So Harper got sick again tonight.

EVerytime I try and raise his food amount (he eats wellness large breed puppy formula), he gets sick. Per the feeding instructions on the wellness bag, it says that he at 8months weighing 50lbs should be getting 4-5 cups a day. Right now he's barely surviving on 3! I wouldn't be concerned, but he's a skinny dog. The vet said not to worry about his weight, but he is just so thin and if I keep giving him 3 cups a day I'm worried it's not enough nutrients for him. But the vet said that he's on the skinny side, but still very healthy and a good weight, not TOO skinny, but skinny. She said he's burning a lot of energy at daycare twice a week and with his walks etc. so he may just be very active and have a higher metabolism. As she said he's going through his 'ackward teenage stage'....

What should I do? He does really well with the Wellness when it's less than 3 cups. His stools are harder and well formed, he has high energy, loves his dinner etc. no problems.

And when i've tried raising it I've literally been raising it a couple kibbles at a time to make sure it's veeeeeeeery gradual and he just can't handle it. Should I switch him to another food? OR keep feeding him 2.5-3 cups a day at 8 months...

Here's a picture of him I took yesterday so you can see his body weight.

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee154/Growild/PB180012.jpg

And this one was from the end of the summer:

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee154/Growild/P9010003.jpg

How many times are you feeding? If it's once or twice, you might try putting another small meal in the middle of the day and see if he can handle that. Adding a digestive enzyme might be another good idea, I know a number of lab owners who have good luck with dogzymes from www.naturesfarmacy.com. I wouldn't worry too much about the amount the bag wants you to feed...although your boy is lean (thats going to be his body type), he's not skinny and almost doubling his isn't necessary.

the bag guide is just a recommendation/suggestion. If your vet thinks your pup is ok I wouldn't worry.

He doesnt look too thin to me - he looks great! Remember, the bag is going to recommend more than the dog actually needs - they want you to use more kibble and buy more food. I'd try doing three meals and seeing what happens.

The food you are feeding is formulated to keep the pup growing slow and a thin look... Harper is not too thin in my eyes...

I've tried all sorts of kibble and I've yet to feed as much as the bags recommend. Even with the puppy kibble, I only fed 1.5 cups or so per sitting. And your pup is definitely going thru a lanky phase - I worried that my dogs were skinny from about 6-10 months too. By the end of the first year their size (height) stabilized and they started to fill out.

'not sure if it'll make any difference, but did you ever think to switch to the adult formula yet? I switched when my boys were about 6 months old, I think.

If you think he's burning up lots of energy, then you may want to split the food into 3 sittings, but as long as he's active and the vet's not concerned, I don't think you have to be too concerned.

He does look a little thin to me in the picture, but your wisest course might be to leave well enough alone. I do like to see puppies that age on adult chow, but in this case, perhaps not. You might study the ingredients and analysis. You may find the main difference between the large breed puppy and adult is the price.