Skinny collie

[BobLoblaw]

We have two dogs, Penny our collieXkelpie is 2ish she was very very thin when we got her from the rescue centre but put on some weight once she'd settled in here. We've had her for around 20 months, she's wormed regularly and has been checked over by the vet but she's still quite ribby. She has double the amount of dry food that the bag says she needs for her weight plus chicken, eggs, livers etc with her dinner and cheese/meat when training. She has a lot of exercise but I think she'd be quite unhappy if we cut that down.

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas?

Naturediet.

If her tum can tolerate it I'd suggest the puppy variety which has even more protein in it than the adult one.

I had the same problem with my younger German Shepherd and tried everything to put some weight on him - could see his ribs, poor boy. Then the boss of a rescue suggested Naturediet and it worked within weeks.

My GSD is now on the dry food Fish4Dogs, which like Naturediet is additive free. I moved him over to F4D having got the weight back on him as it's more practical to store and feed kibble and he's still looking very good. (And bathed yesterday... I now have 3 clean, shiny dogs!). :)

Just having a look, I'll get some next time we're out, she has a very delicate tummy and has been on James Wellbeloved since we got her as it was the only thing she tolerated at the rescue centre. But if I change her over slowly it's certainly worth a go.

She looks very healthy in every other way which is why I think the vet wasn't overly concerned. It's become apparent recently because we now have two collieXs and Oscar who is twice as big as Penny has put on weight since we got him and doesn't eat as much as her.

Thank you :)

Mum's dog (collie x springer) has always been very skinny, she's just starting to put a bit of weight on now she's 10 and slowing down (not much slowing down mind!) She's quite fluffy so you never really saw until she got wet, and then she looked tiny! Your dog must think she's died and gone to heaven with all the lovely food she's getting :o

I use CSJ Command Performance for my 3 collies, I think it's a really good dry food (I mix it with a small amount of Nature's Harvest wet food). I started them on the CP21 but only my very busy collie didn't put weight on, so I switched to CP18 for less active dogs - the CP21 might be an idea for Penny though, and it has some good things in it like glucosamine which has helped with occasional stiff joints. I collect mine from a local agent but they do also deliver.

My lab has a sensitive tummy and stays lean but we have done well feeding tripe, may be worth trying. The fish and potato nature diet goes down ok too.

My Spaniel is like this you can see all his ribs. He never stops moving thou

I have a colllie too she is quite 'plump' compared to my spaniel, he has almost twice as much food as her. Mine are fed on Arden Grange.

Penny never stops really, so I'm not surprised but she could do with being a bit less ribby.

The CSJ looks good too, I might try that aswell, DP is picking up some nature diet to try tomorrow.

Tripe? Eek, where do you get it? What do you do with it? I don't eat meat, there are lots of butchers around here though, do you get it in a regular butchers?

Thanks for replying, it's nice to know we're not alone, we get lots of comments in the dog park!

If the vet isn't concerned and she appears to be healthy and full of energy then I'd stop worrying and assume that she is just built that way. If she's a rescue dog she might just have something with a slender build in the mix. We had a collie when we were growing up and if he got wet you could see that he was very slightly built. My sisters rescue collie was even slighter, and the collie/whippet cross we used to live with was really very thin. All were happy energetic dogs. She sounds lie she is very well cared for now after a hard start :)

We have a small very slightly built collie girl who eats like a horse and has food available all the time, so eats as much as she wants. (We feed dried food - Gellert hypo-alergenic for working dogs, so high energy/calorie food) She is also as thin as a rake and if she's given a bath, looks like a ribby Belsen victim. She's been checked by the vet several times and she's energetic, healthy and happy, with a bright coat and eyes.

If the vet has checked your dog and given her the all clear, I wouldn't worry too much. :)