# Fromm and weight gain



## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

My puppy is 5 months old, on 4 1/2 C daily of FLBP and is still thin. His ribs all show but no longer look or feel like a washboard. He doesn't have a thick undercoat, so I can't compare him to our standard Black and Tan. I've read puppies have trouble putting weight on with Fromm. I prefer to keep him thin, but he could use another 3-5 lbs. I have enough now to get through to 7 months. Is that too soon to switch to adult food? It was special ordered, so I need to finish what we have before switching. Our vet says not until 12 months and won't budge, but it's our choice. I've tried adding a variety of extra food types to his diet and they all made him sick, so we are only feeding kibble.

The breeder said his line tends to have rapid growth between 6-7 months.


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## Liulfr (Nov 10, 2015)

Hmm, I didn't know that about Fromm. It's a food I had been considering. What was your pup on before?


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

My pup has been on Fromm since about 10 weeks. It is not a really high calorie kibble. I recently had him @ vet 2ho said he was a bit thin. He was eating 5c with lots of toppings. Now he is eating 6c and is noticeably less thin. He is 7 mo. So, you might just need to feed more. The puppy has slightly more calories than the adult (at least on the hllistic gold). I actually just switched mine back to the puppy chow for that reason


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Liulfr said:


> Hmm, I didn't know that about Fromm. It's a food I had been considering. What was your pup on before?


A cheap food made by a Diamond subsidiary. He did very poorly on that and much better when we switched.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Thecowboysgirl said:


> My pup has been on Fromm since about 10 weeks. It is not a really high calorie kibble. I recently had him @ vet 2ho said he was a bit thin. He was eating 5c with lots of toppings. Now he is eating 6c and is noticeably less thin. He is 7 mo. So, you might just need to feed more. The puppy has slightly more calories than the adult (at least on the hllistic gold). I actually just switched mine back to the puppy chow for that reason


I read here if you give too much it causes loose stools, but I need to increase it. Thank you. I'll try adding a little more. I don't want to go to the other extreme. How long do you plan to keep your dog on puppy food?


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## eddie1976E (Nov 7, 2010)

I was able to go as high as about 6 cups before lose stool. I kept mine on it till he was 19 months old. He is now on Dr. Tim's. I think Dr. Tim's momentum has the right level of minerals for large breed puppies.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

That is helpful. Dr Tim's is on my list of possible foods for our next food but aren't they all grain free?


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## eddie1976E (Nov 7, 2010)

LuvShepherds said:


> That is helpful. Dr Tim's is on my list of possible foods for our next food but aren't they all grain free?


No. Momentum is has grain and it works great for my boy. Even with 6 cups of Fromm, my boy looked skinny, with 4 cups of Dr. Tim's, he is getting fuller.


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## Aimeanda (Aug 14, 2014)

I had my almost 2 year old on Fromm Large Breed Adult. He would not keep enough weight on. I fed him as high as 5 cups a day (more caused loose stools). I had to switch him to a higher calorie food. It also contained a higher percentage of protein. I could feed him less and he put on and maintained a healthy amount of weight. 

On the other hand my boyfriend's low energy 4 year old pit does great on Fromm. She doesn't need the higher calories. 

It depends on the dog, but I personally wouldn't put another energetic, young GSD on Fromm. 

I wouldn't switch to adult Fromm. It has less calories than the puppy food. Trying another brand of puppy or adult food while keeping in mind the amount of kcal/cup would probably be your best bet.


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## dhaney81 (Nov 5, 2014)

5 month old puppies are very active and burn a ton of calories! The brand of food isn't the problem it's that you have a young active puppy on your hands. Give him an extra cup if you need too, also bones, treats etc... Also remember that you don't want your pup to gain too fast or to put too much pressed on there joints.

