I know there has been a lot of people questionning how to fatten dogs up recently and i know that theya are better off thin. HOWEVER, my year old springer really is too thin, we got him 3 mnoths ago through rescue, he is very tall for a springer, 22inches at shoulder but weighs just 20kg's. His ribs are very obvious when wet, and when you stroke him his ribs and hip bones are very prominent. WHen he went to the vets for his check up 2 vets said he needed to put more weight on. Now i know some of this will come with maturity, but is there anything i can do to speed up the process? He is fed on Burns twice a day, about enough for a 25kg dog according to the bag, and lots of treats during the day, livercake, hot dog sausage, gravy bones and winalit rewards mostly. He has been wormed twice since we got him. Firstly when we first picked him up, and then a couple of weeks ago because he was sick and brough up live worms! SO he must have had a heavy infestation. His poos are normal, and in every other way he is quite healthy. His exercise levels have increased to what they were as he is a young springer living with a young BC and goldie (Can you imagine!), and he never was walked in his previous home. He hasn't had any blood work done or anything like that as yet. He just seems so incredibly hungyr all the time. Even more so than my greedy goldie, who is just like a typical lab when it comes to food. I am loath to just up the burns as i have heard that feeding too much can cause a lot to go undisgested. I was wondering whether it would be worth adding a little nature diet in to help bulk it out, or would this make little difference?

In the last few weeks I have been getting more weight on my Irish Setter. Like your Springer, he was showing his ribs and his pin bones. Looked awful when wet out in the fields. So I quite simply fed him up. I gave him double his normal amount at breakfast, and about half as much again on top of his main meal. As well as that I kept him on lead, but walked him as far as I normally would, and only let him off lead at the weekends. It took about four or five weeks to gain enough. Now he's back to dashing about like a normal Setter, and his food intake has been slightly reduced again.

Dawn R.

If exercise is reduced, will you just put on body fat rather than muscle ?? When we got our older dog from Battersea, he was very thin and needed to put on 5 kg (He's only 18.5 kg now). We were told to feed him for the size that he should be. It took at least 6 months to get him up to weight, as he was only a year old and very active, but his muscle tone was much improved and he had little fat :)

Daisy

If he's not putting on weight with normal Burns you could try him on Burns puppy or Burns active to build him up :) that way you won't be giving him more volume but he will be getting more calories :)

Dill you beat me to it!  I have 2 collies on Burns Active and they are both neutered but I have to watch the weight of one of them as he is on the go all the time and just burns it off (no pun intended). The active is cheaper than normal Burns as it is VAT free and is intended for working dogs. I've found that it isn't usually stocked and has to be ordered from my local supplier so I just get it direct from Burns, it usually arrives the next day and delivery is free. :-).

I would also add raw green tripe to the food if the dog was not eating properly or the puppy food wasn't working :)

Sorry to be a bit thick, but what and where exactly are pin bones?

Does the burns active make them hyper? He's a typical springer and mad as it is and although i want him to put on weight i don't want him to become unbearable to live with!! :-D

Mrs Mop the pin bones are the bones just infront of the tail(on either side of) on the back.You know when you see really,really skinny dogs and you see the bones stick out just above the thighs? Gosh i'm hopeless at explaining these things :o

Lucyandmeg it's not the high protein in foods that cause hyperactivity,it's the colours,additives,preservatives,e-numbers etc. that do this :( I dont think Burns contains any of these nasties!

Hi lucyandmeg,

I have two collies on the active food and it really has made no difference to their energy levels, they are just in better condition. The are both still lean but there is now a light covering. The active also contains linseed and their coats are fantastic. As someone else has already mentioned, green tripe is also a good food to help with weight although a lot of places don't sell it. I only know of one petshop in Worcester which is about 20 miles from me. I also give mine keepers mix from Dorwest as it helps them get the most out of their food, and one of mine has had problems with his digestion on several occasions right from when he was a pup :-(  Before they were on Burns they were on JWB and it was a constant struggle. I weigh mine every couple of months to keep a check, on JWB it was every couple of weeks and one of them dropped 2 kilos in that time. If there is no physical reason why your dog is so thin then just try it and see. The active only comes in 15 kilo bags but the extra comes in other sizes, if you speak to your local stockist you may be able to get some samples and the speak to Burns too and get some from them. ;-)

Burns are really good about sending out samples :)

Other things you could add are: Lamb breast,suit,pork crackling,small amounts of pasta.

Have you tried satin balls? I havnt got the site on hand with all the weight gain recipe's,but i'll have a look after i post this and post it in another message.The site the above mentioned page belongs to would have to be THE best canine health,nutrition and everything else canine under the sun site i have ever come accross,it is well worth checking out! It is not a message board however ;)

Found it quicker than i thought i would... http://lowchensaustralia.com/health/diet4.htm if you want to check out the rest of the site just press 'site index'.

You dont have to feed these recipe's on their own,you can mix it in with your dogs regular food :)

My setter who wasn`t a good eater at the best of times put on weight when I fed her breast of lamb done in a pressure cooker which made the meat drop off the bone so easy to prepare and also by sprinkling suet into her tripe and biscuit to up the fat content. A vet who shows her dogs reckons chip shop chips are one of the best thing for putting weight on.......I can second that going by how tight my clothes are feeling at the moment!

Lucyandmeg,

If you want to add weight without increasing food volume a great deal you can always add a bit more oil to your dog's diet.  Start with a teaspoon of oil, like organic olive oil, and then increase it to perhaps a tablespoon. You an also save oil from cans of tuna or salmon and add that - or mix a small can of tuna in oil or pilchards in with his regular meal. If you read the labels on most of the active foods they have a bit more protein than the standard range, but a lot more fat.  

Stacey