# Oh did you rescue your dog from the street? He's soooo thin...



## kennajo (May 20, 2011)

No I did not! He is a full blood GSD AKC lines...He is just a gangly puppy ,besides GSD's are suppose to be kept lean to avoid joint issues.... I had to educate the Pet store employee!! Rocky just had a check up at the vet and they didn't notice any problems ,in fact after 6 months his second testie decended((whoo hoo!!)).Now however I feel the need for some more educated opinions and critiques. Is he too thin? Should I add some canned meat to his dry? thanks everyone! BTW these photos were taken today( Sept 4 2011) and he is 7 mos on the 22nd. He does seem really leggy and loooooong. His last vet exam was 8-17-2011 and he was 52 lbs. I had him checked for diabetes because he drinks so much water but he was normal.


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

He's showing more ribs than I'd like to see in this picture. He isn't in danger of being overweight so a few more pounds won't hurt him.


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

Yeah, I get that all the time with my slightly pudgy Malinois. Her ribs are lightly covered. And recently with my 20 month old shown in my avatar. The ribs are not visible on either pup. I hate it when people tell me they have 130 pound German Shepherds.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

He really could use a pound or two. I don't like seeing 3 ribs...one rib is okay.
He looks as though he really has no sub-cutaneous body fat at all. 

What is he eating now and how much? How are his stools?


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## e.rigby (May 28, 2011)

He's only 6 months old, so no, I don't think he's too skinny... if he was 2 yrs I'd say yes... but for a puppy who's still growing and probably growing quickly some days - he's fine!


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## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

He could use some more weight indeed. One or maybe two ribs are Ok, but no more than that and no hip bones visible. Yet I wouldn't be overly concerned. I'm having the same problem with my adolescent pup right now: just when you think you nailed how much food is ok for them, they have one of those growth spurs and in one week they look emaciated. Akela hides better how thin he is than your pup because his winter coat is more dense than yours but her spine definitely feels too boney and I'm sure that he would look like yours.

I'm adding yoghurt and chicken necks to his usual meals, but again, I'm in winter, so some extra fat is not a bad thing


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## GSDElsa (Jul 22, 2009)

Ditto a few pounds wouldn't hurt, but it is a balancing act at that age. I just upped Medo's food last week and this week he looks SKINNIER! And i swear he grew 2" straight up in the last 2 weeks.

But you'll probably always get that--he kind of looks like one of those dogs who is just going to be lanky his whole life.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i think you have a tall, lean machine.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

He needs a few LBs. Definitely up his food.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

kennajo said:


> He is a full blood GSD


Not to be nit-picky, but if you have to educate people, the correct term for dogs is "Purebred", not "full blood". 

Yes, he is lean, but at 6 months of age he is probably going through a growth spurt and it can be hard to keep weight on them at that age. Since he's not in danger of overweight, you could up his food ration a bit, but I wouldn't worry about his weight too much. People are so used to seeing FAT dogs, they don't know what dogs are actually supposed to look like, but your boy will look good when he puts on a few pounds.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

I don't see much muscle mass and no body fat. He'd probably score a 1 at the vet (with 3 being "ideal" body weight). 
To me that's not just "lean". He ought to have a big of a fat pad somewhere on that frame...our dogs are lean. I like lean dogs. But that dog is too thin.
That's why I'd evaluate what food he's eating and the amount, if you are feeding a low quality food, you could feed 8 cups a day and have a skinny dog.
Also if he's recently had a stomach illness or parasites, he might look this way. 
The OP hasn't mentioned food or how the stools are looking.


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## kennajo (May 20, 2011)

I went back and look at pics from 2 months ago and he most definatly is longer and taller. It sort of slipped up on me! I was focused on his teeth and ears...sheesh! His energy level is just fine (just ask the cat lol) his stool s are firm and once a day. I did buy some caned meat to go with his dry and will add an extra feeding. Thanks everyone!


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

What do you mean by canned meat?


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## kennajo (May 20, 2011)

Freestep said:


> Not to be nit-picky, but if you have to educate people, the correct term for dogs is "Purebred", not "full blood".
> 
> Yes, he is lean, but at 6 months of age he is probably going through a growth spurt and it can be hard to keep weight on them at that age. Since he's not in danger of overweight, you could up his food ration a bit, but I wouldn't worry about his weight too much. People are so used to seeing FAT dogs, they don't know what dogs are actually supposed to look like, but your boy will look good when he puts on a few pounds.


