i have a female staff that is 12 months old and i made the mistake of walking her to much before she was 6 months old so she hasn't got any bulk on her. She is also a fussy eater i have got her on the science plan biscuits at the moment but i can't seem to put any weight on her, i have even stopped walking her but it hasn't helped and she is due to come in season and i want to breed from her but she looks starved and i am worried that she won't be able to cope with the pups ple let me know anyone how to get weight on her!

She is far tooooo young to have a litter.Leave it til she is 2 years old and then she will be mature. A young dog does not need bulking out...give her time and she will grow into her frame...she is still goign through the 'leggy teenage' stage at the momoent.
PLEASE do not take a litter from her yet
Archer

She's still too young to breed from anyway. Wait a year at least and see how she's developed then. She must go out for walks though - not to do so would be wickedly cruel - she's a living creature, not a breeding, money-making machine. Her needs take priority over all others.

JG ,,,the bitch also has demodex so we're trying to persuade AJ to not breed her AT ALL!
Archer

i would never stop walking her completly i have just cut the walks down she loves her walks

Have you wormed her recently? Does she have the demodex? She needs a good food and exercise to build her muscle. She certainly must not be bred from in this condition - she would almost certainly lose the pups, not eb able to feed them, or die herself.

Give her time to grow slowly and enjoy her life - she's a baby :)

Yes...all 3 of her staffys have demodex and so shouldn't be bred from at all....we've been discussing it on the breeding board
Archer

what is demodex???

I know what they are now mites, just read it on the health forum heard of mange but not demodex before, learn something new everyday

I would not reccomend science plan,it is NOT a good food and it's obviously not agreeing with your girl,or else she would be putting on weight :( This food is full of uneccasary fillers that will be going straight thru her and not giving her adequate nutrition,hence the weight loss!

Switch to a better food,with a meat source as the first 1,2 and 3 ingredients,not a derivative etc. and avoid one chock full of fillers,such as corn meal,gluten and all the other fancy names they come up with to fill out their foods etc.in your situation the only grain that should be in the food is rice,and that should be a fair way down the list. You can also supplement with chicken necks,wings,fatty raw meaty bones,green raw tripe,pasta,canned sardines and a bit of pork crackling every now and then.

I have to agree with the others re: you breeding from her,she doesnt sound in the best of shape,i think demodex is passed on to the pups,and if so you are sentencing her puppies and their future owners to a life of misery and lots of $$$$$ at the vet as you already know,breeding from her would be extremely irrisponsible :(

Also you should be exercising her as much as she can take as this also builds up muscle which will also bulk her up a bit. One of my dogs could not put on weight and i also stopped walking her as much,this just served to make her miserable and her weight stayed the same!

Good luck and i hope you get her health in order soon :)

thank you for the advice i will try that what brand of food would you recommend then?

I am walking her just not so often or hard nd her muscle tone is lovely i am just abit embrassed as people ask me how old my puppy is and when i tell them she is 12 months they look at me like i am mistreating her by not feeding her.

I have decided not to breed for her sake as much as anything.

The commercial food i feed is called eaglepack  www.postalpets.co.uk  It is a holistic/natural food and contains only human grade ingredients. The itidirod(sp?) huskies are fed on it. They have alot of different formula's,so your'e not lost for choice.

Keep in mind i only feed a small amount of dry food,the rest of their meals consist of raw,homecooked and plenty of rmb's.

AJ
A lot of people are now starting to feed raw...or to suppliment their complete food with raw.I have a VERY fussy dog who used to eat once every 3 days if I was lucky.I now feed raw an hes eats every day.
If you want any info you can PM me ...
Archer

What do you think about raw tripe some people say it's good for them and others say that it has no nutritional value but my dog loves it

I feed nothing but raw food to all my dogs.I feed tripe as well as any other meat I can get hold of including chicken carcasses,pigs trotters,ribs etc. My lot have been on a 'BARF' diet for nearly a year now and look fantastic...added to that they LOVE their food which makes it worth the little more time and effort it takes.
Archer

Yeah it dosn't seem to be a very common problem and is not very well known