How to put weight on to GSD

[roaringwater]

The vet said she thought our 13 m.o GSD was a bit underweight.

He's raw fed and eats 1kg meat per day plus a generous handful of kibble, lots of high protein treats when training, and often an egg in his dinner.

He's very, very fussy and it's not uncommon for him to turn his nose up at his food.

Any thoughts on how to get more weight onto him?

How about tinned mackerel in sunflower oil and pigs/buffalo ears? That should help.

13 month old dogs are often a bit skinny and a lot of them spend their second year laying down muscle and bulk.

If his hip bones are really prominent or he's lacking energy I'd try giving him things like tripe, but if he's just a bit ribby I'd wait for 6-8 months and see how he was doing.

Personally I wouldn’t.

My GSDs have always been lean and gangly at that age, they have all filled out by about 3 naturally without any weight gain type supplements.

I also prefer to keep them slim for joint health.

Thank you all.
@Leonberger yes - this was exactly my thoughts and I figured he was just a rangy teen! I was surprised when the vet said he was underweight.
You can feel ribs & hips but can't see them.

The vet told me my 14 month old border collie was 2 kg underweight. I tried feeding more, but the food got left and wasted. He loved his food, but knew when he’d had enough and I wasn’t going to feed him extra treats and biscuits, as we felt he had enough. By aged 2 he had grown more and bulked out more in his chest and put on those 2 kg naturally. He had another last growth spurt at around 26 months old as well.

IMO it's healthy for a dog to be slightly underweight in their teen years! I would keep doing what you're doing and not worry about it.

He'll fill out as he gets older.

My Lab is at this stage, but I know he'll fill out before his second birthday.

In a healthy dog you should be able to feel his ribs and he should be lean at that age, we've become too accustomed to overweight dogs.
My late staffy was super fit and many ppl would say oh she's thin for a staffy, no she just wasn't a fat tank 🤣

Anecdotal but we had a GSD when I was young and she was very tall and thin at that age. Our vet, who was excellent, said "Most of them are thin until they are 2." He was right. When she was 2 she suddenly got more muscles without us changing anything.

I also have an extremely fussy GSD. It may sound slightly mental but we hand feed him his meals in the form of playing fetch. He's far more likely to eat if he "works" for it.

We'll also give my boy something he initially turns his nose up at but if we leave a piece of chicken/cheese out he's likely to come back to it ater. And when he then has a "taste" for the treat we'll then give him some more.

Can be annoying but you do what you have to do

Your vet is probably used to seeing fat dogs. My Pointer was like this, but once she developed muscle she filled out nicely. You can still see her ribs faintly, but she is healthy, fit and active.

1kg of meat a day is plenty for your dog IMO.
Agree with others, wait till he is fully grown and starts to bulk out before trying to load on fat at this stage.
Lean is better than pudgy any day of the week.