 Thank you for the correct term. I knew it was out there but I just wasn't sure what it was and didn't take the time to research.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

What BRAND of food, and how much? 1 or 2 x a day?? 
It's almost impossible to feed a GSD as much as they need if you only feed 1x a day.


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## kennajo (May 20, 2011)

gsdraven said:


> What do you mean by canned meat?


uhm the canned dog meat that they sell next to the dry. I know I know there are alot of opinions on feeding raw and if I could afford it I would.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

It would help a lot if you could look at the bag and read the label and tell us what brand you are feeding...and how much.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

BTW if you're just dumping Alpo or something on top of his food, guaranteed he's going to have diarrhea...


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## kennajo (May 20, 2011)

Dang! Msvett2u give me time....I feed Purina One Lamb and Rice 2 x a day at about 3/4c at a feeding. That is the recommended amount for his age and the vet weighs him everytime we go in and he has steadily gained and no he hasn't had any illnesses or parisites. In fact we hike and swim and bike together. Anything else you'd like to know?!


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

So you mean canned dog food? Any idea what brand? Where do you buy it?

RAW can be cheaper if you do your research for suppliers. There are a bunch of yahoo groups to help with that. But, I'm not trying to switch you to RAW.


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

LOL! I see you answered brand. . 3/4 of a cup is low especially for Purina. You don't need to up canned, you can just up the amount of dry.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

kennajo said:


> Dang! Msvett2u give me time....I feed Purina One Lamb and Rice 2 x a day at about 3/4c at a feeding. That is the recommended amount for his age and the vet weighs him everytime we go in and he has steadily gained and no he hasn't had any illnesses or parisites. In fact we hike and swim and bike together. Anything else you'd like to know?


]

1.5 cups is too little of an amount...bump up his food to 2c. AM and 2c. PM.

Or get a higher quality food. Purina One is expensive for no more nutrition than you get. I'd recommend Diamond Naturals or Kirkland from Costco...same amounts, 2c. AM and 2c. PM.


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## kennajo (May 20, 2011)

Don't have a costco around here and he wasn't finishing when I fed 1 c thus I backed down to 3/4c. The canned meat is more to entice him to *eat more*....I'm not dumping alot on top of his kibble. It is thouroghly mixed in so he will *eat more. *He tends to get distracted with wanting to play instead of eat and before you say it he is fed in another room or in his crate. He is a typical young boy....play play play


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Diamond Naturals can be found at any feed store. I see you're in Texas...do they have those around?

Purina is a bunch of byproducts with little real meat in it.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Oh, and most dogs are more apt to eat real meat products instead of soy and by-products such as Purina is loaded with...here's an ingredient list for Purina's ONE formula.

Lamb, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, poultry by-product meal, whole grain corn, oat meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), soy flakes, soybean meal,


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

You're not going to spend much more on DN and it's better quality ingredients.

Chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, white rice, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), oatmeal, dried plain beet pulp, egg product, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, fish meal,

Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Ratings


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## kennajo (May 20, 2011)

Thanks for the link...I will look through it. Just a little friendly advice though......you will get your point across and people will actually listen to you if you speak nicer to them.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Well I asked two pages ago and I think you may have overlooked it?


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## sparra (Jun 27, 2011)

kennajo said:


> Don't have a costco around here and he wasn't finishing when I fed 1 c thus I backed down to 3/4c. The canned meat is more to entice him to *eat more*....I'm not dumping alot on top of his kibble. It is thouroghly mixed in so he will *eat more. *He tends to get distracted with wanting to play instead of eat and before you say it he is fed in another room or in his crate. He is a typical young boy....play play play


I know how you feel....my fella is not really a foodie either. When i feed him I am like "Nobody go outside....Luther is eating"
To get him to eat kibble I mixed it with raw eggs. So I whisked them up and poured them on let it soak a bit and he loved it. He still gets them but eats the kibble better now so just an idea. Good Luck.


