Food for high energy dogs

[QuentinWinters]

I have a working cocker/farm collie cross. Hes lovely but high energy and quite slim.
Im currently feeding well over the recommendation of purina puppy food and he's still underweight.
What food would you suggest? I have no reason to think hes ill, he's very happy, shiny coat etc just slim!

I think being on the slim side is much better than the other so don't worry too much. Mine was slightly underweight (long story) as a young dog and the vet said it's actually much better on their joints than being slightly podgy.

And remember feeding guides are just that as they have to cater for every type of dog and exercise needs.

If you want to feed Kibble have a word with Millies wolfheart. There advide line is helpful. They have the highest fat content food on the market and also the highest protein food.

Your dog will not get fat but will get the nutrients to match his energy levels.

My cockers and collies are impossible to put weight on them but they are certainly healthy Slim is good!

Is he genuinely underweight or just slim?
Slim, or even slightly underweight is preferable by far to overweight imo.

If you are feeding ‘well over the recommended amount’, the first thing I would do is give him a wormer incase he has worms.

Hes had wormer etc. Poo all fine. I can't see the vet atm unless its an emergency.
According to the vet nurse he is underweight. However he is putting weight on and less underweight than he was. But just needs so much food! So I was wondering if his working background meant he needed more calories.

Personally I wasn't worried til I saw the vet nurse because I'd rather have a thin dog than a fat dog. But I want him to get the nutrition he needs.

polly I was hoping you'd reply, I'll look into that food

Has he had a worm count done?
I believe you can send off the sample in the post to the company so don’t need a vet.

Tbh, I have a working collie and she’s always needed less than the recommendations and that is despite long walks/lots of running.
Now that she is getting old I am finding that I do infact need to feed her more but certainly as a young dog the recommended amounts of various foods would have made her fat.

For me, if you are feeding ‘well over the recommended amount’ and the dog genuinely is underweight, not just slim, my thoughts would be worms, overexercising or an undiagnosed medical problem

www.healthfulpets.co.uk/vince-the-vet-worm-count-and-lungworm-kit?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_87xr52y7gIVUO7tCh1YawvREAQYAiABEgKrZ_D_BwE

Worm count kit ^^

burnspet.co.uk/dog-food/active-chicken-brown-rice/

@QuentinWinters

Hes had wormer etc. Poo all fine. I can't see the vet atm unless its an emergency. According to the vet nurse he is underweight. However he is putting weight on and less underweight than he was. But just needs so much food! So I was wondering if his working background meant he needed more calories.

Personally I wasn't worried til I saw the vet nurse because I'd rather have a thin dog than a fat dog. But I want him to get the nutrition he needs.

polly I was hoping you'd reply, I'll look into that food

All my dogs are considered "underweight" by the vets .

However my oldie 15 years 10 month (very important those 10 months!) had a checkup and the vet said the only reason he was still alive was because he was lean - go figure!

Our dog is on Millies Wolfheart 50/50

He was on 60/40 but was loosing weight so we were having to over feed him.

He's young and active and seems to be naturally pretty slim. Even on the 50:50 we supplement with veg, treats quite a bit.
But his weight has stabilized and we are no longer having to over feed.

If you speak to them they can give you lots of advice about which food is appropriate.
They have a large range including for working and very active dogs.
They also do small sizes so you can try before committing to 12 kg bags

I have a border collie who is slim because he gets 3 walks/runs a day, plus play in the house. He is 2.5 years old now, still slim, but has 2 good meals a day, plus a chew and a few biscuits. At his 1 year check up, he weighed 19 kilos, vet said he should be around 2 kilos more. I tried feeding more but he just left it. At his next check up he had put on the extra weight through growth spurts.

I'll call Millie's wolfheart tomorrow. Thanks for the recommendations
He does get quite a lot of exercise (2× 45min walks a day) but otherwise he's just mad at home.

He does get quite a lot of exercise (2× 45min walks a day)

That’s just an hour and a half a day!

Hes 6 months

The nurse was advising 5 mins per month of life, no way would thar be enough tho

The dog’s age wasn’t mentioned and I admit I forgot you had said ‘puppy food’.

I do personally agree with the five minute per month rule so 30 minute lead walking a day.
If you don’t think it’s enough I would suggest training a settle command and doing more trick/obedience training.

I do think that for a healthy adult dog an hour and a half is very much a short walk.

Also, I wonder if it might be useful to post some post some pictures of your dog?
To see just how ‘slim’ he actually is.

Ha! Its impossible to photograph him because he is black and fluffy