Vizsla won't put on weight

[goose89]

I've got a nearly 3 year old male V that just won't put on weight. He's got great drive and energy, but ribs, hips and backbone are quite prominent. I appreciate a lean dog with a couple ribs noticeable, but he's beyond that.

We're feeding him (overfeeding?) 4 cups a day of Diamond Naturals Lamb and Rice. Our 5 year old male V is borderline overweight and we're feeding him 2 1/2 cups of same each day.

Worms are not an issue, at least were negative last check-up. He's always been "skinny", but I thought with the increase (over the max suggested) in amount, he'd fill out a bit. Any suggestions, thoughts (without turning this into "dog food wars") appreciated.

[nofishfisherman]

Whats his weight at right now? Is he taller than average? Do you feel like his energy level is higher than other vizslas where he might be burning more calories then other dogs?

I know in the first year my Vizsla looked like he was skin and bone and we were feeding him 5 cups a day. He has since leveled off right at 48-50 pounds and has been in that range for the last 2+ years. He is also dead center of the breed standard in terms of height. At every check up our vet says his weight is absolutely perfect for the breed and his ribs and back bone show a little.

I assume if you're feeding him 4 cups a day he is actually eating. Mine is really not food motivated at all and would rather go play instead of eat. There are days he doesn't eat the first meal until 3pm because he'd rather go run and play.

If its not worms or other medical ailment that prevents him from putting on weight I'd probably try a grain free food that maybe has more protein. I won't get into specific brands but there are several good ones and I've personally used 2 different ones both with good success with my vizsla.

When we the last vet check up? Did the vet mention anything about weight? If the issue started after the last check up he may have picked up something since then.

Only other thing I can think of is that maybe its just your perception. If your other vizsla is a little overweight this dog may look way to skinny but may in fact be right where he should be. Do you have any recent photos of the dog? I could tell you how he compares to my 3 1/2 year old male.

[goose89]

nofish...thanks for the reply.

He's a bit taller than my 5 year old "soft" V, and last check he was 46#. That was in April. He's not leaner now than April, it's just that I expected him to hide a couple ribs by now with the increase in food. The vet said he looked great back then. He's seem to have good muscularity and is very defined that way.

His energy level is good. Although energy level is good / great, he's able to sleep / rest 16 hours a day when I'm working night (sleeping days) and wife is working days (sleeping nights). He just goes with it. Not a nervous, anxiety ridden dog at all, even after 3 days of what I'd call not enough play / run time. Great drive hunting, but has tired at after a 3-4hour hunt. I don't believe had can have much "reserve" as lean / skinny as he is. I understand, and strive for a lean dog (couple ribs showing) and don't mind people saying "man, he looks skinny!" when I know he's just where he should be (as was the case with my first one the first 4 years of his life. How he has gotten "soft" (chubby) on the little he eats is almost as confusing as the young one being "skinny"

But, he (the young one) is ALL about the food. He hasn't had a tablescrap or counter-surfed in his life, but he's very protective of his food and can't wait to get it. He wolfs it down, as did my older one when he was young. Now, my older one will sometimes not finish his. The young one has a routine of going back to see if there's any left after the older one leaves his kennel.

I've thought of swithing foods and would love to know what you'd suggest / had good results with in the past. I just don't want this to spiral into the typical dog food pizzn match they sometimes turn into.

I

[GSP4ME]

I have a 5 year old GSP that is like that. He eats like a horse and is on Purina Pro Plan Performance and always looks underweight. One of the haredest running dogs I have ever had and only slows down when you make hime but health as a horse as well. Some are just like that.

[gspman]

If he checks out w/the vet then I'd consider changing him to a more calorie dense dog feed. Something high in fat and protein. You could also supplement his feed with something high in calories.

Some dogs are just like that. As long as he's not lethargic and has stamina while hunting it may just be that's how he's going to be until he gets a little older.

[goose89]

Thanks all! Any recommendations of a food that I could try out would be appreciated. I'm confident he's doing fine and I know he's energetic and healthy, but if I could put a few pounds on him, I'd be willing to try something else. Thanks again.

[Chaws]

Yeah, I'd bump the dog over to a high calorie per cup diet with a higher protein/fat ratio like what you'd find in Purina Pro Plan Performance which is 30/20 ratio. I feed that year round for my performance labs and just adjust the feed amount depending on how much work they're getting.