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## kennajo (May 20, 2011)

I appreciate the fact that you wanted to help. I was trying to get to all the responses and perhaps I didn't answer your question. Maybe I was trying to avoid being told how bad the food is that I am feeding by not mentioning the brand. I am also feeding 4 kids and 7 dogs and 2 cats( not all mine ,long story) and I try to make everyones food as healthy as possible because I am a firm believer that good health starts from the inside. Anyway the protein is 26% and I thought that was the AAFCO recomendation. I thank you for the list and will look through it.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Our puppy was like that, we changed to DN Extreme Athlete and his appetite picked up


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

I think picky eating is a GSD thing. Raven was that way until we started fostering. Her food could sit there for 12 hours and she wouldn't touch it.

Kaiser on the other hand will eat himself sick.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Yeah I remembered that from our Yaeger...


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

I'm always surprised how someone will bash one food and then recommend Diamond products....While the ingredients might look better you also have to take into consideration their long history of recalls. :thinking:

I think the dog looks fine, I'd bet money that in the pictures where the ribs show, the dog is BREATHING IN since you only see them in some but not others.

I'm glad my puppy is furry. If I shaved Eevee I'm sure she'd be a bag of bones much worse than the OP dog. She's a 5lb dog eating 3/4-1 cup of kibble a day PLUS RAW and/or canned foods mixed in. But she's HEALTHY, just got a big appetite and is very very active. (And *gasp* GROWING!)


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

Oh and should probably mention that her food has over 500 calories per cup and she's STILL bony. But nothing is wrong with her health wise, no medical problems or parasites. She's just.....An active, growing puppy with a fast metabolism. If I upped her food anymore she'd probably start having loose stools. I already notice them getting soft when I feed her 1 cup so I only feed her that on really really really active days. (ie. when I take her for an all day play date with her doggy friends)


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Chance, if the person in question seems to be (quite possibly) on a budget I'm not going to suggest Innova or Pinnacle. Not everyone can afford those brands and I understand that. 
The ingredients "look" fine and generally are fine - Costco's Kirkland never did have a recall. 
Yes plain Diamond did in some of their products but to my knowledge DN did not.
Oh, and yes, Costco did have a certain batch of canned recalled but our canned wasn't in that batch.
**PS...I also posted a link to the food advisor so the OP could make up her own mind


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## WarrantsWifey (Dec 18, 2010)

Killian is that lean but he is a working dog!! All that work and we have to keep him light.


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

I'm not a fan of those rating sites either. :shrug: My opinion isn't any better than theirs and theirs is no better than mine. At least IMO.  I fed Sportmix to Chance and he did GREAT on it. Perfect health inside and out! He was a working dog (daily herding work plus he biked, ran, walked, swam, played fetch/frisbee, ect) too, if it was "bad" food, he wouldn't have been able to keep up with the work on it. (Nor would any of the other working/hunting dogs that eat it!) But it has the scary corn and by-products in it...

And I wouldn't consider Purina ONE a budget food....:S Many good brands that run the same price. California Natural being one of them, the chicken & rice formula is also fairly high calorie which would be good for a growing pup without having to feed a ton of food and increase the risk of bloat if the OP did want to add a few pounds. (Which wouldn't HURT but I personally feel the dog looks ok, to each their own. Similar to picking a food to feed. )

I keep my dogs pretty darn lean though. Zoey is the only exception, she's fat IMO (though everyone else thinks she's a great weight) but she has a thyroid problem so keeping her as lean as I'd like is pretty impossible. She's 14lb and is only allowed 150 calories MAX a day. Yet STILL can't get her down to the 12lb I want her at!! >( She eats Avoderm, so good food....It's just her. I've even tried TOTW since it's grain free and very very low calorie. Nope. Still can't get those 2lb off! But I guess I'm just overly picky. xD


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

gsdraven said:


> I think picky eating is a GSD thing. Raven was that way until we started fostering. Her food could sit there for 12 hours and she wouldn't touch it.
> 
> Kaiser on the other hand will eat himself sick.


Funny you should say that because since Zefra has come home, Stark is actually a little on the heavy side of a leaner dog!

A dog who I couldn't get to take a treat to save my life to a dog who is eating his whole meals in minutes! 

Pack drive/competition is a beautiful thing.


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## warpwr (Jan 13, 2011)

Miss Molly is pretty lean too. You can see all her ribs at 8 months.
She gets two cups of dry Innova puppy food with about 1/4 of a can of Innova mixed in twice a day. So about 5 cups a day combined. She weighs 70 plus lbs now.

3/4 of a cup twice a day is not near enough in my opinion.

6 or 7 months old in this picture...


