Due to various circumstance, I have had a friend's 4 year old Golden Retriever staying with me, on and off, for several months. She is due to go home for good this month. I have had her staying for holidays since she was a puppy. She has always been a slimmer build than my 3 but now she is so skinny that it worries me. My vet prescribed 3 days of Panacur in case it was campylobacter. This was 6 weeks ago and she has not changed in weight since.  The vet's opinion was that she may be naturally built that way but she has never been this "emaciated" before. Even her temple has lost muscle in my opinion. You could "play a tune on her ribs" for want of a better description. She eats well, has more food than my Golden bitches, and I am now giving her supper of pasta & veg.  On our walks she tears around as fast as a greyhound but once at home, she sleeps contentedly as my others do. She is not hyperactive. She shows no other signs of being an unwell dog and I wonder if I am panicking over nothing. Her owners have others stresses at the moment but that should soon be resolved and she will be home again. She is definitely not stressed here with me and my lot. In fact, she loves it. When she has gone home I shall suggest to her owners that they take her to their vet which I know that they will willingly do, but at this moment, I don't want to add to their worries.  Any suggestions, please, of a food to fatten her up or anything else I could try.  Her diet has been Chappie complete for breakfast plus a tin of Chappie for dinner. Last week I changed the complete for James W.B.  Thanks.

I would want to look at thyroid and if possible get bloods sent to Dr dodds labs hemopet.she looks differently a results to tell majority and I very knowledgeable. As for food I  am raw feeder so can really advise.i hae friends who use millies with success amd also orijen both of which are grain free. The problem with adding veg is tha unless it's part cooked or whizzed in the blender dogs can get little from it so you need to feed an awful lot to make a difference. I would feed pasta or rice as both arnt soothing dogs  digest .woudl you friendsconsiferraw feeding ? With completes available it's not difficult.i think a full vet check is the first port off call

I woudl also think jwb or burns is better than chappie except for  any grains in it

I  have  just ordered her 20 pks of tripe which will come next Tuesday with my dogs' tripe but most pet owners can't stand the smell. Maybe if they only have to open 1 pkt and put it in her bowl, they may use it. Forgot to mention that she is spayed.  I believe dogs often lose weight with Burns.

My vets have always recommended chappie to help a dog lose weight.
My mams IS has had similar he is definitely finer built but his bones were showing too much a couple of month ago. She changed from pet store own brand to Arden grange puppy/junior. It has put a nice covering in him but he is not there yet.
I recommended feeding him even half raw which she is considering if the weight doesn't stay on. I don't feed mine tripe as I can't stand the smell I feed lamb, chicken, turkey mince complete and I find it really easy. Wish I had done this years ago.

Could you make up some satin balls for her? Raw Brest of lamb is good.
Like you I've also heard that Burns helps a dog loose weight.

Facebook Replies:

Lisa Minard says: Has she been tested for thyroid conditions?

..

Jane Margetts says: makes sure she is not left to run her meals off in the garden ... needs bringing in / shutting away for at least an hour after eating if not more .. and a late night meal before bed?
..

Jenny Dobson says: Did your vet not do "bloods"?.....I would have thought that was a first step

..

Abby Lusty says: When i worked at kennels we used chappie on all the fat dogs as its a very light food, quite good but not for building up skinny dogs. I used Royal Canin Sensible on my underweight collie and it worked a treat! The guy at RC said that because its easier to digest the dogs take more from it and gain weight. god knows if that's actually true but it worked wonders!

Are you sure she is too skinny? My GR is from working lines and is much slimmer than all the GRs I have met. He weighs in at around 29kg but is really fit and healthy. Showline GR's tend to be of a stockier build and apart from one pet GR I know all the other pet dogs would seem to be very overweight.

My GR retired this year from agility as he now struggles with tunnels - when I retired him he was still jumping full height and his weaves and contacts are faster than they have ever been but stooping to shoot through a curved tunnel at speed was starting to become a problem for him. He is 10 years old but very fit and active. Most GR owners I meet are surprised at how slim he is but I tend to think that their dogs are carrying too much weight.

