# Healthy weight gain



## tannkgirl (Oct 23, 2014)

My pup is a pretty big girl - she was 42 pounds at 4 months and should be around 50 pounds by the time she turns 5 months (which is in a week.) She is very long and has been growing like a weed. She does get a lot of exercise and has healthy stools, but she is definitely on the thin side. I had the same situation with my male when he was a pup - he was super lean regardless of how much he ate, largely because he just grew so quickly (he was about 90 pounds full weight and didn't really fill out until 2.)

I currently feed her blue buffallo 6 cups a day and half a can of wet food and some supplements. I'm not sure I want to increase the dry food anymore, but She could probably stand to gain 5 pounds easily. What are the healthiest ways for her to put on weight?


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Lean is good.... 

I look at what they recommend on the bag for my pups age/size and just use that as a guide. Since I want them lean, it's more if I start seeing them pudge up (or no longer have the same interest in finishing the meal) that I adjust.

Right now my pups are all doing best on Taste of the Wild, the bison mix. But all our dogs seem to have different preferences.


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## Asten (Feb 1, 2015)

B'Elanna looks like she's starving between meals. She has a great appetite and eats 1 cup three times a day along with cookies for going potty and during training. She's 24 pounds at 11 weeks, so it feels like she's going to be a pretty big girl, too. She does look thin sometimes, but other times she looks chunkier. I kinda think it's a puppy thing. Have you talked to your vet about it?


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

tannkgirl said:


> My pup is a pretty big girl - she was 42 pounds at 4 months and should be around 50 pounds by the time she turns 5 months (which is in a week.) She is very long and has been growing like a weed. She does get a lot of exercise and has healthy stools, but she is definitely on the thin side. I had the same situation with my male when he was a pup - he was super lean regardless of how much he ate, largely because he just grew so quickly (he was about 90 pounds full weight and didn't really fill out until 2.)
> 
> I currently feed her blue buffallo 6 cups a day and half a can of wet food and some supplements. I'm not sure I want to increase the dry food anymore, but She could probably stand to gain 5 pounds easily. What are the healthiest ways for her to put on weight?





tannkgirl said:


> My pup is a pretty big girl - she was 42 pounds at 4 months and should be around 50 pounds by the time she turns 5 months (which is in a week.)
> 
> I currently feed her blue buffallo 6 cups a day and half a can of wet food and some supplements. I'm not sure I want to increase the dry food anymore, but She could probably stand to gain 5 pounds easily. What are the healthiest ways for her to put on weight?


What size are her parents? Are they oversized?

6 cups a day plus half a can is a huge amount of food.

You want her to stay lean, standard size for an adult GSD is a maximum of 70 pounds.


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## Big Brown Eyes (Jan 11, 2015)

I free fed my pup. Left food there... always bowl full, and he ate as he liked. 

On the good side, he has no propensity to over eat. On the bad side, he has grown up to be a very picky eater.

I believe if the kid wants to eat, let it eat. No harm comes from it. Take it for a long walk after, and let nature take its course.

Yes, standard says 60 to 70 lb is the size for GSD. I have seen those dogs.. and I don't like the way they look. I like old fashioned, good old boys with massive heads and large powerful bodies. (Not fat! But powerfully built). My GSD is 100 lbs of goofy fur ball.


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

Big Brown Eyes said:


> Yes, standard says 60 to 70 lb is the size for GSD. I have seen those dogs.. and I don't like the way they look. I like old fashioned, good old boys with massive heads and large powerful bodies. (Not fat! But powerfully built). My GSD is 100 lbs of goofy fur ball.


Someone may like that look, but it doesn't mean their dog is healthy at that size (not saying that about your dog, just in general). We have the dogs we have, so to speak, and should keep them at a weight that's ideal for their body shape. OP, go by body condition, not weight. What's her body condition like? Often what people think is thin is actually ideal, especially in puppies.


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

Big Brown Eyes said:


> I believe if the kid wants to eat, let it eat. No harm comes from it. Take it for a long walk after, and let nature take is course.


