Too skinny or just a rangy teenager?

Hi. I don't post here often but I've been fostering a dog for a couple of days so I was hoping for some advice.

First of all how do you tell if a dog is too skinny? I know it’s something about the ribs but I can never remember if your suppose to see the ribs or only feel them.. And also, this dog is about a year old, so really he's just a teenager and since my own dog is 9 I can't really remember how they are suppose to be built at that age.

Anyway. You can clearly feel the ribs on this dog.. also the hip bones and shoulders. If he had a smooth coat they would definitely be visible.. That's not normal is it? Even at his age?
Should I be feeding him more fatty food or do I just feed him normal food?
So far I've been feeding him the same kibble my own dog eats but I have to soften it with water for him to eat anything. If I don't soften the kibble he'll just eat one or two bits and then trot out of the kitchen again.

Might also be worth mentioning that he definitely does not lack energy. He plays with Tiki and generally is a very happy and active dog. .

-Varga


P.s. If anyone of you has a dog around the same age (about a year old) could you perhaps post a picture of him/her so I can compare them?
Unfortunately I can't post a pic myself because my friend borrowed the cord for the video camera.

P.s.s. Sorry if my English is hard to understand.

WEll it does depend on the bred and his activity level. Some breed do tend to be thinner than others, such as GSD until they hit a certain age and then they spread out. How is his poop, looking? Runny, or firm, the color of his stool? How much food are you feeding him? Most medium to large breds require at least three cups twice a day of qaulity dog food.

Kat

My 9-10 month old puppy is the same way. She is very lanky and thin she is always running around though and never keeps weight on. She has been this way since I got her. I'm hoping she grows out of this when she gets older.
You can't really tell from just looking at her because she has long hair. But you can feel her bones.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...P1010019-2.jpg

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Originally Posted by Varga

Hi. I don't post here often but I've been fostering a dog for a couple of days so I was hoping for some advice.

First of all how do you tell if a dog is too skinny? I know it’s something about the ribs but I can never remember if your suppose to see the ribs or only feel them.. And also, this dog is about a year old, so really he's just a teenager and since my own dog is 9 I can't really remember how they are suppose to be built at that age.

Anyway. You can clearly feel the ribs on this dog.. also the hip bones and shoulders. If he had a smooth coat they would definitely be visible.. That's not normal is it? Even at his age?
Should I be feeding him more fatty food or do I just feed him normal food?
So far I've been feeding him the same kibble my own dog eats but I have to soften it with water for him to eat anything. If I don't soften the kibble he'll just eat one or two bits and then trot out of the kitchen again.

Might also be worth mentioning that he definitely does not lack energy. He plays with Tiki and generally is a very happy and active dog. .

-Varga


P.s. If anyone of you has a dog around the same age (about a year old) could you perhaps post a picture of him/her so I can compare them?
Unfortunately I can't post a pic myself because my friend borrowed the cord for the video camera.

P.s.s. Sorry if my English is hard to understand.

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No, it is not normal for the shoulders and hip bones to be showing. When a puppy is growing you may get periods where they appear to be walking on stilts, as the legs tend to grow faster than the rest of the body. But even then there should be muscle around the bones. The rule on the ribs is that you should be able to feel them without exerting much pressure with your fingers.

Probably the dog food formulation you are feeding has low fat/protein which is suitable for an older dog. But for a growing puppy you should feed a puppy formula of 15% fat, and as high a protein content of 28-30%. You would probably find puppy wouldn't care if such a food was moist or not.

Besides diet, another cause for lack of weight gain are worms or other parasites. There is also the chance puppy has a metabolic disorder that is causing him to burn calories faster.

You should have the dog examined by a Vet to eliminate parasite or other health problems. If no metabolic problems are present, then try a puppy formula.

With the food spitting and having to soften to eat, you might also check out the mouth and teeth. Dogs don't like to eat much if their mouths hurt. If you take it to the vet have them check the mouth as well. Good luck :)

Sorry. I totally forgot to tell you what he looks like. He is a mutt.. Closest resemblance is probably Border Collie but he's a bit smaller than most sheepdogs I've seen (49 cm tall at the shoulders) and primarily white with brown spots.

His stools look normal now. They were a bit runny the first day he got here. I don't know exactly how much I've been feeding him.. I've just fed him as much as he likes to eat.. But I would guess he has eaten about two cups a day.

The people who picked him up from the streets took him straight to a vet (this was last Thursday) so he has got worm treatment and everything.

The vet did not think he was dangerously skinny and just recommended feeding him dog food for adults in as large quantities as he would eat..
But yeah, his bones are visible so I think I'm going against the doctors orders on this and feed him puppy food.. at least for a couple of weeks. I mean, it can't do any harm can it?

I don't think his lack of interest in kibble is because his mouth hurts.. He got a rawhide bone yesterday and had no problem chewing on that.

On another note. I've noticed that he sometimes stands on all fours when he pees and sometimes he lifts his leg.. Is that normal for male dogs? When he stands on all fours he pees for a longer time than otherwise so I guess that's when he really pees and the other one is just marking? I've never had a male dog before so I don't really have a clue what's normal and not.
Do adult male dogs always lift their leg when they pee? Maybe he is a bit younger than the vet suggested and that's why he stands on all fours at times?

Thanks for the replys :)

-Varga

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Originally Posted by Varga

Sorry. I totally forgot to tell you what he looks like. He is a mutt.. Closest resemblance is probably Border Collie but he's a bit smaller than most sheepdogs I've seen (49 cm tall at the shoulders) and primarily white with brown spots.

