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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

Skinny Pup

17 replies

alp · 18/10/2011 14:02

We have a 6 month old Springer Spaniel that I think is a bit too skinny.

I know you are supposed to see ribs, she's only young, she is very active and all dogs are different but on a number of occasions people have mentioned she is skinny - pet shop owners, other dog walkers, helpful family members......

We feed her on Burns Mini Bites Puppy Food at the moment - I feed her 20g extra than recommended for her weight - she is currently 7.3kg gaining approx 3.5kg since we had her at 11weeks. All of her treats are on top of her food allowance.

She does always seem hungry but she is a young springer so how much of that is genuine hunger and how much is typical and expected behaviour!?

Should I change her food to something else? If so what?

Many thanks oh wise MN dog owners!

PS - Vet has checked her and given her a clean bill of health but said she is a little skinny but didn't seem overly bothered hence my post!

OP posts:

belindarose · 18/10/2011 18:32

Exactly the same here with our 5.5 month old springer. SOoo skinny! Our vet didn't seem worried either and he's clear of worms now. Tinned mackerel in oil has been suggested, but we're having some tummy problems so I daren't risk it yet.

ditavonteesed · 18/10/2011 18:59

I have a 4 month old working cocker and I keep thinking he is a bit skinny, think they are just such active dogs, although he weighs 6.5kgs and seems to e putting on about 1lb a week.

GrimmaTheNome · 18/10/2011 19:05

My last dog was very skinny - he was also a very fussy eater (I'm afraid because he was skinny we pandered to him, more fool us!).

We had him neutered when he was 3, whereat he promptly stopped being nearly as fussy and filled out (not overly, just nicely). Don't know if it works the same for girls or if this is a common effect in boys.

Original poster

alp · 18/10/2011 22:18

Thanks for replies - so perhaps it is normal then? I have heard that after being spay that she may fill out.

Perhaps I'll try feeding more still and see what happens.....hopefully not runny poos

OP posts:

belindarose · 19/10/2011 08:05

That's what I'm scared of, alp. Each time that happens I worry he'll get even skinnier as I have to feed him on rice/ egg/chicken in small amounts. This new food is looking good for us now though - vitalin puppy plus. I might try the occasional tin of fish if poos stay firm!

chickchickchicken · 19/10/2011 09:07

i have a four year old jrt who is skinny. he weighs 7.5 - 8kg. he is healthy and vet has said that he looks like an 'athlete'. he eats good quality dry food and has just over the recommend amount daily and treats on top of that. he is very active too.

as vet has given clean bill of health try not to worry. my female jrt filled out after being spayed, the male one is still skinny

daisydotandgertie · 19/10/2011 11:32

Alp - Burns is well known for keeping dogs skinny - but is very good food. Perhaps try ordering a sack of their high energy adult food and mixing it with the mini bites. I'd try a 25/75 mix to start with and see if it makes any difference.

He can't be too far off moving over to adult food now anyway, so this wouldn't be the end of the world.

Our youngest lab is also 6 months and has grown from about 7kg when we first got her to 21kg now and she still looks like a crazy crane! She's all legs and ears and is so skinny.

There seems to be a long way to go yet with our pup. . I fear she may be actually be a pony. None of my adult labs weigh more than 25kgs .....

Original poster

alp · 19/10/2011 12:15

Daisy - Thanks for that information - I didnt know that about Burns keeping dogs skinny/lean - I was thinking of perhaps moving her to another food brand but as Burns is seen as a good food I didn't want to muck about too much.

Since I had her weighed the other day I've upped her intake again so is now on 160g/day whereas the guidelines are 140g/day

I will look into getting some of the Active Dog food and see how we go.

I am slightly at a 21kg 6month old pup - thats 3times the size of our springer!!!

OP posts:

daisydotandgertie · 19/10/2011 14:58

? Me too .

But she's such a very cute pony.

tooearlytobeup · 19/10/2011 15:56

Ok, now I am worried that mine is too big! Springer spaniel pup, 4 months old (19 weeks) and he weighs 10.6kg. He is fed on James Wellbeloved (changed from NatureDiet a few weeks ago)

He looks solid, but not fat IYSWIM, and has always been chunky. I can easily feel his ribs, but cannot see them through his coat He was the biggest in his litter.

