My pup just went through what I'm hoping is her last big growth spurt (she just turned one year old), and now she's somewhat thin. She's a finicky eater and I've heard that's somewhat common in GSDs. Does anyone give their dogs extra supplements for weight gain? I already give her an excellent pre/probiotic (Companion's Choice) with every feeding. I try to feed her 4 cups a day, but she rarely eats it all. She's in the low 60s now, but I think she should gain about 7lb.
Thin Pup
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She does look a tad skinny. When my dog lost 13lb in less than a month down to low 70s (because he was staying with someone else and he just didn't wanna eat without me around) I went back to his regular diet daily:
Meal 1:
2 cups of dry food
Snack:
2-4 regular sized treats
100g whole fat yoghurt
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
Meal 2:
2 cups of dry food
1 raw egg or 100g of raw chicken liver (switch each day)
1 tablespoon of olive oil or coconut oil (switch each day)
He gained his weight back in less than 2 months and is now 85lb, lean. And my dog is also not a big eater, and will only eat dry food if I soak it in warm water for 20 minutes prior to serving.
Meal 1:
2 cups of dry food
Snack:
2-4 regular sized treats
100g whole fat yoghurt
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
Meal 2:
2 cups of dry food
1 raw egg or 100g of raw chicken liver (switch each day)
1 tablespoon of olive oil or coconut oil (switch each day)
He gained his weight back in less than 2 months and is now 85lb, lean. And my dog is also not a big eater, and will only eat dry food if I soak it in warm water for 20 minutes prior to serving.
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Hi! I have recently fostered a 7 month old puppy who I found on the side of the road. She was just skin and bones. She was a picky eater too, but she absolutely loved the raw food I made for my dogs. I would recommend you feed your dog raw food, but if you’re not up for that (which is totally fine) you could top her kibble with things like boiled chicken, raw eggs, homemade bone broth, or cottage cheese. Keep the Tail Wagging is a wonderful blog by someone who shares lots of tips about raw feeding and holistic care, and I use her recipe for bone broth. I hope this helps!
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7,492 Posts
A picture from the side and one from the top would help, but she doesn't look that thin and I am not a fan of pushing weight gain. If she just went through a growth spurt she will look gangly for a bit. I like my dogs lean and would rather see them underweight then overweight.
Most dogs will eat if they are hungry and baiting them often creates a monster that you will regret.
Most dogs will eat if they are hungry and baiting them often creates a monster that you will regret.
The main issue is that she's eating half as much as she should be. I agree it's nothing bad right now, but at this rate with getting 2 hours of exercise a day, I'm afraid she's going to keep losing weight.I tried adding chicken broth last night and today and she ate all of both meals. I'll probably just keep that up.
I don't think supplements are really baiting since usually they're flavorless or just a flavored powder. Not trying to push weight, but she really needs more calories as she exercises for two hours a day. I got her eating all of her food with chicken broth, so that should do the trick.
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