Hi :0)

Just wondering if any one has any one can give me a little help, i have two large breeds one female aged 4 the other a male who is coming up 20 months .

My problem is my boy , i just cannot put weight on his bones , i know he is young & still growing , but he really does look as if i am neglecting to feed him correctly :0(  .... & it's worrying me .

He is fine health wise or should i say he shows no signs of being ill , apart from his stools which sometimes do have a greenish tinge ( sorry to much info ) , is that because he is underfeed ?.... He plays like a big baby & is full of life , which is great.

He was 58kg , a couple of weeks ago when i took him to be weighed , he is quite tall just over 31 inch to his shoulders but he is also pretty long so i guess this does not help . The max height for this breed is approx 32 inch , so i am really hoping that he is so thin because he has a lot of body to grow into if you know what i mean .

I feed him raw tripe, chicken , lamb, chicken wings & fish  but not as often as the meat , he also has some dried food just to try and keep the weight on . Just would love it if anyone has any ideas on what i can do to make my little fella as healthy as possible , or if anyone could give me diet ideas , just incase i am doing something wrong , but as i said my bitch is a picture of health , lovely coat , bright eyes etc so i don't think i am doing anything wrong .

Anyway thanks for your time :0)

If your vet has checked him over (incl bloods) and he's otherwise fit & healthy then I'd say it's just because he's young. Lamb and tripe are good for putting weight on, I wouldn't think you could do much else foodwise. With every borzoi that I've owned I've struggled to get body on them until they are 2 or 3, up to that point every one has looked like a Belsen escapee! The 10 month Silken I have at the moment is the same, I just can't get her to eat any more. Time will sort your boy out :-)

We had the same problem with a male gsd, he filled out in his own time at 3.5 years old, as tigger says time will sort him out.

we had the same problem with our dogue de bordeaux,rumble. he was far taller than the rest of the puppies/juniors he competed against and so looked leggy and needing to body up.we were advised to add tripe to his diet and  he was getting through 3 x 1lb blocks a day.he bodied up quite a bit, but once he turned 3,he needed half that amount to keep the same weight on,i guess he just matured in body at that time.sometimes you just have to wait for them to body up naturally,although the extra tripe did make a difference to him ,looking better in the show ring.but for a time he did look like a rescue case being so big boned and ribby,someone at a show asked if they came in different sizes like schnauzers,as he was so big! now he's matured,he's the top end of the height but looks like he blends in better with the open dogs.hope this helps,roy.

what dried food do you feed tracey?

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I don't have the same breed as you Tracey but i found with my eldest even though he is medium size for his breed he was very skinny through puppyhood and into his junior age.
He still needs to fill out more but is taking his time, yet doesn't know look ill, even though he never was.
He was a fussy eater until i would say he reached 18 months plus.
To keep the weight on him and to body him up i fed him raw breast of lamb, not too much at a time though. This really helped and he's still growing into himself and like your breed can take until they are 3 before they start to really mature, even longer with some lines.
There are a lot of owners and breeders of your breed on here who could assist further. Has your breeder offered any assistance? Are their lines slower to mature than others?

Thank you all

I just wanted to say my breeder ( now my friend ) , is brilliant she lives close & is there whenever i need her :0)

I also see a few of Troy's litter mates & he is not as filled out as any of them , but i do think he is taller possibly and longer than the other males ...... here's hoping i just have a slow grower ........ to be honest as long as he is healthy & happy i don't mind him being lean & i guess as he is giant breed it's better for his bones .

Thanks so much for your answers , i don't post very often ... but i do read the forums everyday & this is a great place to come with any worries , news  or just to be nosey with things going on in other people's lives lol :0)

Tracey

Tripe has a high fat content so maybe try this. Also as he is growing feed more complete dry biscuits and add the raw on the side as he needs many nutrients because hes growing so fast.

>Tripe has a high fat content so maybe try this.

Actually tripe is low in fat, but high in protein and fibre, and a good source of calcium.

I've fed tripe for 40 years large and small breed, even if it is a bit smelly. Worth it to see the dogs big grins.
Don't make the mistake of trying to buy from a butcher and NEVER try to cook it. If you look through dog papers you should be able to buy in bulk, though for large breed its best to feed in chunks but not so easy to buy whole ones these days.

The Nordic Leos can be leaner build anyway and many will really blosson when they are little older.
Wait for few years and you might have a gem :)
His dad side definately has some dogs of this slightly leaner type(loads of coat makes them look lot bigger, you really need to feel them to realise) also there are some pretty tall dogs there too so he might still have some growing to do so would have not started to fill out properly.

Does he eat all his food with good appetite?
How is his coat?
If you are giving him dried food maybe give a food that is higher in fat content and mix with tripe to aid digestion.
If you are worrying something might be wrong maybe get basic bloodtests taken.
Unless he really looks like he has been starved I would not worry too much, give him time...

Sorry, had to laugh at your comment "but i do think he is taller possibly and longer than the other males"... Doesn't that describe his dad to the dot :)!

Hi  I saw you had a Silken,  they are a lovely looking dog,
not seen one as yet,  but some people I know with Borzoi
also have one. what info  can you give me, I know there is a yahoo
group starting up. may be I should join that,

Ditto annastasia, my male gsd took until 3 almost four then he looked how he should, until then he was very lean.

Sometimes I think we are all a bit guilty of wanting a finished dog too early. I have a Vet friend who specialises in orthopaedics and he has always said he prefer youngsters not to carry any excess weight. One of my GSD girls was top size and until she was at least two, you could clearly see the outline of her ribs whilst standing, never mind moving. I worried but he loved her condition. Incidentally she had a horrendous hip score (as did 4 others in the litter, parents 2:2 and 3:2!!) yet she could run and jump like a gazelle, no signs of any problem and he always said her weight and steady muscle development helped her.

Hi Teilo, there are now 13 or 14 silkens in the UK and we're looking at starting a UK club now. There is an American yahoo list which is very busy, a European one and a UK one. Silkenfest, the annual silken windhound show, is held in a different EU country each year and next year will be held in the UK :-) I'm absolutely thrilled with my silken, she's just like a borzoi in looks and mannerisms but small enough to pick up and cuddle :-) If you pm me your email address I'll send the links to the yahoo lists. This is my little princess with the collies and a borzoi for size comparisons.

One of my boys is nearly 4 and still looks a bit leaner but he is a huge boy!!! Another one who is 2 has just had to be put on a diet and is just as big. They all mature in ther own time and like has been said as long as they are healthy in all other ways there is nothing to worry about. Like someone else said when one of my bitches was referred to a specialist for her TPLO done he said that in giant breeds too many people feed them up as puppies to make them look half decent for the show ring and then ruin them for adulthood. My 2 year old is just going back into the ring this year after only being shown a couple of times so far, he now is starting to look mature enough.

hi Tracey

dont worry about him, I'v seen a couple of his brothers/half brothers who are also tall and lean, just look at my huddie, time will show them to be the gorgeous dogs they are

Bx

in the meantime I'm just ringing the rspca pml

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