Entered Molly in Driffield at weekend and compared to all other bulldogs she looked anorexic. You cant feel any bones and too me she looks fine but when compared to other bullys she is thin. How can I put weight on her as she is not a very big eater.

can you feel the ribs but not see them?
I was told thats how to tell if your dog is over (cant feel ribs) or under (can see ribs) weight.

could it be that the other dogs were carrying a few extra pounds :D

If she looks fine, and you SHOULD be able to feel some ribs, so if you cant she already is too fat, then LEAVE it.

Im sorry to sound harsh here, but you do appear to be considering making your dog overweight just to do well at shows, and to my mind, that is unacceptable.
Be a trend setter, keep your dog lean fit and hard, not fat and wobbly, lord knows bulldogs have enough of a hard time as it is with their breathing without making them grossly overweight to win prizes!

Em

You can't feel any of her ribs, she is very active and playfull but people keep saying she has not enough weight on her, hubby says there is nowt wrong with her and the kids say she is fat!!!!!

if you cant feel any ribs then you definately dont need to put any more weight on her.

The weight has to be put on as very young puppies
Raising a bulldog is not the same as raising another breed,you need to add it all while they are
still young then gentle exercise to turn it to muscle.

How old is she?

Join a bulldog forum such as www.bulldogsuk.com where you will get a lot of help.

She will be 7m on thursday, she is not a great eater, very fussy and will not eat a brand of food for more than a week, she usually gives it the cats!!!

No dog should have wieght deliberately put on no matter the breed.  I ahve seen a number of breeds where this overfeeding seems to be the norm, the ones that come to mind ar Bull terriers and pugs ans it is an awful thign to do, and surely they will be healthier if kept lean and muscle allowed to build over time through excersise.

Carolyn, i believe novajulie2 is already a member.

Have to agree with Brainless. Sad butTrue. There is a tend to add too much 'body' to Bull terriers. But I am proof that you don't have to have a fatty to win! My boy was the leanest in his class at a recent champ show and we came away with RBD and BOS! Quite a few people commented on how he needed a bit more weight on him! I'd rather let him mature and have his muslcles rippling than fat wobbling!!!!!!So I say keep them lean keep them Keen!

This is not meant as a criticism of anyone in particular, as I am genuinely interested to know, but why do so many people in dogs across a variety of breeds believe that fat can be converted to muscle?   As far as I'm aware, fat is fat and only muscle itself can be increased by exercise.  To be honest, it is one of my personal irritants in that people mistake fat for "body"

Lesley

You're right, fat cells and muscle cells are completely different. Fat doesn't miraculously turn into muscle. If only it did!

My own breed suffers this problem with Pet owners, but thankfully not usually people in the ring as they are meant to be a hunting breed.  Maybe that is why my 13 1/2 and almost 11 year old are still enjoying more excersise than the average pet dog appears to get. 

I hadnt seen a posting asking for this help on the other forum,I would of thought that would of been the place to ask ??

I couldnt remember if the poster was a member.

What UTTER rubbish! 'a bulldog is not the same as raising another breed, you need to add it (weight) while they are still young'....

That will NOT create a well muscled puppy at all, in ANY breed, in fact in ANY species!!!

As the others have said, fat does NOT turn into muscle. All fat does is hang around putting excess weight on immature muscles and joints. Thats VERY damaging!

Immature bones, joints, tendons, ligaments need time to grow to their full size and mature, THEN you can build muscle upon that frame, and even THEN you dont do it by excess feeding creating a fat dog!!!

Em

Well say what you think.

A pup should be well covered.
the poster asked for advice and has already said her pup is a faddy eater
lets see what it looks like in 12 months time.

You dont want a great big FAT waddling puppy but they need a good body weight.

Yeah and she has also already said that she cant feel any bones, and that her dog looks fine!

So why is it alright to have fat bulldog pups, but not fatten up other pups?? HOW are they different in the way they put on fat or muscle to any other dog?

Im sure it used to be thought that babies should be covered in rolls of fat -- since disproved!

Em