Thank you Emma. I was pleased to hear you had a skinny dog until he was 5. I worry because mine is so thin but he is healthy and active. He is finally putting on some weight at the age of 4. It is quite distressing to give your dog a cuddle and feel all of his ribs. I keep telling myself better lean than fat but just putting on a half kilo would be great.

Louis was ribby too, half a kilo for a small dog can make the difference, it was on my mind often, and thought should I offer him different food, or treats or something, but really he ate as much as he wanted and would leave what he didn't, I could only go by that and when it was vet time, they said he was fine and he would fill out. He did eventually...........

I know! And I've said I know!!!! My post is about a dog who is UNDERWEIGHT! So going on about obesity is just irritating and irrelevant.

I feel the need to SHOUT but I shall restrain myself...no one is denying that overfeeding dogs is bad, BUT this post is about an UNDERWEIGHT dog so your little lecture on obesity is in the wrong place. Please start your own thread if you want to talk about obesity.

Now do you understand why you are irritating people???

Deep sigh!

J.

Thank you Emma!!! This is just the sort of info I was after, I shall go and read the website you suggested.

My breeder did say that some times the boys seem to fill out at bit later but as Gozo is 2 I was starting to be a little concerned so it is very reassuring to hear about your experience. I think that part of the trouble is my other Affen and my Schnauzer are both gannets who eat anything with great gusto which just shows up the contrast with my fussy, skinny boy even more!!!

J.

Now I am not understanding what you are on about Labman - why would you think that this lady is abusing her dog by over-feeding? She is trying to make sure that her dog remains healthy and is the optimum weight for his size. She is concerned that he is UNDERWEIGHT and as she has sight of the dog and owns it I think she would know.
I find your attitude both irritating and frequently "off the wall". From reading some of your posts, if I were you I would think very carefully about talking of people abusing their dogs. In my opinion some of your practices fall into the category of abuse and are deplorable. Your posts also often have a very dictatorial tone to them and I can fully understand why you get so many people's backs up. There - I've been wanting to say that for some time and now it is off my chest.

For Emma,
Thanks for posting the link on puppy/adult nutrition. From what I have understood from the content, the main differences between puppy and adult foods are in protein and fats.
The essential minerals, etc. remain largely the same for adult and puppy food, i.e. magnesium. iron, copper, zinc, mang., iodine, selenium, vits.A.D.E., thiamin, ribo., niacin. Both the puppy and the adult foods fall well within the recommended maximums. There are no exra (different) nutrients, just different proportions.
If you were to feed any of the protein foods, e.g. egg, cheese, fresh meats/liver you would immediately introduce a much higher protein level than is in the all-in-one foods.
What I have always belieived is that there should be a balance between proteins and carbohydrates (its the carbs. that put on the weight).
The adult food I feed my adult dogs is actually higher in protein than the puppy food analysed in your post.
I honestly think that there is no harm in feeding an adult dog puppy food for a while, as it is an easy way to increase the fat/protein, whilst maintaining the balance of vit. and mineral levels. What the article says is that it is advisable to feed a puppy on a puppy food and this was what I interpreted the article to be trying to convey.

This is how I see it
Calcium requirement is almost half for a dog compared to a pup
Protein is not stored in the body and will be excreted through the kidneys meaning the kidneys have to work harder
Also protein gotten from meat is going to be better than from plant protein sources, basically you would be better off with a lower protein meat based rather than a higher one from plant based
Increased calcium can causes zinc deficiency.
My own view on it is there are other options than going back to puppy food, increase frequency of feeding, checking out the food given and see if there are better sourcing of protein in dog foods available rather than going to puppy food, also if the vet is not recommending it and the dog is on the slim side, as I have said and one other we have both had small dogs with this issue and have found it took longer for them to fill out and I know mine filled out without any intervention necessary.

Hi J I agree with Emma when she says...

I have always found the way to put a little muscle on is to feed small frequent meals of good quality food.

Raw food contains good quality protein and feeding it seems an excellent way to build muscle. If you don't want to do the whole making up a raw diet thing maybe consider one of the new raw diets like Darlings or Natural Instinct , dogs seem to love raw food


http://www.darlingsrealdogfood.com/

http://www.naturalinstinct.com/

It is quite expensive but with a small dog like Gozo the cost it shouldn't be too bad.

Chloe is on a mainly raw diet and has never looked better

My boy has only just got to 37kg and he will be 4 in october, weight range for boys in his breed is between 35 and 45kgs i believe.

I think he could still do with another kg or 2. I drove myself mad trying to get weight on him, but he has never had a big appetite. hes part european blood and am told that some european lines take longer to mature.

Which food are you feeding him btw?

If the ribs don't show, the dog isn't underweight. What many consider skinny is lean and healthy. Unfortunately for their dogs, many people don't get that.