Needs to gain weight

[bckrazy]

I cant believe the breeder is threatening to take her away! You should definitely tell her everything you've told us... how old is Visa? With many herding breeds, it's almost impossible to keep weight on them until they've fully matured. Gonzo weighed about 25-30 lbs until he was 18 months old, he was the same height he is today and now he weighs 45 lbs. He looked like we were starving him, but we fed him lots of high quality food ~ the vet wouldn't even let us neuter him until he got up to 35.

I think going from 2 cups to 8 cups is a BIG change, maybe try to make that more gradual? I've heard that drastically changing their food intake can do more harm than good for a skinny dog ~ they tend to get upset tummy's and lose even more weight from it. I would slowly change the 8 cups of kibble to half high quality, high calorie canned food with half kibble. Satin balls with rice is a GOOD idea! Give her plenty of high-calorie treats, like RMB's and cookies and pig ears, but I think 2 boxes of treats a day MIGHT be over-doing it LOL! A really high-calorie treat or food is Red Barn (or a similar brand) soft dog food in a roll. good luck!

[cali]

lol Visa is young is she not? as a herding breed she will likley be skinny for a while and fill out as she matures, Misty was pretty tiney for a while, she was around 25lbs, same as Happy, for like 2.5 years, she only now has started to fill out and her weight becoming a little more normal, she is 37lbs now a still nice and lean.

[wolfsoul]

Visa will be 3 years in January. When I first got her, she was almost a good weight. She only needed to gain a few pounds. So it's not that she is a young herding breed, because she was better before. She did need to gain some, but atleast she was in show condition. Her breeder is upset that Visa couldn't be shown these past couple of weeks.

I don't like the idea of feeding her that much food either -- -I would have rather have put her on RAW (which is what I was going to do). However, her breeder told me that I need to keep feeding Visa as much as she will eat. Visa was eating about 8 cups at the time -- now I can barely get her to eat 2 again. She won't even eat her treats anymore. The only thing she will eat is RMBs and the puppy's food (Science Diet, ewww). I don't know what to do. I think she did gain a bit more weight though.

[pnance]

I have/had the same problem with Nikka, she's a pointer/chow but has a pointer body so she's extemely lean as it is. When I first got her she was severely underweight. We went through a few different foods (she's really finicky, she'd eat a little but if she didn't like it that's it). I finally switched her to Canidae (not the highest calorie food on the market) but she loves it so tends to actually eat more. I fed her at will , she could just graze periodically all day and supplimented some canned food in the evenings for dinner, which helped her get to what would be considered normal. She will always probably run a little underweight because of her energy level and metabolism, but she's only 1 or 2 lbs at most. We still have the problem sometimes when it's hot she doesn't eat much, so I always try to feed as late as possible during those times and coat the dry food with wet food or gravy.

As for the breeder, what was her life like before you got her. Did she get as much excersize? If you add additional excersize to a high metabolism then your probably going to get a weight drop initially while she adjusts. Explain the problem to the breeder and see what she suggests. I'm not familiar with this breed but, this can't be her first dog she's had this problem with if the breed is prone to high energy/metabolism.

[lv4dogs]

That seems a little odd. Considering the breed & the circumstances I'd say the breeder should allow you a little more time, especially seeing as you are certainly trying.
If you can't get her to gain the weight by then try talking calmly to the breeder, explain that you are trying different diets, trips to the vets (offer proof from the vet), exercise regimans, etc...
If I remember right you haven't had her that long either, it takes a little time for the dog to get adjusted to everything & what not. So I'd bring that up as well.

How old is she? If she is under 2 explain that she is still a puppy therefore needs more time even yet.

Offer a compromise or maybe a contract with the breeder. Like ask if she will allow you one additional month, or if your having a real tough time getting her to gain wait (and especially if she is young) ask for 6 months AND in that time you will provide the breeder with info/updates from the vet, receipts from diets, weekly updates on progress etc... Tell the breed that if you fail to provide updates that she can then take her back when ever she feels like it.

Good luck!

[Thandi]

My new rescue is also very skinny, and the vet wanted another 10 lbs on her. We've had her almost 2 months and she's gained zip. She definitely has herding dog in her, according to vet. My labx eats the same amount (of "light" nutro) and gets heavier and fatter, Chloe just stays the same little lightweight!

[wolfsoul]

Thanks for your replies. Her breeder dremelled her nails today and felt her and said she feels much better. She still needs to gain a few pounds though, because her hip bones are sticking out. She said that she won't take her back. The breeder is a friend and coworker of mine, so Visa and I see her everyday so she does get regular updates.

I bought some new canned food. The only way I could get her to eat the puppy kibble was to mix the canned stuff in, but she doesn't like that canned stuff anymore. She won't even touch the Vita Gravy anymore. There's nothing I can mix in that will make her eat it. She just really isn't abig eater. So I got her some Tripett, because it's super stinky (dogs love that!), and some Merrick because I've heard that dogs love the taste.

Her breeder says even though she still needs to gain a few, she's now in show condition, so we are probably going to enter Visa in the Tradex this year in Abbotsford! I am still not good enough to show her myself, but that just means I can take alot of pictures.