I have a 17 month old gsd that I had on FLBP for the first 12 months and we're now on the adult chicken flavored Fromm which he loves. Fromm is a great food and brand but you have to adjust the portions to your dogs needs and be patient. They might not gain the weight the first week you up there food, but if you keep it consistent then by week 3,4,5 they'll start putting it on more. If your dog likes the food, I wouldn't change it.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

My breeder said to switch to adult @ 6 months, so I did. I believe the Fromm says puppy chow until 1 yr, so I figured that's what I would do since it has a little more calories. Loose stool has been a problem for us. Probably because too much kibble. He eats 3x per day, I always wait 2h before exercise, but he does seem to get pudding poops when he runs hard.

I dropped him back to 5.5c, because he filled out so quickly. 

I am working on introducing Organix canned, it is higher calorie than the other canned I have in the house. Hopefully will reduce his volume kibble a little.


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## JRC (Jan 27, 2016)

I started Dixie on Fromm large breed puppy at 8 weeks.She was 14 lbs.Friday I had her weighed at the vet she was 36 lbs.she was 14 weeks on Friday also.my vet says she is gaining at about the right pace for her age.


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

My pup had a high metabolism. Until he was about 2 years old, he had to eat 6 cups a day of food to maintain his weight. Now he eats between 4 and 5 cups a day at going on 3. Some dogs just require more. I've fed Fromm, Merrick, had a brief (very-1 or 2 bags) of Dr. Tim's, and now he's on Nature's Variety Instinct.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

I looked for Dr. Tim's and Nature's Variety. No one carries those. I'm able to special order Fromm. I increased him to 5 cups and I'll see how he does for the next week. If it's not enough, I'll bump it up a little at a time. He's not highly active but he is 5 months and is growing a lot. I don't know his weight. I can't get him onto the scale to find out.

I tried adding supplements, raw, and other things, and they all gave him terrible mushy stools. I checked with the vets and they said stop all that extra and go back to what works, which is the Fromm only, plus a few treats. I'm using cheese and meat training treats. I don't want to give too much cheese because of the calcium.


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## joeinca (Mar 19, 2015)

I started adding some coconut oil and a raw egg to Koda's fromm kibble. She's put some weight on and coat looks fantastic. She was pretty thin up to 7mo. She's still fit and trim but has more substance now.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

He is tolerating the extra food well but it means his meals are huge. I'm feeding three times a day to space it out. I can't add anything extra besides his kibble or he gets loose stools. He tolerates cheese, though, so I've added some as treats. I was worried about extra calcium and pano, but so far he's doing alright.


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## thaemcee2 (Jan 20, 2016)

recently we switched to Fromm LBP from Nulo Grain Free cause our 15 week old shiloh was having loose stools since we got her at 8 weeks...she was about 12 weeks old and got sick from something, had diarrhea and vomited everything out of her system and we made the switch after that...her poops are now nice and firm, im curious if thats cause shes older now and it was just a puppy thing with loose poops, or its from the kibble

regardless, i was a little concerned because you can feel all of her ribs but you cant see them and probably couldnt if you wanted to cause she is black and plush long coat...we feed her about 3.5 cups a day total split into 2 meals..vet always says she is ideal size and weight, but I have read of others being concerned on LBP and not maintaining weight...right now she is about 31lbs but every dog is different obv. and I would say to stay on it as long as her poops are hard and she loves the food...increase her food slowly by a 1/4 cup a day and dont go more than about 1 cup over the reccomended and as long as poops are hard you are OK..also keep in mind any treats, kong fillers, bones you may give her give extra calories too so the lower calories in the LBP can be offset

id rather have a dog that is lean and could use a few extra pounds than a dog who could lose the pounds, plus its probably a safer bet to be on the leaner side with these dogs esp. with their hip/elbow concerns


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## CelticGlory (Jan 19, 2006)

When my sister's dog was on it (small terrier mix) she was on a cup of Fromm 4-star, wet was added to her food instead of adding another cup, which helped her maintain a good weight on her.


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