# Skinny GSD



## WirelessG (Jan 22, 2013)

A few months ago I switched my 1 year GSD to raw due to his allergies and it helped. He's always looked skinny and the vet has never showed much concern. He's shedding and now I can see his ribs - all of them. I've upped his feeding in the last couple week and I'm now feeding him about 2 lbs per day of chicken, thigh or back bone, ground beef, canned mackerel, rice, green beans, carrots, and from time to time cottage cheese and yogurt as toppings. I fills out at 16 oz container 100%. Previously I was feeding him 1.5 lbs/day. And he always gets an evening snack - 1/4 to 1/3 lb of some sort of meat.

We play most everyday for half an hour. He last weighted in at 75 lbs. When he was on kibble, I was feeding him 8 cups per day of quality food and he had a lot of runny stools. I It seems as though feeding him more may not make a difference. I noticed a runny stool in the yard this evening. 

I probably need to add some more info to my story, but I thought I would post this and see if there are a lot of similar stories.


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## Harry and Lola (Oct 26, 2013)

75 pounds for a 1yo male is an excellent weight and 2 pounds of raw is about 1 kilo so that sounds about the right amount of food, however if you feel he is skinny to the point where you can actually see his ribs and increasing his food intake has not enabled weight gain plus the fact his stools are runny, then I would have him tested for EPI. 

EPI is a condition where the animal can't digest their food due to their pancreas being non existent or almost non existent and without replacement enzymes, they will starve to death.

Most dogs that present with EPI also have SIBO - a bacterial type infection in the gut and one of the symptoms of SIBO is runny, yellow, mucus stools.

Ask your vet to do a blood test for EPI, making sure you fast him, ie feed him his usual meal in the evening then nothing in the morning so that the blood test can be done. If he is positive for EPI you will need to put him on replacement enzymes straight away plus 'Tylan' for SIBO and also give him a course of generic B12 shots once a week for 6 weeks. It is not too difficult to manage an EPI dog and there is a great website where you can get lots of help - Overview - EPI * Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

If your vet is reluctant to test, find another vet.


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## WirelessG (Jan 22, 2013)

Thanks H&L. I'll ask the vet about it. Ulee looks like the white shepherd in your link, but a little bit better than that. Certainly not as bad as the other dogs in the link.


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## Zeeva (Aug 10, 2010)

Wow 8 cups of a good quality kibble! That IMO seems like way too much food. And sometimes too much food can cause runny stools too...


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Posting pictures of the dog, from the side and from above while he is standing, would help. 

I have rarely seen someone post here whose dog is truly too thin.



WirelessG said:


> I fills out at 16 oz container 100%.



Do you weigh his food? 
A GSD needs a minimum of 1.5 pounds of raw, which includes meat, meaty bones, and organs.

Mine has a high metabolism and eats 3 pounds a day, but this is unusual.


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## Mrs.P (Nov 19, 2012)

WirelessG said:


> chicken, thigh or back bone, ground beef, canned mackerel, rice, green beans, carrots, and from time to time cottage cheese and yogurt as toppings. I fills out at 16 oz container 100%. Previously I was feeding him 1.5 lbs/day. And he always gets an evening snack - 1/4 to 1/3 lb of some sort of meat.
> /QUOTE]
> 
> 
> ...


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## WirelessG (Jan 22, 2013)

Thanks for the comments, all. I post these pictures, but they simply don't show what I see in real life. You won't see his ribs in the pictures, but you would see them on my deck. It'll be hard to see how his stomach looks sucked in in the pictures, but you would see it on my deck. And his hip bones tend to stick out a little, but when you feel them, they are very pronounced. 

Maybe I'm making too big of a deal out of this, but he's my little buddy. 

And he's as handsome as can be with a delightful friendliness towards people (but not dogs).


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## Abbey'sMom (Jul 25, 2012)

I dont feed my dog RAW, but when i saw the title, skinny dog...i had to put my 2 cents in..the other post was correct...please test for EPI, my GSD was diagnosed 2.5 months ago...you probably feel the need to feed more because the ribs are showing...it just makes matters worse....how is the poop?....if its like cowpatties and its just blobby, not trying to be gross could be SIBO which could mean an under lying cause of EPI. Its an expensive blood test....also check out EPI4DOGS.com...wealth of info or message me....