[nofishfisherman]

I've used both Taste of the Wild and Nutra Source Grain Free. I went away from TOTW only because of the recalls that popped up awhile back but always had good luck with it.

From the sounds of it your vizsla is alot like mine. At the dog park I get comments all the time saying "You're not feeding him enough", "He's all skin and bones", "you need to feed him brand X food" etc... Funny thing is these comments only come from people that don't even know what a vizsla is and have never seen one before so I'm not sure how they think they know what he's supposed to look like.

If he's at a normal Vizsla height and at 46 pounds I'd say he's right about what he should be. He's certainly in the same range as mine. Sounds like the vet is also not concerned.

There's probably not much to worry about, sounds like he's a pretty typical vizsla to me. You may want to consider a higher calorie/protein food just to cut the amount you need to feed him. Probably help your pocket book more than anything. Compare the serving size of your current food to a few of the foods listed here. You'll probably find they recommend smaller portions so even if you still have to over feed based on the suggested portions you may be able to cut it down at least a little.

[CaptainMusky]

What you described doesnt really sound that abnormal to me. I dont own a vizsla, but several GSPs over the years and have had some that would look just like that, but only during the hunting season.

I have had good luck with Diamond High Endurance or High Energy, Cant remember exactly what its called, but its a maroonish bag.

[JosMN]

Hey goose, I wouldn't worry about it a bit.

Our younger Vizsla "Ruby" who is now 4, our older one "Jersey" is now 8, both females. Jersey is a little bigger at 43-46 lbs depending on what time of year it is and Ruby has always been skinny, around 37-39lbs, no matter how much I feed her. She is our Iowa dog, somewhat slow lol and she would honestly rather lay on the couch next to you than go out and find any birds. But Jersey, our Minnesota dog can't get enough of running and being outside. In the winter time, I have to watch Jerseys weight a bit because she fills out some - but Ruby is Ruby and stays at her weight no matter what. Jersey was on the DL for a few weeks after we had to remove a mast tumor growth on her rear which was stage 2 cancer. Doing well now though, although she is getting ornery in her older age.

Every V I have known has been skinny. As far as food, you could try one with a higher crude protein level if you wanted, but take it slow. I have used Purina pro plan lamb and rice since both of these dogs were born.

What I have always seen in the Vizslas I have known, is that for some reason the lighter color their coats are the skinnier they look/are. Our oldest has that dark Vizsla coat, and our younger has the lighter softer coat.

[ckgsp]

check out blue buffalo brand it is more expensive than most other brands but it seems to keep my gsp's looking real good. Nutri source is also a good food I know you heard of it being recalled but i think diamond was at one time as well. Good luck

www.PleaseDonNotPostLinks.com

[charliepete]

My 60# shorthair eats 5 cups of purina pro plan high performance a day. My old male was 85# and ripped in his prime and ate upwards of 8 cups a day. Dogs are easy. If you see backbone feed them more, if you can't see rib feed them less. If the dog runs loose stool eating enough food to keep weight on him try running a more performance style food at a lesser quantity. The advice about food quantity is geared to the average couch potato. Working dogs need more.

[setterguy]

Had a viszla once that would never put on weight no matter what I fed him. I had a vet tell me once that he was going to report me because my dog was so thin...he immediately put down a bowl of food and my happy, healthy dog looked at it, smelled it and came and sat down next to me again. We went so far as to put supplements on his food at every feeding with almost zero results. We tried all brands of food, had it shipped in, fed food that was fed to sled dogs, everything. Nothing worked.

He lived to the ripe old age of 13 and was a happy healthy dog his entire life, so I wouldn't sweat it too much.

[goose89]

Thanks fellas....any worry I had is gone.

JosMN, interesting observation with the lighter vs darker coats. Copper, my "plump" V, is pretty dark coated....Cash, the skinny one, is fairly light colored.

Anyways, thanks again for all the thoughts, experiences and advice.

Happy Hunting, Goose.

[nofishfisherman]

Thanks fellas....any worry I had is gone.

JosMN, interesting observation with the lighter vs darker coats. Copper, my "plump" V, is pretty dark coated....Cash, the skinny one, is fairly light colored.

Anyways, thanks again for all the thoughts, experiences and advice.

Happy Hunting, Goose.

I've actually seen the opposite in alot of the V's I know. Mine is pretty dark and he's on the skinny side. Some friends have one with a light coat and she's a little butter ball (of course one of her favorite foods is french fries). Another V that we see at the dog park has a light coat and he's also pretty thick.