Harm can come from this. Not all dogs will eat as yours does. An overweight dog is not healthy, free feeding does promote this is many dogs.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Saphire said:


> Harm can come from this. Not all dogs will eat as yours does. An overweight dog is not healthy, free feeding does promote this is many dogs.


oh gawd...Seger would eat until he bloated. He did that before. Scariest night of my life in a long time.


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## BARBIElovesSAILOR (Aug 11, 2014)

Captain is about 20 lbs underweight at just 65 lbs, and he is very tall. All his bones stick out. I will be taking him to the vet today for his second checkup. Once I can confirm his health is good, no malabsorption issues, and the vet gives me the green light on his health, I will start him on satin balls on a more regular basis. He needs to gain weight big time. I feed him about 2 cups in the morning and 2 at night now. Some days I will give him a 3rd meal at lunch if we had a particularly active day.

Wish us luck at the vet!


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Why wouldn't you just up his food to 5 cups a day or even 6 until he is at the right weight?


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

Jax08 said:


> oh gawd...Seger would eat until he bloated. He did that before. Scariest night of my life in a long time.


I'm certain Gus would gorge himself if given the opportunity. I most definately have to regulate his food.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

What is it with people wanting to fatten up dogs?

I would rather have a dog that is too thin than fat. And I certainly wouldn't feed satin balls to gorge him and make him gain weight quickly, that is just very unhealthy.

It is confusing to me why people think a German Shepherd should be this enormous refrigerator of a dog. These dogs were always medium to large and slender. I have some vintage pictures, and I can start a thread. The old-fashioned German Shepherds were relatively small.


ETA: When your dog's head looks Photoshopped on, he needs to lose weight. Jake on this forum is a prime example.
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/show-me-pictures/362881-jakes-diet-9.html
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/show-me-pictures/362881-jakes-diet.html


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## Zeusthegsd143 (Nov 24, 2014)

Sunflowers said:


> What is it with people wanting to fatten up dogs?
> 
> I would rather have a dog that is too thin than fat. And I certainly wouldn't feed satin balls to gorge him and make him gain weight quickly, that is just very unhealthy.
> 
> ...


I couldn't have said it better!


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## BARBIElovesSAILOR (Aug 11, 2014)

Sunflowers said:


> What is it with people wanting to fatten up dogs?
> 
> I would rather have a dog that is too thin than fat. And I certainly wouldn't feed satin balls to gorge him and make him gain weight quickly, that is just very unhealthy.
> 
> ...



He is emaciated. It's not that I want to fatten him up for the heck of it. The vet confirmed he is too underweight. He needs to gain about 20-25 lbs. his hip bones stick out. This is not healthy and not slender, this is a skeleton of a dog. I will feed him what I need to, to put weight in him in a healthy manner.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Apollo is about 4.5 months. He is 19 inches tall and weighs 40 pounds. He eats about 3 cups a day and minimal treats for training. He hasn't gained any weight in the last 2 weeks but he has grown taller. 

I prefer lean and slow weight gain. I couldn't imagine giving him 6 cups a day. He eats really slow but one cup in the bowl looks like a lot to me. I have remeasured it because it looks like to much.


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

BARBIElovesSAILOR said:


> He is emaciated. It's not that I want to fatten him up for the heck of it. The vet confirmed he is too underweight. He needs to gain about 20-25 lbs. his hip bones stick out. This is not healthy and not slender, this is a skeleton of a dog. I will feed him what I need to, to put weight in him in a healthy manner.


 I don't think Sunflower's post was in any way directed at you... there are dozens of posts on here from people with healthy dogs saying "I think she's too small, I want her to weigh 90 lbs."


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

LoveEcho said:


> I don't think Sunflower's post was in any way directed at you... there are dozens of posts on here from people with healthy dogs saying "I think she's too small, I want her to weigh 90 lbs."


Yeah...

I have come to the conclusion that it's not worth posting anymore.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

BARBIElovesSAILOR said:


> He is emaciated. It's not that I want to fatten him up for the heck of it. The vet confirmed he is too underweight. He needs to gain about 20-25 lbs. his hip bones stick out. This is not healthy and not slender, this is a skeleton of a dog. I will feed him what I need to, to put weight in him in a healthy manner.


I saw the pictures on the other thread. He is far from emciated.
He is the same height and weight as my dog.

He is thin, but he certainly does not need to be stuffed so that he gains 20 pounds.


