skinny as a rake

[charlie b]

my springer pup is 8 months old she is long and skinny her ribs show dosnt eat a lot how ever she seems as fit as a lop is she naturaly  thin  will she fill out i have always had dogs that wolf there food so fed them up inwinter bit less i summer she just wont eat much any body had same thing

[oowee]

My 3yr okd cocker is a big dog but at only 17kg his ribs show. Every time he is at the vet we are told to feed him more. He is lean and works hard so i see no need to feed him more. 

[B725]

Most of them are at that age, mine was the same she will put some chunk on as she gets older. It could also be she don't like what your feeding her on. 

[bruno22rf]

What are you feeding her?

[Ultrastu]

My ess is 4 now and his ribs still show .

Hard working and fit as a fiddle .

 

[Lloyd90]

What do you feed? 

I tried 5-6 different biscuit / kibble feeds and all gave my dog varying upset stomach. 

 

I then tried him on Raw / BARF and he had no issues with stomach, put weight on and muscled up well. 

He’s a springer, about 14 months now and just about 17kg. 

[scutt]

One of mine is 9yrs old now and has never put any more than 15kg onn and very skinny . Fit as a lop and the most active of my pack she has been known to bust her nose on the bottom of the dish when gobbling her food tried feeding all sorts RAW, dry,and mixed even them bowls that  slow feeding down  .One thing I used to ask vets advice most thought it is just her metabolism but one did ask if her **** was like swiz cheese if so could be a problem with digestion or liver . SHE'S THE ONE IN THE FORGROUND

Edited July 5, 2019 by scutt

[Lloyd90]

2 hours ago, scutt said:

One of mine is 9yrs old now and has never put any more than 15kg onn and very skinny . Fit as a lop and the most active of my pack she has been known to bust her nose on the bottom of the dish when gobbling her food tried feeding all sorts RAW, dry,and mixed even them bowls that  slow feeding down  .One thing I used to ask vets advice most thought it is just her metabolism but one did ask if her **** was like swiz cheese if so could be a problem with digestion or liver . SHE'S THE ONE IN THE FORGROUND

 

She looks healthy mate, nothing wrong with her. 

 

I would always say though, that ANYONE, a dog or person who complains they “can’t put weight on” just isn’t eating enough kcals. 

 

If you need to put weight on a dog you need to find ways to add more calories to their intake. 

You can feed more food if your dog will eat more, you can add things like fish oil, tripe, feed fattier cuts of meet eg feed duck or lamb instead of leaner meats like chicken or you can increase the number of meals.

 

Every one of these tricks results in the same thing, more kcals being eaten = adding weight. 

 

Metabolism etc may differ between different dogs but if you feed more kcals than the dog burns it will add weight. Some people have to feed different dogs different amounts because they’re very different in their activities. 

My old lab and springer were fed the same amounts and both stayed in relative good shape because the springer was much more active. Springer was half the size of the lab. 

[charlie b]

thanks for the advice i have tried all sorts of feed wet dry now going to try free flow mince beef it looks like ive nothing to worry about she is the first springer ive had from a different breeder the rest were all from the same breeder so were much like peas in a pod i quess this ones a bit different

[Lloyd90]

59 minutes ago, charlie b said:

thanks for the advice i have tried all sorts of feed wet dry now going to try free flow mince beef it looks like ive nothing to worry about she is the first springer ive had from a different breeder the rest were all from the same breeder so were much like peas in a pod i quess this ones a bit different

You can do little things to add more kcals, as simple as feeding an egg a couple days a week. 

A tin of sardines mashed into her normal food a few days a week. 

A spoon full of oil on a meal. 

Little things that all add up to add energy and fill the dog out 👍🏻.  

[B725]

If you go on the Skinner's Web page you can give them the make and model of your dog and what you will be doing with it. They will recommend what food and should give you a free sample. That's what I did and little Stan is now on their museli mix and doing well on it. 

