Australian Labrdoodle Puppy won't gain weight

[Sean]

We got Lola about a year ago (so she's just over a year old).  Her parents were two 30-35lb Australian Labradoodles.  She's highly energetic and an amazingly fast runner.

The issue is she's only about 18 lbs and about 3/4 as tall as her parents.  We feed her as much as she wants and she will NOT gain weight.  We've tried cottage cheese and satin balls (hamburger meat) to try to fatten her up.  At her last vet visit she was actually 16 lbs.  Seems healthy except for being skinny.

Did we just get the runt of the litter?  I assume at 1 year she's probably not going to get much bigger.

Thanks,
Sean

[Sean]

We're OK with he being smaller just want to make sure we're not doing anything wrong (or could be doing something more).  I'll try to get a side shot of her tonight.  "Skinny" is relative I guess.

We're feeding her what the breeder has been using for a number of yeas and has gotten a good recommendation from many others.

[Sean]

The vet is non committal.

Life's Abundance food.  About 3/4-1 cup in the AM and another in the PM.

She'll often leave a little in the bowl so she's not starving.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The "star" ratings are not really reliable and don't really give you the whole picture about a food, so we don;t use them in TFG, but there are reasons that we don't recommend L.A., mostly having to do with disclosure issues about the source of the ingredients and the manufacturing practices, along with some less than honest marketing and the pyramid scheme sales programs. It's a mediocre food with a very high price tag for what you get.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

As we have discussed here before, the size of mixed breed dogs is always unpredictable. You can't take the size of the parents and average them out, lol, even though you would think that from looking at most breeder's websites. She's not a "runt", she just got the genes from some of the smaller dogs in her ancestry. It happens.

  If the dog is healthy, isn't showing any signs of disease, eats, drinks, and plays, and has high energy, I would not worry about it. Of course, it would be nice if your vet would confirm that she's healthy. If he had any concerns, you'd think he would recommend bloodwork. Most vets are very good at assessing a dog's body composition and overall health, and most vets agree that thinner is always better.

She is not going to get any bigger at this age. She may still gain some lean mass, which will increases her weight slightly.

I would switch her to a grain free food that is more calorie dense and has more usable calories and less filler (i.e. more protein and fat, less starch and carbs) than Life's Abundance. Your best bet would be Orijen. It isn't going to turn her into a bigger dog, but it might help her fill out/gain some muscle mass.

[Sean]

Thanks for the input.  Will look into other foods.  It is rather expensive.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's expensive for what you get, because a huge chunk of what you're paying is going for commissions on the pyramid scheme. Orijen will look equally expensive or even more expensive, but you are getting much better ingredients with higher calories per cup, so you feed less and you get less waste.

[Sean]

Pyramid scheme?  I buy direct from the life's abundance website.  Regardless I'll look into Orijen.

[Adina P]

It's not exactly a pyramid scheme (like Amway) in that people who sell Life's Abundance don't necessarily seek to get other people to sell it.  At least it doesn't seem so.  But quite often the people who recommend it (breeders, etc) recommend it AND sell it.  Buy "sell it" I mean they get a commission from sales when they direct you to their link to the site.  You may buy it from the site, but usually it's from their special code on the site.  Not necessarily of course.  I'm sure there are people who buy it directly from the site without going through someone's special link to it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

No, it really is a pyramid scheme. There are tiers and tiers and levels and levels of commissions, and the more people you recruit to sell, the bigger your compensation and commissions. Here are the details: http://www.lifesabundance.com/ftpdocs/compensation-plan.pdf

 

[Ginny Nightingale]

I was approached by this company as a groomer and I agree that it is a pyramid scheme...and the fact that the food is supposed to be freshly packed is nonsense--there is no date on the bag.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Karen, you are correct. I understand these schemes well and the way they work is that there are layers of commission added and of course this is built into the price.  It is probable that when a person orders direct from the site the agent who is in their geographic area will get the commission.  Commission goes with the area and not from the source of the sale.  This is normal in these types of agreements.  This means that this product is loaded with layers middle sales costs and so from that point of view is not a food I would consider could be called value for money.

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

we switched my 8 month old goldendoodle to orijen.. he is lean and always was.. he is 76 pounds..but lean..i cna honestly say in a month i notice more MUSCLE on him tho...i can feel in in his legs! good luck! :)