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## BARBIElovesSAILOR (Aug 11, 2014)

Sunflowers said:


> I saw the pictures on the other thread. He is far from emciated.
> He is the same height and weight as my dog.
> 
> He is thin, but he certainly does not need to be stuffed so that he gains 20 pounds.


It is hard to tell by the pictures sunflower. In his pictures, even I think he looks healthy and ideal. If you were physically here and felt him with your hands. If you ran your fingers over his back you would know right away he is emaciated. When I took him dock jumping I was embarrassed when he got out of the water and his true size could be seen. I thought people would think I was an animal abuser letting my dog starve. Haha that is how scary skinny he is. I quickly told everyone I recently got him. Lol. He really is too skinny. If I could feel a little rib, or see a little rib it would be one thing. But all of his bones stick out. His back legs is just tendon and bone. There is no fat. I could go on and on but I think you get the picture...


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Barbie, you need to work on muscle tone, not on fat. Increase the food, but don't do the satin balls, those will put on pure fat and muscle is what he needs.

I'll try to see if I can get a picture of my dog on here. He is the exact same height and weight as Captain.

I can feel his bones, too. Does he look emaciated to you?


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## mauser1 (Feb 24, 2015)

Tannkgirl I wouldn't be trying to force her to gain a bunch of extra weight at that age, like everyone else has said it's usually better for them to be leaner and to grow slower. That being said, my pup just turned 5 months old and has gained 2-3 pounds a week since I've gotten him. I'm not entirely sure how fast that is compared to eto everyone else. He's just now about 42 pounds (he was also a little malnutritioned at 8 weeks, his litter was dropped at a shelter). Like another person said on here, mine is just fine with regulating his own food. At first I tried not to do this but it was hard to measure exactly how much of the food he'd wind up eating; he preferred to just eat a little bit like 7 times a day when he was little. As long as she's eating and doesn't have any like worm problem or something, and is getting plenty of exercise, and not like begging you for more food in her bowl, just let her grow the way she's gonna grow. She'll fill out more anyway between like 1-3 years.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Dogs come in all configurations. My male is only 16 months, about 25.5" and weighs 70#. At 65#, his hip bones stuck out along with all his ribs. I don't think you can properly compare two dogs based solely on weight and height.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Jax08 said:


> Dogs come in all configurations. My male is only 16 months, about 25.5" and weighs 70#. At 65#, his hip bones stuck out along with all his ribs. I don't think you can properly compare two dogs based solely on weight and height.


Exactly, there is bone and also, fat is fluffier than muscle and muscle weighs more. 

You can have two people who each are 6 feet tall and weigh 200 pounds, one can be all muscle and one can be quite fat.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Why yes. 7# of muscle is the same volume as 1# of fat. There is body length, bone density, whether the height is due to leg or overall body size, etc. So many factors. Seger's sire is well within standard height and I think the weight I heard was 90#. No fat there. Just a solid, compact, beast.


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## BARBIElovesSAILOR (Aug 11, 2014)

Sunflowers said:


> Barbie, you need to work on muscle tone, not on fat. Increase the food, but don't do the satin balls, those will put on pure fat and muscle is what he needs.
> 
> I'll try to see if I can get a picture of my dog on here. He is the exact same height and weight as Captain.
> 
> I can feel his bones, too. Does he look emaciated to you?


Your pup looks very healthy. Captain doesn't look at all like him despite being same height/ weight. A healthy weight dog you should be able to feel a little bone which is what you probably feel with yours. However captain is ALL bone. He has no muscle on him, at least if he does I can't tell. He is pretty much bones and fur at this point. Despite the same height and weight sunflower, our dogs must have different body types I am thinking, because if captain was your dog's size, I would have no issues with it. I do agree with the other posters, I would like captain to gain muscle, not just fat.


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

20 lbs is 1/3 of your dog's current weight. simular to a person who weighs 150 lbs and gains another 50 lbs.

I would gradually up his food and give good physical workouts to develop muscle, not fat. Satin balls are not the way to go IMO.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Saphire said:


> I would gradually up his food and give good physical workouts to develop muscle, not fat. Satin balls are not the way to go IMO.


This is how I would do it too.


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