# Skinny, Skinny puppy!



## xsaysayx (Feb 14, 2010)

Hi! I was wondering how many cups of food a day I should feed Vegas. I just wanted some different opinions because like most shepherds, he is staying REALLY skinny and underweight.
He's 5 months, is 55 pounds (but 10-15 pounds underweight, he is a BIG boy), is fed Diamond Naturals with an enzyme supplement (like Prozyme but different brand). HNe's very active, and he has a really healthy appetite. He's clear of worms and everything.
He gets about 4 1/2 cups a day right now, twice a day. He just stays so skinny though! How many cups do you recommend I feed him, and anything else that would help him maintain some weight? Should I mix some cheaper, fattier food in with the DN like Pedigree or something? 
Thanks!

Here's a picture of him at the park the other day 
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/307461_10200594021759718_684052668_n.jpg


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

It's hard to see from this pic but he looks okay (from that pic anyway) :shrug:

Maybe a body shot or two?


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## xsaysayx (Feb 14, 2010)

msvette2u said:


> It's hard to see from this pic but he looks okay (from that pic anyway) :shrug:
> 
> Maybe a body shot or two?


http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/426036_10200594021199704_1314191937_n.jpg
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/529229_10200579195069060_698305419_n.jpg
Don't know why I didn't think to post those in the first place lol


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

He looks perfect to me!
He is not supposed to weigh 70 pounds at 5 months!


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

He's thin but not abnormally so. It's better for growing puppies to be lean, and I'd say he's "lean".


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

msvette2u said:


> He's thin but not abnormally so. It's better for growing puppies to be lean, and I'd say he's "lean".


Agreed!

He also looks to be going through an "awkward" stage, where everything seems out of balance, which can make him look super skinny, moreso than he really is.


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

xsaysayx said:


> Hi! I was wondering how many cups of food a day I should feed Vegas. I just wanted some different opinions because like most shepherds, he is staying REALLY skinny and underweight.
> He's 5 months, is 55 pounds (but 10-15 pounds underweight, he is a BIG boy), is fed Diamond Naturals with an enzyme supplement (like Prozyme but different brand). HNe's very active, and he has a really healthy appetite. He's clear of worms and everything.
> He gets about 4 1/2 cups a day right now, twice a day. He just stays so skinny though! How many cups do you recommend I feed him, and anything else that would help him maintain some weight? Should I mix some cheaper, fattier food in with the DN like Pedigree or something?
> Thanks!
> ...


 
Look at the food bag itself as to an idea of volume, and also ask the vet and esp. weigh him on a regular basis to see his weight!


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## WVGSD (Nov 28, 2006)

Rather than feed him more quantity, you could switch him to a higher calorie food and feed him fewer cups while giving more calories. I went through something similar with my now 9 month old GSD female. She was eating 4 1/2 cups of chicken-based kibble as a youngster and was still thin and gangly. I found a higher calorie fish-based kibble and it had about 450 calories per cup versus the 320 calories in each cup of the chicken-based kibble. I was able to decrease her to just slightly more than 3 cups per day and maintain her weight and coat condition. 

She is now on a venison and potato kibble as that seems to be what works best for her. We tried chicken and fish and have now settled on a venison kibble.


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