe he should be around 65 pounds and hes 59

I figured it was just a pup thing but my concern is that right now he not really a well maintained field dog. Its been raining alot hear and hes not reallly getting even the proper amount of excersise without any training. I get him out about 2 times a week for 2 hours each and hes gets sum fetch time and stuff in between that. So im thinking in a a couple of weeks when the rain stops and i can get rides he will drop alot of weight. I know canidae is a good food(very healthy with the 4 meat products) but i think 24/12 might not be enough with 470/c cup.

I show him also so i like to keep the weight on hes still skinnier than most at my ideal look but atleast he doesnt look skinny.

Post by **ezzy333** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:42 pm

Gsp, your pup is 11 months old and is not a well maintained field dog. He won't even be mature for another year yet. And I have never seen a dog that you can predict will lose weight when exercised. They may lose a little but I've had just as many gain also. Of course, When the dog is working his appetite will normally pick up and if you are on your toes you will be aware he is hungrier and increase his feed a little.

I understand the problems of showing and the pup being thin. But the key words are he is a pup and the best thing you can do is wait till he matures and show him when he has his best chance at winning. There are few pups that can beat a mature dog in the ring or the field. His time will come so stop worring about a couple of pounds that he may or may not lose and also the preconcieved idea of what he should wiegh at any given time during his growing period. Let nature take its course and you and the pup will be healthier and happier.

Ezzy

Post by **Ayres** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:23 pm

Again, I have to agree with Ezzy on this point. You're talking about a 6 pound difference in what he actually weighs and what you think he should weigh. That's very minimal, and very trivial when you consider his age and maturity level right now.

Wesley Boothe · Post by **Wesley Boothe** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 12:56 pm

GSP, I have two males that did not fill out as early as I thought they should. My one male did not really fill out until he was 2yrs old and now has really filled out nicely. My other male is only 16mo old and still looks thin. I have had him into the vet on a regular basis and she says he is totally healthy. I trust the vet. He is very active and does not act overly hungry or show any signs of there being a health problem, so again I trust the vet and only wish I had his metabolism! I would not lose any sleep over it. Good luck.

GsPJustin · Post by **GsPJustin** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 3:26 pm

Im not saying he should be filled out, Im just saying he looks skinny even for a puppy. My dogs lines are late developers so he probly wont be done maturing until hes about 3. (give or take) i was just making sure that when i started running him hard again he wouldnt drop alot more weight than hes already dropped

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 2:00 am

Add some extra fat to his diet, cheese, gravy, left over vege's from dinner, bit of bread. That will help. Ask butcher if they can put extra fat in some minced meat for you and give him a palmsized
dob of that each night.

Is he warm at night? Cold dogs lose weight.

GsPJustin · Post by **GsPJustin** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 2:37 pm

VEEEERRRYYY WARM!

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 4:32 pm

Under the quilt eh?

GsPJustin · Post by **GsPJustin** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 5:57 pm

Ya unfortunatly he takes the whole thing!!!

Gun Dog Forum

Not keeping on weight.

Not keeping on weight.

A little common sense

peanut oil