INCREASING YOUR DOGS WEIGHT

[luckycrank]

I HAVE A 3RD YR. OLD MALE SETTER THAT EATS LIKE A ELEPHANT BUT WILL NOT GAIN WEIGHT, I DONT KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HE WEIGHS BUT I CAN SEE HIS RIBS AND HIP BONESAPROX. 55-60 LBS. I FEED HIM ABOUT 5 - 6 CUPS A DAY

AND HE EATS MY 8 YR OLD FEMALE SETTERS FOOD SOME TIMES TOO .

I HAD HEARD TO PUT HIM ON LAMB AND RICE BASED FOOD(OR)PUPPY FOOD. WOULD ANYBODY SUGGEST DOING THIS.

IM FEEDING HIM DIAMOND SPORTING BREED I REALIZE THERE ARE BETTER FOODS OUT THERE BUT HAVE HAD GOOD SUCCESS WITH DIAMOND WITH MY FEMALE (WICH BY THE WAY IS OVER WEIGHT NEAR/OVER 50LBS.FOR A LYWELLAN.)

ANY SUGGESTIONS?

[gspman]

If he's super active you could try a higher fat & protein feed. Give your dog a cooked egg once or twice a week too. If he really is a bag of bones you may want to take him to the vet and see if he has parasites or something else wrong with him too.

[kentuck_ike]

I have had a few britts like this. try stepping up to the diamond professional. it helped out my dogs that had higher metabolisms. It also has something in it for their joints. diamond brand foods are good quality foods. i have been feeding them for a few years now, and every vet I have talked to has had good things to say about diamond.

Ike

[LABS4ME]

Lucky... I agree with the previous two posts... Diamond professional (black bag) and have your dog checked for worms. I feed my two labs about 2 1/2 - 3 cups a day and have no problem keeping them at their optimum weight. Also a slice or two of good old fashioned white bread will put some weight on him if given daily. That is an old "show dog" trick to put weight on a dog. It's all carbs (sugar) and fats. I usually make sure my dogs get a slice (sometimes a half a sandwich) at lunch time when out hunting. The extra carbs help them out.

Good Luck!

Ken

[Rost]

Is it possible that your dog has worms? For about $10 you can get some dog wormer.

It won't hurt anything to try.

[charliepete2]

6 cups doesn't sound like an excessive amount of food for a very active dog. Let the dogs conformation tell you how much to feed. If the dog is looking lean on 6 cups, feed him 7 or 8 for a week while keeping a close eye on him. Seeing ribs isn't bad, but seeing the spine and hip bones is. I've had dogs that stayed lean on 12 cups a day in points of their lives, and my buddies spayed Lab stays heavy on 2 cups.

If the dog can't put wieght parasites are always something to consider like others have mentioned.

[setterguy]

I had the same problem a few years ago with my male Vizsla. I finally found a product that put and kept weight on him. I believe that it is called power pack by National. It is a very high calorie powder that I put on his food, he gained weight very quickly. I still use it while on a long trip, the dogs recover quicker and don't have the major weight loss that comes with hunting for 3-4 days in a row. I know they sell it a place in Ramsey or you could check out the National dog food HSOforum.

[Bigfife]

I have the same problem with my 6 month old dog. She eats as much food as she wants and she does not have worms. All of her brothers and sister are more filled out than her. I started feeding her canned food with the dry food and it has helped. Her bones are starting to disappear. How much does the Diamond brand dog food cost?

[luckycrank]

I HAD GOTTEN THE DOG IM SPEAKING OF FROM A FRIEND WHO IS A VETS ASSITANTS AND WAS RECENTLY THERE FOR A CHECK UP AND AM TOLD THE DOG IS AS HE SHOULD BE FOR HIS WEIGHT BUT I JUST DON'T FEEL I SHOULD FEEL HIS HIPS AND SEE HIS RIBS AS I CAN I'LL LOOK FOR A HIGH FAT /PROTEIN FOOD NEXT TIME I BUY FOOD --------------THANKS

[luckycrank]

21.00 PER 50 LBS SPORTING BREED

17.79 ADULT BREED