His stools look normal now. They were a bit runny the first day he got here. I don't know exactly how much I've been feeding him.. I've just fed him as much as he likes to eat.. But I would guess he has eaten about two cups a day.

The people who picked him up from the streets took him straight to a vet (this was last Thursday) so he has got worm treatment and everything.

The vet did not think he was dangerously skinny and just recommended feeding him dog food for adults in as large quantities as he would eat..
But yeah, his bones are visible so I think I'm going against the doctors orders on this and feed him puppy food.. at least for a couple of weeks. I mean, it can't do any harm can it?

I don't think his lack of interest in kibble is because his mouth hurts.. He got a rawhide bone yesterday and had no problem chewing on that.

On another note. I've noticed that he sometimes stands on all fours when he pees and sometimes he lifts his leg.. Is that normal for male dogs? When he stands on all fours he pees for a longer time than otherwise so I guess that's when he really pees and the other one is just marking? I've never had a male dog before so I don't really have a clue what's normal and not.
Do adult male dogs always lift their leg when they pee? Maybe he is a bit younger than the vet suggested and that's why he stands on all fours at times?

Thanks for the replys :)

-Varga

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No harm in feeding him puppy formula to get the weight on.

Males sometimes get lazy, keeping all legs on the ground, which results in their peeing on the back of their front legs. I try to encourage my Barney to lift, by telling him what wonderful form he has when he does so. I even grade him on a scale of 1-10 giving consideration to various form factors, awarding him the appropriate number of puppy points. He usually wags his tail at the announced score. :D

Great. I will definitely buy him puppy food then.

And I might also try the puppy point system. He has been peeing on his front legs at times LoL.
And when it's windy I need to learn not stand next to him in the direction the wind is blowing :D .. Never had that problem with females because they stick their butt close to the ground.

Thanks again

-Varga

Yeah, not all males lift their legs while peeing. Duke is almost 2 and has never lifted his leg to pee! We even waited on Neutering him for this fact, but I have to say, i enjoy the fact that he does not lift his leg. He does not mark, so he dosent pee on the world, like most male dogs. But he dosent pee on himself either. so that is a plus! :D

Wish i had advice with the weight thing, but it sounds like that's been covered. Good luck!

King almost always stood on all four paws unless there was something specific to mark. Most of the time he avoided his front paws until he got older.

I just used the spray bottle to wash off his paws when he peed on them... unless he got to licking them before i could get to the spray bottle. ugh! (In that regard I'm glad he wasn't much of a kisser.)

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Originally Posted by Varga

And I might also try the puppy point system. He has been peeing on his front legs at times LoL.
And when it's windy I need to learn not stand next to him in the direction the wind is blowing :D .. Never had that problem with females because they stick their butt close to the ground.

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Ugh. That's not very nice :D . Luckily Taggart hasn't been doing that (licking his paws I mean).

I finally got the cord back for my camera, so now I can post pictures of him.

I created a thread in dog general, so you're all welcome to have a look if you like :)

Here's a link

-Varga

Yeah, I'd definitely say he needs to put on a few pounds. Looks like a Shelti mix if you ask me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Varga

I created a thread in dog general, so you're all welcome to have a look if you like :)

Here's a link

-Varga

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Border Collies do tend to be REALLY lean teenagers. Gonzo was SO skinny when we adopted him, and it took him several months to gradually get to a healthy weight. You don't want to just pack on pounds, you want to build muscle and let him fill out slowly. ;] I can't find a clear picture showing Gonzo's size... plus he's pretty furry. He has a defined waist and his tummy is tucked. He has no fat on his tummy. If I place my thumbs on his back and run my fingers down, I can clearly feel his ribs with a very thin layer of fat. I can just barely feel his hipbones. And, he is a 6 year-old BC! A 1 year-old BC is typically very lanky.

Instead of puppy food, I would add good sources of meat & fat to his diet. Raw Meaty Bones (especially chicken quarters & pork) can add some healthy calories to his diet, fed a few days a week. Satin Balls are also a good way to add calories in a healthy way (do a board search for the recipe... it's mostly ground beef).

Taggart is super-duper cute, btw!!!

Thanks for the tip. :) Though I still think I will continue with the puppy food until he looks/feels more normal and then switch to adult food again. I want him to get used to eating kibble.

The satin balls seem very interesting. But I've never heard of molasses before.. I had to google it and I don't think I have ever seen it in a store here before but I'll make sure to double check next time I go.

Also seems like a very good recipe to know if a dog gets sick or something, so I'm definitely saving it.

-Varga

if he is a BC or BC mix then I would fully expect the weight you describe. one of my BCs, Happy, she is 6 years old and you can feel her spine, hip bones and ribs..and she is on the porky side for her lol Misty, my other BC did not fill out till she was 3 years old, before that she was incredably scrawny, people would tell me that she looked like she would snap in half lol, yet she was NOT underweight, she was infact a very healthy weight.

I've also had BCs who were really skinny when young. I have a photo of our Jess when she was about 2 years old and she looks so thin, it's untrue. She doesn't look bony in the photo though...just really really lean. She filled out when she got older, her ribcage sprang and such....became more curvy...sort of like a woman, lol.
Her dad was just the same. Always really lean. Some people thought he was underweight. It was just the way he was. He also filled out when he got a bit older.