[shadow mum]

I am currently feeding my 4 month old Nutro Lg Breed Puppy Food. I have been told by the vet that he is underweight, even though he eats 4-5 cups a day. Is this food what I should be giving him, or can any one else make some suggestions. He is 4 months and weighs 23lbs. Nothing showed in the tests to explain his weight.

Thanks

 

[Papanapa]

Does he look thin? or is the vet just saying this based on what he "should" weigh at 4 months? I am no expert but many of the posts say that they all grow at different weights so maybe he will grow nice and slow.
I am sure that the real experts will have some good advice for you.
Good Luck!

 

[EastGSD]

4-5 cups per day should be supporting your puppy, if not I would switch to another high quality food and see if that does the trick. If not, I would be looking to get some tests done because 24lbs at 4mths is a bit light IMO and any puppy eating that much food should not be light so something is not equaling out for one reason or another.

Cherri

 

[shadow mum]

He has had stool sample taken, and the vet said she didn't see the need for bloodwork at this time. The stool sample came back fine. I can see some of his ribs, but he has grown alot in the 5 weeks we've had him. He was 12 lbs at 11 weeks, so we've had some improvement there.


Can you recommend a food I can try? I have been giving him some cooked ground beef mixed in with his kibble for his dinner feeding? Any other suggestions?

Thanks

 

[VALIUM]

Solid Gold Wolf Cub or Orijen Puppy Food or Innova Large Breed Puppy Food. You can try these one, I heard good comments about California Natural's Large breed puppy food, I hope it helps..GL

 

[littledmc17]

pro plan
Brady has bee on it since he was a pup

 

[Dano]

What about supplementing with some canned food with high calorie content or some human food? I don't mean doughnuts and tacos.

 

[Sherush]

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/index.php/cat/1

Here is a place to find out about dog food and the quality of them. Do not move to a food with high protein content over 26% as it could be bad for Shadows bones and growth, higher calories are good. Jesse was moved to Timberwolf food at 4 months.

 

[BlackGSD]

Sounds to me like he is a small puppy. If he only weighed 12 lbs at 11 weeks. (Unless he was very thin then.) My female pup weighed 12.3 lbs at 8 weeks. And she is not a big puppy. (I would call her average sized.)

That said, If he is eating that much and is still thin, I to would change to another food. I would look into something that is higher quality.

If you look thru some of the other posts, there are a LOT of recommendations for a good quality kibble.

 

[RUGER1]

My vet likes to think Ruger and Jayda are a bit "under weight" as well. I like to keep my dogs a bit on the lean side, by exercise and proper nutrition, not under feeding. Heavier dogs can pay the price down the road with join problems.
I would venture to say most vets would look at my dogs and say they are under weight only because the majority of dogs they see are actually a bit on the heavier side?
If your pup is eating, lots of energy, no apparent health concerns...chronic diarrhea etc. then I would not be to concerned.

 

[EastGSD]

Originally Posted By: Sherushhttp://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/index.php/cat/1

Here is a place to find out about dog food and the quality of them. Do not move to a food with high protein content over 26% as it could be bad for Shadows bones and growth, higher calories are good. Jesse was moved to Timberwolf food at 4 months.

Higher calories would not be good, Current research shows it is calories and overfeeding that cause bone problems, not protein percentage. Puppies should be fed lean and not over fed.

Cherri

 

[Sherush]

Originally Posted By: EastGSD[
Higher calories would not be good, Current research shows it is calories and overfeeding that cause bone problems, not protein percentage. Puppies should be fed lean and not over fed.

Cherri,

Just curious if you know where to find the current research you are talking about is, this is such a hot topic and 99 percent of internet says high protein causes problems with growing too fast, also with issues with Pano. I only suggested about high calories (not over feeding) because Shadow is at the right height for 4 months but 15 lbs off the weight. When Jesse was 4 month he was the right height and a 1.5 lbs below weight guide and was very skinny at that time. Upside I will be going to see Shadow with my own eyes this Sunday as Jesse and Shadow have a playdate (their first).

