How do I fatten up my 1yo Cockapoo?

[Stevie77]

She’s never been a big eater.

I also think she’s not keen on dry food - when she came from the breeder we put her on AVA, a mix of dry and wet. She used to basically lick the wet food off the dry and eat some of the kibble.

I then moved her on to Millie’s Wolfheart and even though she does eat, it’s not with gusto. Often she’ll leave her breakfast until much later in the day and then not be hungry for her evening meal. She either ends up eating her evening meal late at night or the following morning. So she does eat her calories but it’s all over the place.

She’s regularly gets flea and worm treatments from the vet, so i don’t expect that to be the issue. The vet agrees that she’s thin but took blood and nothing untoward was evident. She’s not had her first season yet AFAIK, none of the signs yet. She’s happy in herself, plays with the kids, loves going for walks, her poos are nice and firm etc. She’s just so slim, even for a smallish dog - you can feel her hip bones. I just don’t know what to do next.

@SantasGoodLittleGirl haha, here she is my little fur baby

Thank you everyone, lots of really interesting points and ideas.

I’ll try soaking, see if that makes a difference. The cream cheese is a good idea, anything too chunky she just picks out. Nearly every meal is topped up with something, either some wet dog food, tinned fish, if I we have gravy or meat jus she get some but it doesn’t always translate to her eating all of her food. Maybe she hates it…

Whoever asked - she’s not been spayed yet. In fact, we’re still waiting for her first season to appear. If it doesn’t by the end of the month the vet said she’ll see her for a check up.

@Veterinari looking at that chart I’d say she’s either a 3 or maybe a 4. She is totally okay, not lethargic or low energy, always happy to go out for a walk or shout at birds and squirrels in the garden or at the dog at the back.

If she's a 3-4 she's a perfectly healthy prepubescent medium sized dog.
Don't worry about the season either - could take up to a year for her first season

@Veterinari she’s 13 months old… not overly worried, just aware that it hasn’t happened yet.

I agree with veterinari most pet dogs are fat, this skewes people's perception of what is a healthy weight.

She's beautiful! Thank you.

If you are soaking kibble, serve up in smaller portions, it tends to go a bit gloopy and hard and seems more unpalatable if it's not eaten at first sitting.

Posh Poodle does not like a lot of food in the morning, he gets a little kibble (Skinners Chicken) with grated cheese. He gets a little more after his lunchtime walk, which he picks at but will go back to through the afternoon. He eats most for his evening serving about 5-6pm. One scoop of kibble and mixed with whatever we have around, usually a bit of tinned fish (tuna/sardines/mackerel) but also raw egg, cooked meat, a spoonful of mince or stew if we've had that, soup. He's not that fond of tinned wet dog food, but will take pate types in trays or pouches.

Oh and he was bony as hell as a pup, his tail was like a whip and his tummy was up at his spine. He had little matchstick legs too. He filled out very suddenly at 2.5 yrs - over about 4 months. He's a standard.

I have a yorkie, which are notoriously picky eaters.

I have food down all the time. Concept biscuits for small dogs as big biscuits are too much. I also have concept cat biscuits which he likes now and again (usually when the cat is trying to eat 🙄).

Then wet food twice a day, plus treats- he likes the crave ones.

I find he seems to eat when we do, so i give him his wet food at out breakfast/evening meals. Then he picks at the biscuits in the day. He’ll get one, take it to his bed, eat it, get another, take it to bed etc. very laborious but it’s what he does.

As he’s got older he’s filled out a lot. He was a skinny we thing for the first two years.

@Newfluff

I agree with veterinari most pet dogs are fat, this skewes people's perception of what is a healthy weight.

Completely agree with this.Vets have a much better,realistic opinion what an underweight dogs looks like.my vet told me,it is much much better to have a lean dog.in your pic,your lovely dog looks fine to me.Unless there are other signs, eg.poor coat,lethargy,runny poohs,your dog hasnt got a food issue.It is often humans that make food an issue.

There is no such thing as a picky eater.we humans make them picky.domesticated animals still have a survival instinct and always eat when hungry(unless they are ill).when a dog gets plenty of exercise,mental stimulation and play, It will eat its food.

Aww @Poshjock he’s gorgeous.

Thank you everyone, this has been really helpful both in terms of suggestions and both in terms of putting things in proportion.

There is no such thing as a picky eater

I used “picky” to mean mine isn’t one of those labrador types that wolfs a full bowl as soon as you put it in the floor. Some dogs aren’t as food driven, is that better?

I’ve had yorkies all my life and the way they are they suit being able to eat as they choose throughout the day rather than one or two larger meals.

It’s not so much what they eat they’re picky over, but how and when. He will eat when he’s hungry, but that might be a couple of biscuits every hour. If I try to feed him large meals he gets full quickly, leaves most of it, then loses weight as he has no other access to food.

@Nomoreusernames1244.agree with you.there are some dogs that are happiest "grazing".it is actually how animals in the wild feed (they dont have set meal times in the wild).however for most people,this is just not possible to feed your dog in this way.Also if you have 2 dogs,or occasionally visitor dogs it is just not possible.

[quote GetOffTheXmasTree]we had an underweight cocker. The vet gave us a food plan and his weight came back to normal in a few months. Did the vet give you any ideas?

ours was underweight because he's a mentalist and never stops until we force him to nap so it wasn't an eating problem as such

what helped was adding rabbit pate to his dry food from these guys
www.jrpetproducts.com/shop-for-dog-treats/?v=79cba1185463&gclid=Cj0KCQiAzMGNBhCyARIsANpUkzOj7aRk9gxJfF6fYuIW_eMpBYtoorYHKDWs34th8A-_qwbi64SvncUaAltkEALw_wcB[/quote]
This pate stuff is literally like dog crack. Our rescue (who barks at everything and everyone) is the most pleasant non-barking dog you will ever see if this (cubed) is the treat on offer.

Have you tried adding a bit of warm water to the dry food? Bog standard Iams (chicken flavour) is the dried food of choice here (she’s tried others but this is the only one that gets her bouncing up for joy).

Have you tried fresh pet?
Tesco sell it in its own fridge at the end of the pet food aisle. My cockapoo has one roll of this week spread out over her two meals a day. I also have a tin of salmon or a cooked shredded chicken breast I mix through too or some scrambled egg. I chop it up finely and mix it through her dry food (which is natures instinct the freeze dried raw stuff form lets a at home) she demolishes the lot.

We give cold pasta mixed with boiled or roasted chicken and half a tin of wet food (Pal) to ours when she needs a bit if a boost. Like yours she does eat fairly well but occasionally borders on underweight, I think because she races around like a bloody lunatic.

Not a problem so much now as she is getting on in years but in her youth it was a regular thing. She loved it.

Not sure what you mean about space though? If you can store a whacking great bag of dry food, some tins of wet food won't take up any more space, surely?

And honestly, not feeding your underweight dog properly because you don't have room to store the food is absolutely disgraceful and if the situation is as it sounded there then you shouldn't have an animal at all.

I forgot pate...ours loves a bit of Brussels as a treat mixed in with his food instead of cream cheese occasionally.

I know it sounds like he must be a porker but he's an elderly dog and has difficulty keeping weight on these days!