[carlosowusu]

Hello,

I'm recently moved to Africa and came across an abandoned GSD which I am now taking care of. He is extremely skinny and I'm tyring to put back the weight on and have his coat shining again. His diet now consists of only leftover food (eg. rice, soup, etc...)

I purchased NutraNuggets from Diamond Foods which is the only processed dog food from the USA that I can find in my area and mix it with water which he also eats. He eats anything!

I'm wondering if I can put him on a put-weight-fast diet so he can be bigger and have the shine in his coat again. I've heard Satin balls do magic but I dunno.

Thanks

Carlos

Some more pictures...

 

[Good_Karma]

You know, he doesn't look all that skinny to me. Niko was a skinny boy too when he was that age. If he's eating well, and others will have to comment on his diet who know more than me, then I wouldn't be too concerned. Do you have a vet you can take him to in order to rule out parasites? Also your vet can tell you what condition he's in as far as weight. But looking at your pictures, he does not seem emaciated.

Do you know what he's mixed with?

 

[KZoppa]

he doesnt look too skinny to me either. He actually looks just barely below what we prefer to see on PB shepherds weight wise. Other than that he looks good. There are a number of tricks you can use to get him as healthy as he's gonna be and get that shine in his coat but you'd have to wait for those who know more. I know salmon oil and a good healthy diet will definitely help. If you can, get him vet checked.

 

[KZoppa]

i've be willing to bed he's mixed with some sort of retriever or some sort of hound with those ears

 

[APBTLove]

His weight looks perfectly fine

Thank you for taking him in and caring for him..

 

[Konotashi]

I think he looks to be a healthy weight and doesn't need to pack on the pounds.

Thank you for taking care of this guy.

 

[ChancetheGSD]

I would focus more on getting MUSCLE on him. Weight wise he looks pretty good, honestly if he got some muscle on him he'd look a lot better. Just make sure he gets plenty of exercise, good food (especially meats and bones (which are also good for his teeth!)) and he should be good to go.

 

[carlosowusu]

Thanks all for the advice!!!

I have taken him to a vet and he has been ruled out of all parasites. His teeth is growing gradually and he is very healthy. He can run and jog with me on very hot days! He sheds a lot though which im not sure is very normal. Like everyday!

He is mixed with the local dogs here but I do not know what they are called. Only one of his ears gets up. The other is damaged...maybe due to an infection or something. The vet says there is nothing that can be done. His bark though is very unusual...there is a sort of whine in it. Like its not fully matured yet.

By the looks of it, how old do you think he would be?

 

[Jax08]

You could feed him a RAW diet if you can't find a decent kibble food in your area.

 

[Good_Karma]

Be careful exercising in the heat. Young dogs are very sensitive to heat and can get heat stroke easily.

 

[carlosowusu]

But looking at him, how old do you think he would be? And his teeth seem very blunt. I mean there are no sharp ends. What can I do to have his teeth growing normally?

 

[KZoppa]

if i had to venture a guess i would put him at anywhere from 1-3 years old. Going off that estimate, his teeth are done coming in. Dogs teeth come in how they come in. There isnt anything like doggie braces. If his teeth are in kinda funky, it could be caused my any number of things. Malnutrition as a puppy, malnutrition as an adult could have weakend the structure of his mouth along with the rest of his bones. They could be blunt because he's older than my estimate. They could be blunt because he's spent a lot of time knawing on things to eat or knawing through things to get something to eat. It could be any number of things. Thats great that he's parasite free. Thats really fabulous. Just keep him on a healthy diet and get him exercise to build some much needed muscle, keep his weight even once he reaches his idea weight and body style, and dont allow him too much exercise when its hot and provide plenty of fresh water at all time. good luck!