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

The way I see it, we could also eat McDonald's daily, but there's so much more for our bodies to process.
There's no way you'll convince me soy is good for a dog. It's not good for people; forget dogs! 
And when I buy dog food I'd rather have actual meat in it than feathers and beaks


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

I do agree that 3/4th 2x a day seems like a very small amount. Wonder if the OP could get a height for him?

Chance (while not purebred, I admit) topped out at 21in and he was 50lb as an adult. He stopped growing in height when he was around 8 months old. He was 19in when I got him at 6 months. But his weight didn't up to 50lb until he was about 1.5 years old. From 8-9 months till then he varied between 45-48lb. I'm sure he'd have been around the same weight when I got him at 6 months old had he not been starved to a ridiculous 28lb.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

To put it in perspective, my 38lb. senior Sheltie mix (spayed female) eats 3/4 c. 2x a day.
Also that's just about the amt. our 40lb. Basset Hound (a 3yr. old spayed female) gets.

Our growing GSD pup gets 1 1/2 c. 2x a day of his food.


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

Actually, things like feet make great treats for dogs! The little toes make good toothpicks too. 

I'm not convinced that feeding ANY kibble is good. Yes, that includes things like Orijen. I don't see any of it being different than us eating frozen meals and McDonalds every day. It's overly processed and the only reason our dogs don't die from eating it is because they put in synthetic vitamins to make up for everything destroyed in the manufacturing process. Cat food is a very good example of this, it's not wise to feed a food that doesn't have added taurine because there is a good chance what is "naturally" in the food isn't going to be enough to keep your cat healthy for LIFE. (I actually can't think of any brands off the top of my head that DON'T add it for this exact reason) Prolonged taurine deficiency will lead to major health problems and even death.


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

He's a puppy and by the looks of the 2 months ago pics, he's had a HUGE growth spurt. There's quite a bit of dog there for him to grow into.

I had a skinny puppy, people would ask me 'what's wrong with her, why's she so skinny?' Um, she's too busy to eat? She's Miss Picky Pants and hasn't liked the last 10 kibbles I've given her to try? She's an old shepherdess now, took 7 years to find something she actually LIKES to eat for dinner! Instead of her eating because she's hungry and nobody's giving her anything else.

So if your pup isn't eating all his food, think about why. Maybe he just doesn't like it and he's picky. Shepherds can be picky eaters. I wouldn't spoil him with the gushy canned stuff trying to entice him to eat. Find a kibble that he likes.

As others have said Purina isn't the best you can do for your money. There's other options out there, maybe not so easy to get as the Purina at the grocery store but they're out there. 

FROMM family foods costs almost exactly the same. You'll have to do some looking around at small independent pet stores to find it. Another brand I like in the price range is Precise.


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

One other note to make on the dog food, a lot of the pet stores and privately owned shops (including groomers/kennels which will often times carry foods too!) are now doing deals where you buy x amount of food and get a bag free. Especially with the higher quality brands since they're the "in" thing now. Might be something worth looking into regardless of which food you pick.

On another note, since you're in Texas, see if you can get Victor brand dog food near you. I've never personally tried it but the ingredients are good and if I remember correctly, people are only paying under or around $1/lb for it.

Victor Premium Dog Food | Professional Formulations


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## VonKromeHaus (Jun 17, 2009)

If you don't want to switch brands, then just up hois intake a little. As others have said it looks like he went through a growth spurt! 

Also, all dogs are different, my parents FREE FEED their Boxers the Nature's Domain Salmon/Potato formula from Costco as well as feed them 1 can of BG food/day and they are very very lean dogs. Some people would say they're way too skinny but they always have food available to them and even get a can of canned food a day. They're extremely healthy dogs says their vet. 

Do what works for you and your dog, I'd personally just up his dry food a little and add a little canned and see what happens! 

My dogs are all lean dogs, I want them healthy for their entire life!


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## GSDElsa (Jul 22, 2009)

Have you tried making him more food motivated?

I had a foster that looked just like him--very tall and ribs showing like that.

His previous owner's free fed him and he just wanted to pick at his food. For about a week, I put his food down and if he didn't finish it within a few mintues, it went back up until the next feeding. He caught on pretty quick he needed to eat when it was offered and finish it all.

under 2 cups a day of any food is a really small amount for a growing dog. Def see if you can't get more substance in him.


