Has anyone got any tips on how to get some weight on my 17 months old GSD bitch.  She is very active, she never stops so I guess she burns up lots of energy.  She is fed on a natural diet of raw meats, raw veg, raw bones etc (BARF -Ian Billinghurst version) I have increased the volume which has pleased her but she has not gained any weight yet.  She eats more than my much larger male GSD but then he is much quieter than her.  She was spayed at 14 months and is regularly wormed.  I have been advised to add beef suet.  She has been given a clean bill of health by my vet and is in 1st class condition, just too ribby for my liking.  Any ideas anyone?

Well it might not be  a popular suggestion, but when some people were horrified at how skinny my male Mali (2) was at Crufts, a very experienced breeder told me to feed him c**p food for a while -SupaDog. We did, he went through one bag on his own, large portions, and he piled the weight on. We then took him off it and put him back on his usual food, and he's stayed looking very nice, just right. Seems once he had gained that extra amount he found it easier to keep it on. Bit like us eating McDonalds for a month LOL.

Thanks for the info, I must admit I am reluctant to use 'complete' foods as I just do not trust whats in them but maybe in the short term it could work. Thanks anyway.

It sounds as if she needs a higher calorie/higher fat intake to help with all the activity. If you don't want to risk a cheap complete then try  Pro Plan Performance, I got great results within 2 weeks , now my boy's back on a maintenance diet and his body has stayed and he's maintaining a good weight. He was also very active, quite hyper and just burning it all off.

Add fat! Im feeding Kelda plenty of fatty lamb breast, I really cant increase the volume shes eating much shes already eating a lot more than an adult deerhound would eat, so have to increase the fat content of what she is getting.

Shes also getting porridge oats, nupro supplement and a drizzle of oil or a raw egg in her meals.

Raw tripe :) :)
I added it to Ebbas diet when I got her and she was very thin from not eating in the rescue kennels, and within a month she had piled the weight on.
Took her off the trip, but kept the complete at the same amount and she never lost the weght she gained :) :)
HTH
Lea :)

When I had a similar problem a few years ago I fed breast of lamb too.

In my early teens I loved breast of lamb on a Sunday with greens, roast potatoes, carrots and lovely gravy made from the juices, greens water, flour with a bit of salt and pepper. yummy yummy :-D

Lucky dogs :)

Hi everyone, she already has fleshy lamb bones including lamb breast with chicken wings daily (she has a good appetite since moving from 'complete' to BARF)  She has raw mince in the evening, chicken, tripe. beef and variations of those mixed (from TPMS) with added raw veg and fruit (they eat better than us!) Cottage cheese, natural yoghurt, eggs, salmon oil, pilchards, sardines.....everything raw and natural.  I was looking for an addition to what she has already which is really good for adding some flesh to her bones.  She is not ill, vet is not concerned but has said, she is as slim as he would like to see her. I personally prefer a lean dog to one with a tyre (like me!) but she really is too lean.

As you don't want to change her over to complete, is it worth adding a small amount of complete food to her meals, just untill she is the weight you would like her to be, it wouldn't have to be much but over time the extra calories will add up ??

Hi BarkingMad16

It's possibly just an age + energy thing with her and hopefully you'll find she will body up over the next year.  Frustrating I know as I've had this problem several times with different dogs (BSDs) at the junior stage and it always comes right in the end but regardless of me *trying* it doesn't seem to be as a result of anything I've given over the years LOL.  Nature takes its course I guess.

What I have found that sometimes has the opposite affect of what's desired is that giving too much fat in the diet can make some dogs loose and end up reducing their build rather than upping it. 

regards, Teri

Hi
Yes, I understand what you mean. By just adding fat may result in it going straight through her and having the opposite affect.  I am tempted to add CP Xtra (a csj food for barf diets) that I have been reading about tonight on the www! My male gsd who is now 6 and at a perfect weight was very lean as a youngster and did come good until around 2/3 yrs old so maybe its an age thing like you said. Thanks for your comment.

Thanks, yes, I think you may have it, not happy about commercial dog foods but could use to top up the calories in her meat/veg diet - anyone heard or used CSJ dog foods ( tried them years ago ) but see they have a food especially for barf dogs  - CP Xtra its called.
thanks for your reply.

Hi
I have the same problem with my 18 month old Mastiff. She will only eat one meal per day, usually 6 cooked chicken drumsticks plus complete food. I'm sure she should be eating more. She has plenty of muscle but no spare flesh. Vet gave a clean bill of health but I worry about her. I've had dogs all my life but this is my first Mastiff, and I must say they are the hardest to train!!! Any advice please!

Hi
Firstly, I need to warn you of the dangers of cooked chicken bones, they are much safer if fed raw.  My dogs have raw wings or drumsticks, whole chicken carcasses and necks.  There is a risk with any bones but cooked bones especially chicken can be extremelly dangerous.  On the training side I have found that some bull breeds are abit stubburn but with perserverence can be trained.  I have two GSD's that are easy but teach at a training club and have seen a few bull breeds which have been hard to train. Have you tried a clicker? ....keep going and good luck with your mastiff. I have decided to add a small amount of CSJ CPXtra, its a supplement food especially good for BARF diet dogs.  It is for dogs that need extra weight and stamina (she does not need any extra there!) but the weight is needed. Tried her on it last night, just a handfull but she left a little in her bowl.  She eats well but can only eat so much then she is full.  Its difficult when they get full to get them to eat more.  Thanks for your reply.