Not wishing to cause offence as you have GRs yourself but could it be a matter of perception as to her size if she is a different build to your own dogs? I go mainly by feel and the dogs are only weighed once a year at their annual check-up by my vet. I use an old saying to guide me as to his perfect weight - run your hands over his ribs and if he feels as though he has a duvet over them he is too heavy, feels like a sheet he is too thin and a light blanket is just right. To still be competing at over 10 years of age - and successfully too - was quite an accolade for a GR.

Apart from weight is there anything else that causes you concern?

Thank you all for your suggestions.  Nothing else about her worries me. She never goes out to play after meals, in fact she sleeps for at least a couple of hours after breakfast ( as mine do) and sleeps all evening. She has had a pasta supper for the past 2 weeks and I can't see any weight gain. Admittedly mine are of the show strains and well covered but the skinny one is also from show lines, certainly not working and she doesn't even feel as though she has a sheet over her ribs.  I suggested to her owner that a thyroid test would be a good idea but didn't want to over-empathise it. Her mum says she will take her when the dog goes back home and I know that she will as she is deeply  loved ( by them and me.)  Hopefully I am panicking over nothing.

Many years ago when I first had GSD's I was told by a well know breeder of shepherds that if we had a skinny one and could not put weight on then sprinkle a teaspoonful of fresh butchers suet over the dogs meals, it slows down the rate the food is digested and gives the gut longer to draw out the goodness in the grub ! It worked for one or two of mine (Sheps are notorious for being skinny youths) I was lucky  to get fresh butchers suet, I suppose Atora would work as well ?
Aileen

Thank you all for your suggestions.  Nothing else about her worries me. She never goes out to play after meals, in fact she sleeps for at least a couple of hours after breakfast ( as mine do) and sleeps all evening. She has had a pasta supper for the past 2 weeks and I can't see any weight gain. Admittedly mine are of the show strains and well covered but the skinny one is also from show lines, certainly not working and she doesn't even feel as though she has a sheet over her ribs.  I suggested to her owner that a thyroid test would be a good idea but didn't want to over-emphathise it. Her mum says she will take her when the dog goes back home and I know that she will as she is deeply  loved ( by them and me.)  Hopefully I am panicking over nothing.

Yes Aileen. Atora has always worked well. I just haven't managed to get to a supermarket which sells it yet.

I had to add that to Kai's dinner when he was younger, he was a royal pain to get to eat and in the end raw worked. But guessing she is eating all her food?

Please don't all shout me down!!! My friend who breeds and shows Bull Terriers swears by Fresh Cream Jam Doughnuts to get weight on her bullies. Not the healthiest of snacks but one a day does appear to work.

> Her diet has been Chappie complete for breakfast plus a tin of Chappie for dinner.

I believe that may be your problem!  As has been said, Chappie is often the go-to food for weight loss and with only getting the wet stuff at dinner too, she probably needs to eat more.  If you've only just changed her food it may take a little time to see a difference.  If the JWB doesn't work I'd look for something with a decent meat content - the Skinner's hypoallergenic ones for example have a 20% meat content, or Autarky or go higher and look at the Orijen types, grain-free, high meat foods.

An update on the skinny Golden.  She has been back with her owners for over a week now. We took her to their vet who did routine bloods, followed by a test for Addisons. Nothing has proved positive yet all the staff and the vet herself immediately said how much weight the dog had lost. She had gone from 32kg to 27 kg and still looks emaciated. She is still exceptionally well in herself and the vet suggests waiting to see if she puts weight on now she is home. I am not really happy to leave it but she is not my dog, even though I love her as if she is. Her owners are happy to wait and see, especially as they are fairly inexperienced and are living with a dog who is, to all intents and purposes, entirely normal. More updates will follow as things progress.