He also always seems hungry, and clears his bowl within seconds. He would happily eat double the amount that he is given if he could.

Does he sound OK, or should I cut down his food?

daisydotandgertie · 19/10/2011 17:16

He sounds pretty good to me. Like us - they're all different. The ideal for dogs is that you can easily feel their ribs and like they're covered with a blanket rather than a sheet (too skinny) or duvet (too lardy).

Working springers are usually finer than show dogs - just like labradors which might be one explanation for the size difference.

I do tend to feed by eye rather than the packet guidelines; usually they recommend you feed masses more than needed, but in the case of Burns they're pretty accurate, verging on the lean. If a few more grammes make the difference - add more food!

And don't be fooled by ever hungry dogs. Most of them will happily gorge themselves to the point of bursting. When my moon and stars girl was about 5 months she climbed into a 15kg sack of food and ate and ate and ate. In the 5 or so minutes she was on her own she ate enough food to make her as wide as she was long. That was a trip to the vet for an emergency evacuation .

tooearlytobeup · 19/10/2011 19:20

daisydot that description is extremely helpful I've just prodded a confused dog, and we are at fleece blanket level

He will be relieved a diet is not needed

Original poster

alp · 19/10/2011 20:16

Tooearly! Don't be worried - our pup was the smallest in the litter and her mum was small. The vet has even said she's going to be small as her bones are small (?)

The blanket/fleece/sheet/duvet description is a good one - we are in-between sheet and blanket here.

I spoke to Burns who said that they have a Active Pup food which is usually for large breed pups or underweight dogs which they said would be a good food to try as the Active only comes in massive bags.

They also said the overexercising when young thought related to bad joints etc is an old wives tale!!!

OP posts:

daisydotandgertie · 19/10/2011 20:33

Really not sure I agree with them - but that's probably no great surprise.

I do agree that if a puppy has absolutely sound joints then exercise is going to do no harm at all. But there is no way of knowing that your puppy actually does have sound joints. Good health tests and hip scores from parents give us a good head start but are no guarantee of a sound pup.

IMO, the long and the short of it is that good joints are hard to damage, but weak ones are extremely easy and as there's no way to ascertain what sort of joints your puppy has until it's possibly too late, I always, always err on the side of caution and go for about (and it is very about) 5 minutes per month of age.

And I didn't know they did an active pup food - that's very good to know. Sorry about the active adult food recommendation - we get through dog food so fast here, I can't imagine buying anything other than 2 x 15kg sacks at a time. I must remember that other households are much more normal than mine [shame].

Original poster

alp · 19/10/2011 21:41

Daisy - no i don't agree with them either and I am no dog expert!

The active puppy food seems like a good in-between food so we will try that.

Don't apologise for anything daisy you have been more than helpful

Also who said my house was normal

OP posts:

Original poster

alp · 04/11/2011 12:00

Hello!

So I weighed the Skinny Pup today and she is now 7.9kg, gaining 600g in 17days so I am very happy about that as the chage of food seems to have really made a difference - previous weight gains had been slow.

She is now seeming more substantial, not chubby and moving towards the light blanket rib coverage we are looking for

She is now on High Energy Lamb Burns food completly and is due to the weight gain is eating the right amout for her weight - Do you think I should continue with the extra 20g or now move to the correct amount for her weight?

OP posts:

daisydotandgertie · 04/11/2011 18:21

Brilliant!

I'd reduce now though, and now give the right amount for her weight and see how she goes.

Feed her by eye for the time being - if she starts to look a bit skinny again give her a little more food and reduce if she looks a bit too chunky. I'm glad she's managed to put a bit on - she did sound pretty skinny even for a young Springer.

It won't be long before it's time to switch to adult food; I switch somewhere between 6 and 7 months depending on the rate of growth. Stick to the high energy food when you do; it sounds as though she'll need it!

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