> Hi
> I have the same problem with my 18 month old Mastiff. She will only eat one meal per day, usually 6 cooked chicken drumsticks plus complete food. I'm sure she should be eating more. She has plenty of muscle but no spare flesh. Vet gave a clean bill of health but I worry about her. I've had dogs all my life but this is my first Mastiff, and I must say they are the hardest to train!!! Any advice please!

Firstly, lucky you to have a Mastiff with a small appetite, mine (given the chance) would eat me out of house & home!! Cooked chicken bones are a bit of a hazard :( What did the breeder reccomend? Tripe & mixer or tripe & complete are quite common 'mastiff meals', the stink of tripe may well get her interest.
Personally, I feed 2 meals per day & will throughout adult-hood, due to the risks of bloat.
Training = you HAVE to be confidant, also calm, kind, patient, consistant (and more stubborn than the dog, lol), treats are the way to my Mastiffs mind & subsequently his complience & good behaviour :)

EDIT: Ellasmum, I've PM'd you, go to the top of the page under 'messages' :)

have you tried adding suet to your dogs meals, my dogs that i think are abit skinny are given this once a day mixed in with their food and believe me you will notice a difference in about a week and the dogs love it without giving them a upset tummy try it you will be amazed

I was recommended raw breast of lamb a couple of times a week.
I have done this as well as moving onto the BARF diet and can see a huge change in his appetite and also that is gaining weight and not looking so skinny. My breeder suggested i take my dog out of the show ring until i can get him a little plumper(not fat), has to fill his frame.
He is doing well in the shows and has always been placed, so very pleased by this, though it would be good to do better and found that all the dogs that beat him do fill their frames and look good for it.
Some breeds and some dogs take a while to fill out and reach their full potential, i know my breed are very slow to mature.

Hi,
My 20 month GSD male is just the same as your bitch very active none stop all day long and same as you he will not put any fat on his ribs very ribby he also suffers from the dreaded GSD syndrome dodgy tummy,he is fed on tinned meat and mixer i am scared to change his diet as it seems to bring on the dodgy yummy.He is of good weight 33kilo but looks thin the vet does not seem at all bothered says he is ok i am just hoping that it is his age and he will put the fat on as he gets older,i will keep looking at the post to see if anybody comes up with any ideas fingers crossed.

Hi
My older GSD always had tummy problems until I switched to BARF - the best thing I ever did for loads of reasons.  If you wanna consider it the best book out there is Dr Ian Billinghurst 'The Barf Diet' even if you dont think you can do it, you will read it and gasp at how it all makes sense. 
My mission is to try to convert everyone to this diet - sorry, hope I am not being pushy but I can't rave about it enough.
thanks for your reply.
x

Hi
Tried suet for a week or so, really unsure how much tho.  She is 30kg's, how much do you suggest?
x

my daxis get half a tablespoon of suet, and my american cocker gets a tablespoon, have you noticed any difference yet? it really worked on mine without any upset tummy from the yank who i have to be careful with, and a bonus of lovely shiny coats too!!!

Hi
No difference yet but its early days, I will keep going on it then, thanks

Hi, Thanks for your reply. I don't feed her the bones as I know of the dangers. I'm not sure about the BARF diet - could you help me there? Thanks

Its something i was always very interested in and didn't know where to start. I purchased the books by Billinghurst who is from Australia and another by a female called Kymathy something.
I got 3 books form amazon costing around £40. Its has all the details in there as to why you should feed them the BARF diet and the pros and cons of each type of diet.
They give you recipe ideas and tell you how much meat, veg, dairy etc you should be feeding according to your dogs weight each day. Also how much veg each week etc.
Its all very informative and i took the plunge a few weeks ago and can a huge difference in the way he behaves as well as the fact he eats all his food now and it putting the weight on.
You may be able to borrow the books from your local library, though i know mine don't stock these books.

Hi
I found the barf bible is Ian billinghursts selection on this fantastic diet.  Best thing I ever did, only thing I would say before anyone takes the plunge is to read as much as you can and when U are ready to go for it.  Your dogs will never have looked so good on it and love you for it.
X

TRY ONE BOILED EGG A DAY WITH 1 SLICE OF BROWN BREAD AND BUTTER  AND A HALF A SMALL CUP OF FULL FAT MILK IN HER WATER PER DAY .

GOOD LUCK

i find that raw green tripe is the best food for putting weight on

Hi
both my dogs already have  raw tripe but thanks for the reply.

This may sound silly, but it worked.

My springer couldnt gain weight.  She was so underweight, it looked like we were starving her (22 inch at the shoulders, and only 26 pounds).  We were trying everything to make her gain weight.  One day, we decided to give her some leftovers, from the table.  She ate that quite quickly.  Figuring, well she is eating this, so give her more, we started adding Gluten Free Gravy to her meals.  She was fed complete food, but this touch of gravy, made her go up to 36 pounds within a couple weeks.  Still thin, but better.  And the weight just kept coming.  So we figured she may have been gluten intolerant (dont know if dogs can have true Celiac Disease) so just fed her GF food, and she was better. 

Many thanks for the reply but as my initial post says, both my dogs are fed on BARF therefore they have no wheat/cereal/gluten atall.  They only eat raw meat, bones veg n fruit. We dont use complete food as its full of stuff that in my opinion is not required by dogs in their diet.
Glad it worked for you and your dog, hope she continues to do well.