After seeing the thread yesterday from 3furbabies, wondering if her dog was too thin, I got to wondering HOW do you put pounds on a dog??

Nelli is built exactly like her dog, and the consensus was that it was too thin. Nelli is a solid mass of muscle up front - from swimming all summer, but she's so active and apparently "too thin" too.

You can't see her ribs when she's standing still, but if she moves a certain way you can. She's eating TOTW Wetlands formula, but she's slowed down some. It's been very warm here for the last few weeks, and her food intake has slowed. In the morning when she gets fed, she walks up to it, then walks away. At noon, she'll eat most of her breakfast. At night, she'll finish what she didn't eat at breakfast, and then maybe eat another cup around 8pm or so.

Her feeding schedule WAS 2 cups in a.m. and 2 cups in p.m. But now she's way off of that.

Hunting season is also here and she's in training mode, which means she's working harder. She's going to lose more weight if this keeps up. I was thinking about trying another flavor of TOTW. Should I transition slowly with that, or since it's the same food, can I just switch when her other bag is gone?

Any suggestions? I'm willing to try anything to get a little weight on her... or at least some more calories, since she's going to really burn them soon. Duck hunting starts this weekend!! :) Thanks!!

As far as I can tell from a lot of these posts, you should be able to switch (or add) formulas within the same brand without problem (i.e. feed chicken, then lamb, etc). It may be a good idea to buy a smaller bag of the different meat source and add .5 cups (total) to current feeding to give her a little more weight. This may allow her to eat it faster and also make up for the extra work.

Other than that, I am not really sure how to add weight. I am also currently on the weight roller coaster. I can visibly see the fat moving on my pup when he is running back from his retrieve and for a few days, he was looking a little fat to me, so I cut his food back just a small amount (maybe 1/4 total). I have noticed that he looks a little leaner the past few days, but I am not sure how it all works. I will see soon though as I am expecting him to grow soon, but it never happens.

Good luck

The only thing that has helped put weight on my big guy is California natural lamb/rice *puppy* version, not the adult version.

I am NOT preaching about Natura products, I'm simply saying I have tried them all, including TOTW, and the only food that has, in a healthy way, allowed him to gain more muscle is the puppy version of Cal natural.

I don't know if it's cause his body just likes it better, perhaps it's cause it's a very simplistic food with only 2 ingredients; I'm not sure. But for what ever reason, it works.

My big guy, is really not very big in comparison to other labs on this board, but he's about 26" tall and use to only weigh in at 53#; you could see his hip bones, feel his spine. Now he's up around 58-60# and looks fabulous, ribs are still very easily felt, but he doesn't look malnourished now.

I honestly believe the grain-free foods weren't cutting it for him in terms of putting a small amount of weight on and building up muscle; I do think his body required a bit of something other then potatoe...seriously.

Here he is now

http://i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr345/RiversnKuaui/BigCimarronBlueMesaPikesPeak09006.jpg

Here he was before

http://i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr345/RiversnKuaui/MiscandMtEvans108.jpg

Dogs that are working hard need a food designed so they can hold weight...

Eagle Pack Power

Annamaet Ultra

both these foods are made for sled dogs...

Its funny that i read this post this morning. DH and I were just talking about this with Chance. He also eats TOTW grain free and lately he has not been eating as much. He will also walk up to it and walk away! I was wondering a few things....we have also just started the Bug Off Garlic, maybe he does not like that, maybe the taste of the food has changed....he is also on the thin side. I figured he was still recovering from his Hworm treatment a few months back. Maybe we will try another food.

Eagle Pack Power

Annamaet Ultra

both these foods are made for sled dogs...

Where does one find this kind of food??? I've never even heard of it. Keep in mind, I live in a tiny town in West Central MN. The biggest store we have is Walmart, and the biggest town (Fargo) is an hour away.

I need something that's easy to get to, and doesn't cost a ton of $$$$$$$$$. She's worth it - but when you don't have lots of money, you just don't have lots of money!! :D

I also agree with the California Natural puppy formulas. At over 535 calories (not sure if it is really 535 or 591, I can not recall) it will help add fuel. If me, I might also add in at 20% EVO (I like how Molly responded to adding in the EVO RF, but perhaps regular or redmeat would be better with higher %'s of fat) ....that's what I would try.

Where does one find this kind of food??? I've never even heard of it. Keep in mind, I live in a tiny town in West Central MN. The biggest store we have is Walmart, and the biggest town (Fargo) is an hour away.

I need something that's easy to get to, and doesn't cost a ton of $$$$$$$$$. She's worth it - but when you don't have lots of money, you just don't have lots of money!! :D

Another food near you my help is the Nutri source...http://www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/nutrisource/products/super_performance

same type of food...made nearby..

Nutrisource is what I WAS feeding Nelli, before we switched to TOTW. She stopped eating the Nutrisource. ??? That was an excellent food for her.

When I wanted to put weight on my dogs, it was recommended that I go to the Pro Plan Performance. My dogs don't have grain issues, and the corn helps them put a little extra weight on. I have been very happy with the results so far.

I've tried Eagle Pack to add weight and it wasn't very successful for me. WHile I like Eagle products and Eagle Pack is used by many sled teams it has a lot of corn and I think there are some better products out there.

I've added things like eggs, cheese, cottage cheese, meat, fish and chicken as well as canned food to help put weight on an under weight dog.

I also have had some good luck using "performance" lines of the same brand I was feeding.

I was noticing that Healthwise has an Active Dog chicken formula. My feed store is going to start carrying Healthwise later this year and I'm hoping she offers this product. It has a lot of calories and is 30% protien -can't remember the fat content. My adult dog is really active. She became underweight while eating the large puppy food. Its taken about 4 months to get her back where she should be. She's been eating reg puppy food since. I'm hoping that this might be a good answer for us.

We once had a sick, skinny rescue and my vet suggested adding a little frozen Bil Jac (found in the freezer section most grocery stores) and it really did the trick. Not only did she gain needed weight, but it also enhanced her appetite.

SAtin balls add pounds quickly.