Hi I have a 5 month old black lab pup called Jack. He does not seem to be gaining weight. He's growing in size but still thin and his back end bony. He eats like a horse at present I am feeding ped chum puppy pouches with small bite mixer dinner and tea and weetabix in the morning. Anyone any suggestions as to why he doesnt seem to be gaining weight he was 21lbs on 8/8/03 and on 3/9/03 he weights only 24lbs. I would have thought that he would gain daily. For anyone who remembers he was quite poorly at 15 weeks when we got him ??kennel cough???virus he still coughs slightly from time to time.

Thanks for replies

Carole

Has he been wormed recently? How much exercise is he getting?
:)

Hi yes he was wormed at begining of august. He goes for a walk in the morning about 10 - 15 mins along with our 11 mth old lab and same in the evening. Not over doing the walking aspect. He plays rough and tumble all day over with the other dog. His coat is lovely and shinny and nose wet he is bright and alert and a very good chewer.
I just wished he'd gain some weight and not look as thin my other dog was lean at this age but he's thin not lean.

Thanks for reply
carole

It may be down to the breeding or just "that age" stage ??

The worming and exercise sounds fine - what's his poo like? (Getting personal here ;) ) Maybe he needs a bit of tripe or similar added to his diet?
:)

poo fine normal solid regular any other suggestions dont want to give him anything to upset tum

thanks
carole

i personally would change his diet, i would cut out the weetabix and if you still want to feed him commerical food, change it to a better one. a premium type brand which contains better quality meat proteins and less grains and fillers, which is better digested and more energy dense might help. when ever i need to put weight on my sibes, i feed them RAW breast of lamb. also i would have him checked by a vet, he really should not be coughing.
kelly

Thanks for reply.

He came to us on beta puppy and then within 2 days of us getting him became very poorly with ??kennel cough???virus?? at the vets for 2 days on a drip so lost weight that was end july beg of august when he came home tried beta puppy and he didnt want it and took him back to vets for check-up she suggested changing food to jwb did that ok for 2 weeks then started to affect bowel movements more and very soft so I changed him to ped chum puppy pouches with mixer and bowel movements ok but not gaining weight quick enough for my liking no compared to other pup at that age - both from working strain so I know they are not chunky type dogs.
He doesnt cough all the time just the odd evening/night i put it down to when temperature drops at night.

Thanks

Hi Carol
A slim pup is no bad thing but if you really want him to put on some weight then cut down on his exercise a bit rather than increasing his food
"He plays rough and tumble all day over with the other dog."
maybe separate them for most of the day for a few weeks and see what happens?

Kennel Cough can leave dogs with heart problems if they are exercised a lot too soon afterwards (I beleive 6 weeks is the full recovery period) so it might be worth getting your vet to check out that cough. Normally cough's associated with hearts are due to excess fluid though, and as he is thin I would have thought this is unlikely to be the case.

Christine

Have you had him wormed for lungworm?

Whats lungworm? He's been wormed by Drontol from the vets. His cough is not all the time every few days?

Thanks
Carole

dont think drontal will kill lung worm, you have to use another type, think it may be panacur,
kelly

Lungworm is a worm that can be picked up by dogs eating slugs and snails as they are the intermediate hosts or picked up from grass or being licked by an infected dog etc. It damages the lungs and trachea and can eventually affect the heart. It has grown in prevalence in the South West and SW Wales and some dogs have died from it. However it is easily treated once diagnosed although the diagnosis can be inconclusive even with alveolar lavage. The dog may cough, wheeze, lose weight, become tired. The treatment is a 7 day course of panacur; drontal does not contain the necessary wormer.