Hi All

my tt is now 10 months old , he arrived from finland a month ago , he eats 3 meals a day - dry food - Purina Pro Plan with extra veg and rice , and sometimes mackeral , i have started to give him some royal canin mini junior ( as i was told it will help him gain weight ) not much difference yet , he is a very active puppy , any tips and advice on what else i could give him greatly appreciated

many thanks
Ginastarr

Obviously he's wormed.

How easy is it to feel his ribs?

yes he is wormed , he's not very thin id just like some more body weight on him

did he lose weight after the journey? also he is still young and may be growing at different rates and looking underweight due to a growth spurt. my youngest at one point looked that thin i would only take her out at 3 or 4 at night so nobody would see her and think she was neglected.

he does not look skinny because he has quiet a thick coat for a youngster , its just when i pet him etc can feel it ,

also how much exercise should he be getting everyday , the tt's usually have full run of our back garden under half an acre

Don't rush to get him looking like a mature adult until he is a mature adult, otherwise he'll end up terribly 'overdone'. He's still a puppy, and should still be looking like one.

i've just weighed him he is 12.8kg

Other than for monitoring purposes, checking whether a dog is gaining or losing, actual weights are pretty much meaningless because each dog is an individual. The breed standard doesn't mention weight, only height, so as long as he's carrying the right weight for him then he's at the right weight. His ideal adult weight is the one where he has a waist when you look down on him, and you can comfortably feel his ribs.

Make a note of his current weight and weigh him again in a month and see how much, if any, he's gained.

Thank's Jeangenie for all your advice will do that  :-)

Hi Georgina, Have you tried tripe I find it puts on weight and would feed a few times per week. Dorwest herbs also do several good supplements to encourage appetite and digestion.

>> Make a note of his current weight and weigh him again in a month and see how much, if any, he's gained.

just out of curiousity how do you weigh your dogs?  My old vets had the scales in the waiting room but the one I go to now has them in the consulting rooms so I can't just wander in there and weigh my boy.  He is too big for me to carry onto scales at home - I wouldn't be able to see the numbers over him haha!

Hi Catherine

he is well able to eat lol , has 3 -4 meals a day , even in this heat he is eatting his dinner etc
a friend of mine with tt's recommended that , where can i get it in ireland , i know my dad used to give it to our dobermann years ago ,

cheekychow
i weighed myself , then me holding him and subtracted - i also sat him on it and weight was the same

Georgina

I've always found that Bakers Dry Food put weight on - mix a handful in with the other food you feed.

I wouldn't try to force weight onto him. My Dogue de Bordeaux has always been quite slimline. I have waited until she is 18 months and slowly introduced working dog food into her diet for the extra calories. She is slowly starting to fill out but if you rush your puppies growth you can put extra strain on their little bodies and can cause many problems.

As long as he's healthy I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Contact your breeder(person u bought pup from) or any tt club.

Bakers isnt a very good food full of rubbish. dont try to feed him up until his mature, his hormones will be all over the place atm also.

Louise

Hi Georgina,
Try dorwest herb website, I also have the number for a man who does tripe and delivers to shows..

i had this trouble when my dog was on eukanuba she became so thin bones where almost sticking out, she is now back on 'WAGG' and is much better i am now struggling to keep the weight off. my vet did say to suppliment her food with somthing like lintbells yumega, but he said that i could just give her an egg, with shell and all not cooked, it makes her cout come out lovely, i also give her a high quality meat but it always changes on budget, i find that pets at home have a great own veriety they sell for under £5 i think it is really good fro the price you can see the meat and veg.

If you have a Makro close by Zuiverboom, it's on offer at the moment, 2 x 15kg for £11, very reasonable.  I feed Royal Canin, to my adults, juniors and litters when we have them.