Is My Dog Too Skinny?

[cootiesami]

i thnk the dog looks in great condition, I always make my own food, and use euk food and use pet mince - I make my own food at work (I work as a butcher) and cook the food meat with veges and mix with the biscuits, I am sure not to give too much food (Shes a border cross- kelpie) so she gets about 200 grams of meat a day and a fresh marrow bone / or lamb shank in the morning! She is in perfect health despite shes about 13 years of age! (I make sure she has minced chicken frames (the fat is cook for promoting a healthy coat and the marrow ensures she has strong bones! at the age of 13 she still has good mobility, despite the certainty that she will ihave artharitis. Keeping them fit, and active helps keep arthiritis at bay!

 

[Scleropages]

Vet check up.

Easy.

 

[kakariki]

Tar looks like a typical kelpie X. Fit, lean and ready for anything. What great dogs they are. And yours looks shiny & healthy. I feed chicken carcasses to my dogs. Aragorn [ Dane X Bull Mastiff ] gets 2 & Dana [ G. Shepherd ] gets 1. They also get ad lib dry food & the veg scraps that the kids don't eat, but they would not be any where near as active as Tar. If you are worried take him with you to the vet when you pick something else up. They will soon tell you if he is too thin & you can put him on the scales while you are there.

 

[bobchic]

Thanks heaps for the advice guys. Of course I could just take him to the vet but I wanted to get peoples opinons first. The reason Im unsure is Ive grown up with little ankle biters... Not a dog of this size. So just asking for others experience.

I will look at changing the food... I dont mind paying a bit more.

I give him bones regulary (3-4 a week) and also boil any bbq chickens we have for chicken broth ice cubes for when its hot.

Here is a vid of him playing...

http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg314/smjonesphotography/?action=view&current=17022008.flv

Turn the sound off while you play it lol...

 

[callith]

From what i can see in the pic he is not to bad.
Perhaps get him onto a better quality premium food (Pedigree is full of ceral fillers that dont do much for the dog)
Some excellent brands Euk, Science Diet, Royal Canin, Advance etc etc These may may be expensive but they are well worth it.
Even try Supercoat Performance, it is desighned for very active dogs

I agree, we used to feed our dog chicken wings and occasionally cheap dog food, changed him to Eukanubu about 4 years ago, he lost the weight he needed to, it's cost less than what it used to as he only needs one cup a day and hes still kicking on at 14.

 

[MoreliaMatt]

Here is a vid of him playing...

He looks great! still i'd start feeding twice a day, 2 smaller meals it better than 1 bigger one....

 

[ishka]

he doesn't look to skinny to me but if you would feel better if he was a little bit chunkier... i little bit more weight certainly wouldn't do any harm.

Try using a working dog or puppy formula dog food (as someone already mentioned Bonnie is a fantastic dog food) as these dog foods will have a higher fat content than other formulas. Other than that you can buy a product called Thrive D, this is a powder that is added to a regular feed and it aids in more effective digestion, hence helping to add weight.

Thrive D is made by Nature Vet and you can get it from most produce stores, vets or online.
http://www.naturevet.com/ProductMainPage.aspx

Cheers,
Ishka

 

[sassy]

So many dogs are overweight these days, people have forgotten what a healthy weight dog looks like... as long and the muscle tone is good, the dog is fine.

 

[Mystery]

So many dogs are overweight these days, people have forgotten what a healthy weight dog looks like... as long and the muscle tone is good, the dog is fine.

have to agree with that. I think this dog looks fine for its breed. My dog had been put on cortisone months ago. It really packed the weight on her. I had taken her off the tablets and she had started to lose weight - unfortunately she had a massive heart attack on the weekend. I would rather have had her lean and alive than dead at 6yrs old.

 

[krylon]

i vote no

 

[Lovemysnakes]

I used to be married to a dog - she wasnt too skinny!

 

[SyKeD]

you said there was a little bit of staffy in him... it could be the staffy side showing?.. lot of muscle

 

[Spike]

Sorry i haven't had time to read everyones answers due to being over worked but u should be able to see a dogs ribs with a lining of thick skin and they are not over weight or under, so maybe depending on the age and how active he/ she is and how much money u have go and get super coat puppie and that will provide your active dog with the energy it need s to burn, have a look at any dry food you feed as a active dog being old or senior if it is a active dog needs at least 25 + protein in there diet more if you can!! if you can afford more grab some science diet puppy or pro plan, even if your dog is more than 12 months old because of how active they are, I have a 8 yr old dog i feed puppy high protein food to because he burns it off every day but if your dog will not burn the extra energy puppy has in it don't go there cause they will end up putting the fat on, i have been in the pet industry for many years so i hope this helps!

 

[LennytheGecko]

some puppies have trouble putting on weight, being so active, and everyone is right about kelpie and kelpie X's. Give Tar the Biscuits for active dogs and maybe feed him some good quality wet food at night.( kangaroo or chicken mince is great from butchers, cook some up and mix with some good quality rice or pasta and veg.) That usually works to put weight on a dog.

Give Tar a chicken carcass or kanga tail to chew on every now and then, great for his teeth, bones are part of a dogs diet and it makes them sit still for a while.Marrrow bones are also good but if u are giving them to a dog that is a good weight, scrape out the marrow cause it is really fatty.(or dontbuy them)I have a mastiff x staff x pitbull that had trouble putting weigh on as a puppy...

Beautiful dog, and bet Tar is great with kids.

 

[Lesa]

He looks healthy to me. If you're worried about his food I'd steer away from processed foods. Our dog only gets fresh meat and chicken, bones and table scraps. Tinned dog food is very watery. Dogs are carnivores they don't need an overlad of carbs in dry food. For a treat for my dog gets veges blended up with mince, or a couple of eggs (usually scooped from the floor after they've been dropped) or a nice chewy heart or chunk of liver - he loves it!
And believe it or not it's not that expensive. I grab "scraps" and bones from the butchers for a steal. Leanord's sell off their chicken carcasses 5 for $2 and I keep an eye out for specials. You can grab a kilo of chicken wings at Woolies or Coles for less then $2. These are usually near expiration but fine to freeze or feed immediately. My dog eats a kilo of meat a night (approx and depending on the amount of table scraps) and it's way cheaper to feed raw!

 

[Tatelina]

Old fashioned though it might seem, I feed all my dogs on good old common garden variety "MEAT AND BONE' straight from the butcher. Funny thing, being carnivores they seem to do well on it! Once or twice a week they get a good quality dry food. Now Seb, being 65Kg never got that size by being fed chocolate and fairy floss!

Agreed....I make a weekly trip to my butcher for a box of bones, mince, liver and chicken. Couple of times a week I feed raw foods and dry.
Mind you...it took me a while to find a butcher that was well priced, and decent.