My 6 mth Whippet looks skinny - am I feeding enough?

I feed her Nature diet, (the puppy vegetable and rice one) half portion 3 times a day. I want to go down to 2 feeds a day but she already looks skinny on 3. I've asked the vet but he just says stick to the ND guidelines on weight etc. I know she's growing still but we can see her rib-cage (not drastically mind).
Any advice on if ND is right food, or enough? I also have an adult dog whom i used to love steaming carrots, peas, rice (with occasional oily fish), to make a change from his dog food - is Shelby whippet too young to mix her diet like this?
Any advice gratefully received.

Nature Diet is good stuff but if you feel your whippie is thin then keep on feeding 3 meals a day. You could mix in some good complete such as Arden Grange if you wanted to.

Raw tripe is good for putting on weight - you could substitute that for one of the meals with a bonio perhaps, maybe the first one of the day. Don't mix raw and cooked/complete, but if you feed it seperately it might make a difference.

Some whippies always look thin and always show their ribs. It's better than being overweight certainly!

I thought you were supposed to see the rib-cages on Whippets? I would go by what your vet says personally as people are so used to seeing overweight pets nowadays they might convince you your dog is underweight when it isn't.

We see a lady who walks 2 fat Whippets and they look very strange! Probably happy with all the extra food they must be getting though!

I have a theory that Parker is really envious when we see overweight dogs and wants to go and live with them!

I don't know how ND work out thier feeding guidlines. It is an excellent food but if you are not feeding anything else with it like a mixer etc, I would be upping the amount.
I have fed 2 small dogs on it and they were reccomended up to quarter of a pack per day. In reality i had to feed them three quarters of a pack each and they were not high calorie burning dogs like the whippet.
When feeding and looking at any guidlines on any food you have to remember that no two dogs are the same and what one will stay skinny on another will get overweight.
If you think your dog needs to put on a little more weight then up the amount or add a good complete dry food in as a mixer. Be guided by how your dog looks as to whether you are feeding the right amounts.
My greyhound who weighs 10kg Less than my rottie x gsd needs a lot more food than she does even though he is lighter and lazier than her.

Ben is skinny.

My vet said the same thing as Kerryowner - we are so used to seeing overweight dogs that we think that's normal. She said Ben is in great condition and it's lovely to see a dog looking how it should and not overfed.

We did end up cutting out everything other than the kibble for 2 months to make sure the food wasn't disagreeing with him but it was all fine and the vet told us to be proud of the way he looks, not worry about it!

Hi, don't worry too much, you are supposed to be able to see their ribs, the first two anyway or they would be overweight. I was told its best to have them slighty under than overweight.

Would be great to see some piccies

How is Shelby Whippet in herself? Is she bright and active, or overly lethargic? Does she seem to be hungry ie. begs for food?

If not then I would not worry, as long as it is not overly pronounced then being able to see her ribs just means that she is nice and lean, exactly as she should be. If you can distinctly see the bones in her tail then she could probably do with a few extra pounds.

I found ND guidelines to be too high when I fed it, but it is very much down to the individual dog. If you are still worried then you could up her daily allowance, either switch to a full portion of ND twice a day, or stick with the measures you have but add maybe a chicken drumstick or tin of fish to each serving. Then if you feel she is gaining too much, simply cut it back again. There is no reason to stick religiously to the recommended amounts every day, some days your dog is going to have more exercise than others for example, and so will need more or less food to compensate accordingly.

We have a whippet he is not skinny (but not fat) you can not easily see his ribs, would love to see pics of yours, and as your puppy is still growing I would give a bit more food, I'd much rather see a slightly over weight puppy than a slightly under weigh one as they need their food to grow but agree that an adult dog should not be over weight but your pup is only 6 mths.

Just my opinion.

Sophie

If you google 6 month old whippet pictures you will get lots of pics up which will help you be able to compare your baby body wise with them and then know for sure if yours is too skinny or not.
Have a look on here there are pics of whippets.
http://www.greatdogsite.com/breeds/details/Whippet/