worried about skinny, sad looking pup...

[La Boss]

Hi
My pup Ecko is 16 wks, and weighs 22lbs....is this a normal weight for a female GSD?? My vet seems to be nonchalant about her weight, but she is a bonerack, with all her ribs and hip bones, sticking out....She is a picky eater, so today I tried a little canned salmon juice on her food and she ate half the one cup portion (which I am feeding three times/day). Is this OK??
Thanks.

[Lakl]

Can you post pics? What are you feeding? My pup was around 40 lbs at that age, but he was a little heavy and also a male. Females tend to be smaller.

[WVGSD]

What are you feeding her and how much quantity at each feeding?

When was the last time that your vet saw her and what is her status with regard to wormings and examinations?

From your description, she sounds very thin. Pictures would be helpful.

[La Boss]

Thanks for responding!
We went to the vet yesterday, and the vet was more concerned, as she has dropped .5lbs...She has been on meds for demodectis, a staph infection, possible Giardia, and de-worming, since I brought her home three weeks ago.
I am feeding her Purina 1 (half cup), and Acana (half cup) both are for large breed puppy, and I do a total of one cup, three times a day. I don't leave out her food between feedings, and I do have to stay with her or she gets stressed that I am going somewhere, and won't eat.
This morning she had diahrea, and I'm worried she is now reacting to the probiotics that the vet recommended yesterday...
Oh, BTW, she is now finished all meds except the Normectic for demo...
Thanks so much for any advice!

[PaddyD]

Originally Posted by La Boss

Thanks for responding!
We went to the vet yesterday, and the vet was more concerned, as she has dropped .5lbs...She has been on meds for demodectis, a staph infection, possible Giardia, and de-worming, since I brought her home three weeks ago.
I am feeding her Purina 1 (half cup), and Acana (half cup) both are for large breed puppy, and I do a total of one cup, three times a day. I don't leave out her food between feedings, and I do have to stay with her or she gets stressed that I am going somewhere, and won't eat.
This morning she had diahrea, and I'm worried she is now reacting to the probiotics that the vet recommended yesterday...
Oh, BTW, she is now finished all meds except the Normectic for demo...
Thanks so much for any advice!

Since you have 2 kinds of food try feeding each kind in separate bowls and see if she prefers one over the other. If she does feed mostly that one. Even though Acana is a much better food, if she prefers the Purina then use it to get some weight on her. Many pet food stores give samples and maybe you could get some and try to find what she likes. As for weight, Abby weighed 2 pounds for each week of age up to 6 months then dropped off and she is pretty slender.

[fuzzybunny]

Originally Posted by PaddyD

Since you have 2 kinds of food try feeding each kind in separate bowls and see if she prefers one over the other. If she does feed mostly that one. Even though Acana is a much better food, if she prefers the Purina then use it to get some weight on her. Many pet food stores give samples and maybe you could get some and try to find what she likes. As for weight, Abby weighed 2 pounds for each week of age up to 6 months then dropped off and she is pretty slender.

I like this response. Jazz was about 10 pounds underweight and when we put him on Purina he gained that 10 pounds very quickly. We put him on Pro Plan for Sensitive Skin and Stomach since he was experiencing digestive issues at the time.

[WVGSD]

I used Purina Pro Plan for Sensitive Skin and Stomach to put weight on my adult rescued GSD initially. He gained nearly 20 pounds and then we found that he had inflammatory bowel disease. After going around and around with different kibbles (thought that the persistent diarrhea might be food-related initially), we are back to the Pro Plan for Sensitive Skin and Stomach once again with Tylan powder for the bowel disease. He has put on the last five pounds that he needed to and is doing very well.

The Purina Pro Plan for Sensitive Skin and Stomach kibble has 400+ calories per cup and will put weight on a dog that needs it pretty quickly. Salmon is the first ingredient and the dog's coat will usually also show a pretty dramatic improvement on this food as well.

[Germanshepherdlova]

Doesn't large breed puppy food have less calories than the regular one? Since you are concerned that she it too thin, you may want to give her regular puppy food until she gains a little weight.

[BowWowMeow]

I would be less concerned about the type of food you're feeding and more concerned about the weight drop and her very weak immune system. If anything, I would choose as much fresh, bio-available food as possible. You want to put weight on carefully so that it helps her, not just to bulk her up.

The demodex is from the weak immune system as is the staph infection. That's a lot for the body to fight off at one time. Probiotics (I use the people refrigerated kind from the health food store) are great for restoring gut health and also for strengthening the immune system.

Are you giving other supplements?

[WVGSD]

I agree with Ruth's post - with everything that your puppy is going through (a staph infection, possible Giardia, demodectic manage and worms), a good quality probiotic is certainly in order and should be quite a boost for your puppy.