Is my puppy too thin?

[SkinnyMalinkys]

She s 13 weeks.

On naturediet. Having 1 pouch a day plus a handful of AVA when training plus treats.

Worming up to date

Seems to be going off naturediet a bit. Not overly enthusiastic at meal times

Am a bit worried

Happy, healthy and extremely bouncy in all other ways.

Hard to tell with her fluffier coat, but are her ribs really showing? From the photos, she looks a good weight.

None of my pups are ever very keen on Nature Diet tbh. How many meals a day is she on?

We've had this worry with our spaniels to the point that we've had loads of tests at the vets to make sure there's nothing wrong with them.

I think where they're so full of life they just burn everything off that they eat and the vet said to just experiment with different foods to see which ones keep the weight on. We've found the working dog brands work the best and are cheaper at places like Mole Valley. Also with spaniels they seem to grow taller before they fill out which is what has happened to one of ours.

She's on 3 meals a day. 7am 1pm and 6pm.

Do you think I should swap foods?

It's very dense.

She seems to like cheap shit but for obvious reasons don't want to let her eat rubbish.

No - young spaniels are supposed to be lean

Thankyou, thats reassuring. Ive only had pugs previously so a big difference in body shape!

Looks fine to me, my preference is to keep my dogs slightly on the lean side (if the weight range is 10.5kgs to 15kgs I’d be working towards 10.5-11kgs) as it’s better for their joints.

My vets have this picture on their wall which is a good visual indicator for weight.

She looks pretty good to me.

I share your pain with dealing with a picky eater. My whippet is very difficult to feed and a bit on the lean side for my liking.

Still, he’s very active and bouncy and I could get tests done at the vet but it seems overkill for an otherwise healthy and lively dog.

Spaniels do tend to need to eat more than similar sized dogs to maintain weight. However I think your puppy looks ok. Pups should be lean, my spaniels didn't really fill out until they were over 1yr.

Also there are a lot of fat dogs out there which give us a disproportionate view of what a healthy weight should look like. Plus if you're used to a stocky breed like a pug then any correct weight spaniel puppy will seem thin to you.

Lots of vets do free weight checks with a nurse - could be worth asking your vet about.

Any recommendations for a good food for spaniel please?

Consider a raw food diet - you can ready prepared ones which make it really simple. nutriment is a good one.

Also agree with what little blue said above - people are so used to seeing fat dogs that they have lost perspective on what is a healthy weight. We've been told by numerous people in the park etc about our Frenchie 'ooh isn't he thin!!' When in fact he's a very fit healthy dog and theirs is verging on obese.

Photos are tricky to see properly but your dog looks bang on, to me.

Much better for her to be getting the right nutrition and lean (obs not massively underweight or starving) than overweight - especially while she is young and growing.

I was talking to a friend who is a vet recently - my dog (golden retriever) is a food monster and I struggle to keep her trim, despite weighing every meal and not giving her lots of treats.

Anyway, the vet said that we are so used to seeing dogs which are carrying a bit more weight than they should - it should be normal for them to have a waist and look 'thin', but a bit like with people, we've all become a bit skewed by what is now normal (given that the average size in the UK is what, a 14 or something?) so that what we think is 'thin' is actually healthy.

I think spaniels tend to be a bit on the 'thin' side because they have so much energy, but I think the dog looks fine.

If you want to look at better dog food, I used allaboutdogfood.co.uk which tells you about the nutritional value in foods.

Anyway, the vet said that we are so used to seeing dogs which are carrying a bit more weight than they should - it should be normal for them to have a waist and look 'thin', but a bit like with people, we've all become a bit skewed by what is now normal
THIS.
Everyone stops my parents when they are walking their dogs (Husky and Collie) and they'll all say, "Oh, the husky is beautiful but she's so skinny" .. no, she's just not a fat husky that the majority of people have, shes the correct weight.
They look in good condition OP.

I couldn't do a raw diet. I just couldn't.

That happens with my whippet Raven. People are so fucking rude and I get a bit down about it sometimes. I see plenty of morbidly obese dogs but don’t mention it to people because it’s a) rude and b) none of my business.

A friend of mine is a vet and she says that most pets are at least a bit overweight. We used to look after her dog and a couple of people commented he was a bit thin but he was actually a perfect weight

Nope not too thin - a dog on a raw diet will usually lose weight not put it on so although I raw fed do not change if you want weight gain in an active bred

Looks good to me. Most dogs are far too fat.

Have ordered some samples of Millie wolfheart to try her on.

Yes you do see an awful lot of fat dogs about, I guess it does sway my vision.

There was a bichon frise at the vets when I was getting my pups injections and she was so fat she looked like a waddling cloud. It was awful. Poor thing looked so tired.

Thanks everyone

I use tails.com as they make the food specifically to your dogs breed and needs. It can be costly but I would say it's worth it

I use tails.com as they make the food specifically to your dogs breed and needs. It can be costly but I would say it's worth it

Puppy is 13 weeks, they’re normally plump and wrinkly at that baby stage. She’s growing fast and needs masses of food, I don’t think you can overfeed a young puppy.
She looks a bit skinny to me. You should be able to feel ribs under a layer of fat but not see them.

Both my spaniels are doing extremely well on barking heads TLC (although they've just changed the name to something stupid like lickin chicken).

I've tried lots of different brands (& price brackets), including really high quality grain free 80/20 types and the barking heads one is the only one that has allowed me to put weight on my cavalier with a sensitive tum (I had a problem that it was an extremely fine line between getting enough calories in him to keep his weight up but not so much that it upset his tummy. Then he lost a little bit of weight and if I increased his food even a teeny tiny amount in an attempt to increase his weight, it upset his tummy and he lost more - total catch 22. Thankfully with the barking heads one he can eat loads without upsetting his tummy, so it has finally made it easy to keep his weight at ideal). My cocker moved onto it and is thriving in it too. Both of mine eat way over the recommended amounts and are ideal weight - my vet said it's pretty normal with spaniels because they move around a lot more than other breeds throughout the day.

Puppy is 13 weeks, they’re normally plump and wrinkly at that baby stage

No spaniel should be plump and wrinkly at that stage! Both of mine looked quite gangly by that stage.

I don’t think you can overfeed a young puppy.

Of course you can and having a puppy overweight is just as unhealthy as having one too skinny. It's important to check their bodily condition very regularly at that age, to keep them in the healthy range. It's not just ribs not being clearly visible yet feelable, it's how much of a waist and tuck they have, how well covered their hips are, etc.

Please don't feed puppy a raw diet . I think the risks of raw feeding out way the benefits such as gastro ,parasites fractured teeth etc