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

Yeah 2 is not nearly enough. I think Otto was eating like 5 when he was that age. He's such a piggie, he'd eat the whole bag if I let him. He gets 4 1/4 now, *think* he's done growing.


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## krystyne73 (Oct 13, 2010)

My Max (and Sasha) are very lean, almost anorexic. Even when I added chicken or livers to their food they would pick at it then leave most of it.
I would try feeding 3x a day to help. Mine seem to do better with more meals, less quantity. 

...Don't feel bad about the dog food. I was feeding my dogs the Sam's brand Exceed Lamb and Rice ($38 for I think it was 45lbs. of food). It was really good, first ingredient is meat not corn. My dogs were always healthy and shiny coats. Although I did switch to TOTW later.
He does look lanky though, needs more meals.


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## GSDElsa (Jul 22, 2009)

Oh, and another brand you might be able to try that would give a little more nutrional oompf per cup is Tractor Supply 4Health. I actually think it's cheaper than Purina and the ingredients are pretty good for the price.

One thing to consider is he might be picking at his food because it doesn't agree with him on some level. I've seen that happen quite a bit.


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## Shaina (Apr 2, 2011)

My five month old is eating around 5 to 6 cups a day, and she's still on the petite side weighing 37lbs. I suggest upping


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## fuzzybunny (Apr 29, 2011)

OP, I would up the food a little as other people have mentioned and try adding a little wet in with it to make him more interested in eating. I have to mix wet into Jazz's food in order to keep him interested in eating but it does the trick.


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## kennajo (May 20, 2011)

I added a small ampunt of wet to 2 cups of dry and he is finishing it. I had surgery recently and had been free feeding for a bit and he was just doing drive by nibbling. Before I got sick I was feeding twice a day but he wasn't finishing the 2 cups...not even 1 cup at the feedings. The growth spurt sort of snuck up on me. 
To measure height is front leg to top of shoulder? I am interested in finding out where he is in height and length. I think I will take him to vet tmr just for a weigh in just to see where we're at. Last weight was 52 lbs on August 17th

We went for a long hike today..(yeah for cooler weather!!) He never did get tired. Brought them home feed them and they crashed like tired little kids...LOL


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## CelticGlory (Jan 19, 2006)

Jennifer, 

If you want to add some weight on him, you could try Satin Balls. Many use them for skinny dogs; you can feed them until he's at a weight your comfortable with. Holistic Dog - Satinballs Satin Balls

Also you can add yogurt, rolls of meat, etc to his kibble to maintain weight afterwards. 

My rottie girl was fed Purina One her whole life, and many breeders I know of other breeds feed One, Selects, and Naturals (all Purina). Don't forget that P&G brought Nutra who made all of the top holistic brands like Innova, etc. My girl lived to be 14 and was healthy too. Its not necessary the food that makes a healthy dog, you have genetics that plays a huge role.


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

Perfect weight. Focus on the 1st 1.5 years is bones and joints. Plus, trying to adjust food to accommodate growth. Make sure everything is in balance.

What Gabor sees more of is heavier dogs - not a few lbs; even adult, supposedly working dogs that are not normally conditioned. Some people wonder why their dog is winded,etc.


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

4 health is the private label brand of TOTW.....


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## spiritsmom (Mar 1, 2003)

Really I didn't know that about 4 health? I might have to look into that. I'm feeding Diamond Naturals right now which the dogs don't seem to be too thrilled with.


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## Riley3696 (Aug 24, 2011)

ChancetheGSD said:


> One other note to make on the dog food, a lot of the pet stores and privately owned shops (including groomers/kennels which will often times carry foods too!) are now doing deals where you buy x amount of food and get a bag free. Especially with the higher quality brands since they're the "in" thing now. Might be something worth looking into regardless of which food you pick.
> 
> On another note, since you're in Texas, see if you can get Victor brand dog food near you. I've never personally tried it but the ingredients are good and if I remember correctly, people are only paying under or around $1/lb for it.
> 
> Victor Premium Dog Food | Professional Formulations


 
We are using Victor and its been great!! I just got a 40 lb bag for $26.00 which is great for what you get!! I also like the fact its made in Texas!!!!


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## GSDElsa (Jul 22, 2009)

Smithie86 said:


> 4 health is the private label brand of TOTW.....


They are completely different foods. Both made by Diamond, but definitely worlds apart as far as ingredients.


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

To clarify, private label of TOTW made specifically for TSC


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