Suggestions for bulking up a skinny doodle. Treats?

[Moe]

I have a 15 week old goldendoodle that weights 15 lbs. She is on Orijen puppy food. I have been giving her 1/2 cup 3x a day but she never finishes all of it. Right now I don't put food toppers on her kibble, I really don't want to start that habit. She has been to the vet and is gaining about 1 pound a week. He said she is growing fine but she is really bony. I've been giving her 1 of those dried chicken strips per day and 5-10 small training treats a day. (I don't have the brands on either, I threw the bags away) What can I give her to put on a bit of weight? I'm not sure if I'm giving her enough food / treats. I'd love to know how many treats you guys give your dogs per day, what brands and types of treats.

[Katie, John & Parker pup]

Are you giving her the recommended amount that it says on the bag of food? I give Parker Blue Buffalo Wilderness dry food and they also have the wilderness canned food options which I give about a quarter of the can once a day over his dinner. I am not sure if orijen has a canned version but you could try any good canned food once a day to add a little bulk to her meal? I wouldn't call Parker bulky though, I even asked the vet if he was too skinny but he said he's perfect and most dogs are just over weight. You can also give her a couple more cookie treats a day too if you want....Parker gets maybe three treats a day on top of his breakfast and dinner. He has a sensitive tummy so everything is in moderation for him if I stray from his norm.

[Moe]

If it comes to it I'll give her canned food but I'd rather stick with the dry. Right now I don't give her any cookie type treats, they are all just jerky type. I'll have to look for some cookie type.

She is going to the vet on Tuesday, I'll talk to the vet more about her weight.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

According to the Orijen feeding guidelines, she should be eating a little more, about 2 cups a day, but the treats are supplying the extra calories so that's not a concern.

Vets are really good at assessing dogs' weight and body condition, and nowadays, the big concern is overweight dogs, not underweight dogs. Gaining too much weight too fast is a risk factor in puppies for orthopedic issues down the road. So unless there is a medical condition, thinner is always better, and you can trust your vet's assessment that your pup is growing fine and is at a healthy weight.

We have lots of discussions here about treats. Zukes is a popular and reliable brand, and if you do a search here in the FG discussions, you'll find lots more. Here's a search I did, you can look through these for ideas:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topic/search?g...

(On a side note, it's always very important to know exactly what treats and food you are giving a dog. Either keep them in the package, save the package, write it down, or just start being aware of what you're buying and giving. If there should be a recall because of a dangerous issue of bacteria or foreign matter in treats (and this has happened more times than I care to think about), or if your puppy should develop some kind of digestive issue, it will be very important to know what those treats are and what's in them, especially considering that chicken jerky has been responsible for more illness and death in pet dogs than any other single food product I can think of.)

[Moe]

Right now she isn't even finishing the 1/2 cup so I haven't upped the amount. Maybe if I put more in the bowl she'll eat more? Does that make sense?

Thanks for the info. I never thought about a recall. I'll make sure to write down the brand. Is there something wrong with chicken jerky as a treat or were the illnesses due to bad batches. I got them because they look like real food. It is so hard as a new dog owner to navigate all the foods and snacks.

Since I've been feeding Orijen dog food which has a high protein content is it OK to give treats with fruit, veggies or peanut butter? I'll look at the Zukes brand.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Navigating the food & snacks is what this group is all about. But you need to do some reading in the discussions here, it's impossible to reproduce every discussion about all the treats we recommend. We also have a Recommended Brands link on the main page of the group, and anything made by those companies is fine.

You must check the source of chicken jerky, there is a lot of it made in China which is contaminated and has caused serious illness and death. It must come from North America, just the company being American is not enough.

Basically, anything you can buy in the grocery store, Walmart, Target, etc is not safe. Read packages carefully. There are many safe brands of chicken jerky, and some people make their own. Again, search the FG discussion forum for info on this.

Protein has nothing to do with fruits or veggies, but they aren't very calorie dense.

Peanut butter is, and is fine in moderation.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's another link to discussions on chicken jerky:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topic/search?g...

[Moe]

I found the brand of chicken jerky, mine is called Beefeater. Their website doesn't say where it is made. I'll check the package at the store and see if it has a made in sticker.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Throw them away. They are not U.S. sourced.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And they just had a recall of many of their prodcuts last month:

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/newpetfoodrecalls/brand_list....

[Moe]

Thank you so much. They went in the bin.

"We also have a Recommended Brands link on the main page of the group, and anything made by those companies is fine." This should have been obvious but I didn't think of it. This is exactly what I needed. Thanks Karen.

[Trudy Harlow]

There is a lot of information we don't have.  What size is your doodle expected to be at adulthood?  If your pup is growing very fast to a large size, she's just going to look a bit scrawny for a while. Did the vet say she was underweight?  My goldendoodle has always been skinnier because he is very poodley -- poodles tend to be leaner-built dogs, plus they often care much less about eating.  In addition, he is a very athletic and active dog.  He has very little fat on him.  As Katie says, most American dogs are overweight.  If your vet says your pup is doing okay, I'd believe him.  If the vet believes your dog needs more weight on her, then you will have to add canned food or other toppers to get her to eat more.  Eggs are a cheap, good addition to your dog's food, and gentle on their tummies.

[Moe]

It is hard to say how big she is going to be. She was a twin, in the same amniotic sac as another puppy. That one died. She was 1/2 the size of her siblings. She also had to have surgery at 7 weeks for an inguinal hernia. When we got her at 8 weeks she weighed 3.5 pounds and was really underweight. Vet said she is making progress but is still underweight - he is not worried, she is consistantly gaining. Her parents were 55 and 65 pounds. I don't think she is going to get anywhere near that weight. The vet and breeder said that due to the twin thing it is hard to predict her size.