EPI dogs need a grain free diet and all their food have to be covered with an enzyme. Digestion starts in the bowl...the food must sit for a minimum of 20 minutes before being fed. Its not easy, but once you get into a routine, its totally doable.

The dog may also have low B12, so he may need shots, we just finished our 6 week course and now have to keep an eye on the numbers.

Lorraine

to let you know she was at 60.4 lbs...she is now at 70.8 lbs....


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## Alice13 (Feb 21, 2014)

Looks fine to me

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## WirelessG (Jan 22, 2013)

Abbey'sMom, can you post some pics of her, like the pics I posted of my dog? The pics that I posted of my dog look okay to me, but I think that's just the effect of the camera. I would like to see how your pics match up against mine.


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## brembo (Jun 30, 2009)

He's a bit thin, but not enough to be highly concerned. Have him tested for sure and know what you are dealing with, he might just have a stratospheric metabolism. Always keep in mind a ribby/thin dog is better than a marshmellow dog.


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## _Zero_ (Sep 1, 2013)

He does look thin, judging by the photos. Perhaps not *too* thin, but if there is an underlying problem he could lose weight and get to the *too* thin stage relatively quickly. If he has loose stools that is an indication that he's not properly digesting food. This could be a result of numerous conditions-- worms, giardia, EPI and/or SIBO, as others have suggested, or something like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). I would recommend reading through this website: Overview - EPI * Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency to see if any of his symptoms match. A vet visit never hurts-- take a stool sample and have them check for worms and giardia, and discuss your concerns about your dog's weight with the vet. If you feel the symptoms for EPI match with your dog's, also discuss that.


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## lalachka (Aug 13, 2013)

He looks perfect. Not too thin at all 
Maybe his coat hides all his ribs showing but the pics show a perfect dog

I had someone tell me my dog was too skinny. Hers was so overweight it was almost comical. People forget what dogs are supposed to look like


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## WirelessG (Jan 22, 2013)

Thanks all for the responses and thoughts. Let me ask one more question:

It seems as though no matter how much I feed him, he doesn't gain weight. Regardless of other symptoms, is that cause for concern?


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Have you seen the vet yet? I would ask the vet these questions. He looks OK to me for his age. My dogs have all started out thin and fill out after about 18 months. You need to make sure he doesn't have any of the health problems suggested. We can offer suggestions but not diagnose, only your vet can do that.


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## hexakosioi (Jun 25, 2013)

Does anyone know if it is possible to do the test on your own? I have been dying to test my dog for EPI for about a year but NONE of the vets here carry the TLI test.

That being said, he is less likely to be EPI+ after seeing him gradually improve a year later. Although all the signs were there at the beginning (color of stool, mucusy, drastically losing weight, etc) it turned out it was parasites that were causing the problem. Even though I had him checked for parasites and results were negative. So make sure to test for those and make a photo album of his poop  (watch out for worms). Do you feel his coat dull? That could be a sign.
He was 57 lbs now he is 77lbs. I still suspect he is EPI+ since his stool looks fine ONLY when he has green tripe with his reg diet. Don't gt contain digestive enzymes? If there is a day I don't give him gt his poops will become loose. I don't know that is just my conclusion.

Would still love to test him for EPI. Hope I didn't hijack the topic, just sharing my experience.
Good luck.





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## tjpearse (Jan 31, 2014)

Judging by the pictures, your dog is the same as mine. Hugo looks about as tall and lean as your dog and is 70 pounds. I had the same concern, but I have seen about 6 different vets and they all say he is the ideal weight; especially for an active German Shepherd Dog. I am no expert on this subject and I could be very wrong, but I had the same problem. Hugo was having soft stools with what seemed like every food I bought him. My neighbor has been a K9 handler for the Chicago Police Department for a long long time and gave me some advice. He said it was probably a sensitivity to protein. So if this is so, feeding him more makes the problem worse. To try it out, I fed him less and he had smaller but more solid bowel movements. I put him on a low protein food and it helped.
Also, someone told me that milk bones can help solidify stools. So I use those for training treats now.


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## WirelessG (Jan 22, 2013)

I had Ulee tested for enzymes and he tested fine. They did find that his B12 is low, so we are going to do injections for the next 6 weeks. Oddly enough, in the past 4 weeks he has put on some weight and looks pretty good now.


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