[charlie b]

i probaly should have said she just refuses most food daughter hand fed her with raw mince today which she ate no bother going to mix with some pasta or rice tomorrow ive always been of the opinion that if a dog refuses food its just not hungry how ever this ones proved me wrong

[Lloyd90]

6 minutes ago, charlie b said:

i probaly should have said she just refuses most food daughter hand fed her with raw mince today which she ate no bother going to mix with some pasta or rice tomorrow ive always been of the opinion that if a dog refuses food its just not hungry how ever this ones proved me wrong

 

Some dogs are just very bloody fussy. 

 

Give raw raw green tripe a go. It’s apparently full of calories, high in nutrients and not many dogs would turn their nose up at it. 

 

Great for adding weight to a dog but by god does it stink!

[oowee]

Its interesting that my cocker is a skinny 17kg and lloyds, and scutts springers are 17kg. I allways tbought springers were a good bit bigger than cockers? 

[B725]

My springer is 17.5 kg. 

[Guest]

Had the same issue with our springer when she was that age. She ate but seemed so skinny and the vet said it wasn’t a problem. She is now 2 1/2 and filled out. We feed our dogs on Kibble from CSJK9 and all we did was up her intake by 40g a day. Don’t think you have anything to worry about Charlie

[JDog]

A friend who had the biggest, most athletic and most rangey Springer I have known could never put weight on its ribs until his wife did some investigations and discovered that it was glucose intolerant. A change of diet saw the dog put on weight in a few months.

[williamwansbeck]

Fresh fatty meat will put weight on to almost any dog but at 8 months i would expect it ti be leans as still filling out.

 

[charlie b]

once again thanks for all the comments and advice i supose dogs are bit like humans some big some small and some like russians on an all inclusive holiday

[bigbird]

‘Some like Russians on an all inclusive holiday’ that made me chuckle!

 

 

[Lloyd90]

8 hours ago, bigbird said:

‘Some like Russians on an all inclusive holiday’ that made me chuckle!

 

 

I’ve never had the pleasure of bumping into Russians on holiday? 🤔

[Lloyd90]

On 07/07/2019 at 07:59, oowee said:

Its interesting that my cocker is a skinny 17kg and lloyds, and scutts springers are 17kg. I allways tbought springers were a good bit bigger than cockers? 

 

If you remember when I popped over yours Grant, my springer was taller than your cocker but I think your cocker was much denser/ thick set. 

If I remember him rightly he’s a thick set dog, well muscled and just very heavy set. 

 

Some springers are heavy set like that, some are bloody big brutes, others are smaller, some are half the size of others. 

That test I did on the weekend my dog was the biggest one there in the puppy group, tallest and longest. Might have grown a bit since I came up 🤔😂. 

 

Lots of cockers are much smaller than your lad. Half the size in diameter almost I’d think, they can be small but absolute speed demons if you get a really driven one. 

Sam Thatchers are quite small, like a bunch of tiny buzzing bees 😂. If I was to get a cocker I think I’d go for the smaller type, easier to carry 😂. 

[B725]

Lloyd why do you want one to carry they aren't a handbag dog😂

[oowee]

 

Had mine picking up on the rabbits last night shooting with the air rifle. The excitement got the better of him at one point when I had shot about 5 he could not resist running to collect 😖. It cost me a couple. We finished at about 2300 with about 25, then up early on the birds. I shot 66 and it was very hot. He was picking up but the heat and lack of sleep was getting to him  (and me). Half way through the morning, bird in mouth, he was off across the field to a large cattle trough and in for a swim!!!!!

Mind of his own at times.

[Lloyd90]

14 hours ago, oowee said:

 

Had mine picking up on the rabbits last night shooting with the air rifle. The excitement got the better of him at one point when I had shot about 5 he could not resist running to collect 😖. It cost me a couple. We finished at about 2300 with about 25, then up early on the birds. I shot 66 and it was very hot. He was picking up but the heat and lack of sleep was getting to him  (and me). Half way through the morning, bird in mouth, he was off across the field to a large cattle trough and in for a swim!!!!!

Mind of his own at times.

 

 

Sounds like a good character 😂 rather have a dog like that than one that bored me silly.