 

[shadow mum]

I measured his height today and he is 21 inches. from foot to shoulder when standing. He doesn't look to thin to me. He was VERY underweight when we got him. His sister was almost double his size. Found him in an add on an internet classified sight, and fell in love. Didn't have much human contact and was scared to death. It took my husband and I over 1/2 hr to get him to come out of the corner of the barn. He is the runt of the litter, and wouldn't even eat out of a dish. We had to start by scattering kibble on the floor near his dish, then onto a saucer, and finally he started eating out of the bowl.
As Lauralie said, she and Jesse are coming over for a playdate on Sunday...(yay, someone I can talk dogs to that doesn't think I'm nuts!!!) and I am looking forward to her opinion after seeing him in person. I am defineatly going to look into some of the other foods recommended.

Thanks all

 

[EastGSD]

Originally Posted By: Sherush

Cherri,

Just curious if you know where to find the current research you are talking about is, this is such a hot topic and 99 percent of internet says high protein causes problems with growing too fast, also with issues with Pano.

There are many articles and writings to be found online through Google. Here is one example to start you out and it also has references at the conclusion http://www.lgd.org/library/Optimal%20feeding%20of%20large%20breed%20puppies.pdf


Cherri

 

[shadow mum]

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/04/pet_food_recalls93.html.

Someone suggested that I search Nutro due to a possible recall. I found this site above. The below sounds familiar.

"She was growing fine until I put her on NUTRO," Judy said. "And then it was like she just stopped growing. She looked like she had been starved and her coat looked real bad."

Judy's vet examined the dogs -- and their stools -- and didn't find any problems.

"So I said the heck with the commercial dog food and I started feeding all my dogs raw food," Judy said. "They've all bounced back. They have all gained weight and their hair is growing again."

The only exception is the puppy that had growth problems."

I'm not saying the above is what's wrong with Shadow, but I think to make sure, I'm going to be switching him to a new food tomorrow. Why take risks??

 

[Dano]

I can't find anything anywhere about a Nutro recall.

What I have seen in many dog owners is that they try one or two bags of food and don't see any miracles happening so they go to another brand, try a couple of bags and still no miracles and they go to another and on and on. In order for a dog to have a good coat, they have to lose their old coat. They will have a bad coat with more shedding for a while.

There seems to be so much guessing at what allergies our dogs have and what is causing them. I have clients with 10 page lists (from various internet sites) of foods to avoid and why. I feel sorry for them.

I'm not a dog food professional but from my experiences and my gut instinct, I don't think switching foods will make much of a difference in a dogs weight. Amount and metabolism may.

 

[roxy84]

"Can you recommend a food I can try?"

ive seen nice even growth for the most part with canidae all life stages and innova large breed puppy. i think those two have the appropriate nutrient panel for our pups. canidae is a higher calorie food, so you have to be careful regarding overfeeding.

 

[chevysmom]

We feed Chevy Canidae All Life Stages. We've been giving it to him since the day we brought him home at 8 weeks old and he's done very well on it and seems to really like it.

 

[Sherush]

Update I took Jesse to visit Shadow today for a play session and to look at Shadow to see if he was really underweight, Shadow is in good shape he is just small he looks like when Jesse was around 12 weeks old, he was a runt of his litter so he is still small but in great shape and skinny but perfectly skinny not underweight. Jesse and Shadow had a great time for 2.5 hours of play, and it was a pleasure to meet Diane and her family and Shadow.

 

[shadow mum]

Thanks Lauralie. We had a great time with you as well. Shadow has never slept so long or well!!!!! Jesse is very well behaved. You have done a fantastic job with him. I was most impressed with how he behaved with my kids. They can't wait for another play date. (all 3 of them!!!)

Also, I feel much reassured after we spoke about Shadow's weight. The vet had me worried!!!!

Thanks again.