Too thin?

[UggaMugga]

We have a 9 month old Goldendoodle. We are currently feeding Orijen puppy 1 cup twice daily. He eats his food but not vigorously so. He has seemed to be growing and getting bigger. We just had him groomed and yikes he is one skinny dog. I'm worried we are not feeding him enough. I weighed him. He is currently about 50 pounds at 9 months. Am I feeding him enough?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The best gauge of your dog's weight and body condition is your vet. But aside from that, there are charts you can use to assess whether your dog is too thin. This web page has a good example. http://www.greencrossvet.com.au/News/?id=90

In general, a little too thin is always better than a little too heavy. 

According to the Orijen Puppy feeding guidlines, he should be getting about 2 and three-quarters cups per day: https://www.orijen.ca/foods/dog-food/dry-dog-food/puppy/?lang=us

But that's just a guideline, and it will vary for any individual dog. If he isn't gobbling up his food and looking for more, he's probably getting enough. 

If you're concerned, I doubt that any vet would charge much (if anything) for just weighing a dog and looking him over to assess his body condition. 

[UggaMugga]

He is not ravenous with food. He never finished his 1 cup at breakfast. I don't typically feed him lunch but I today did offer him another cup of food with an egg. He did eat that.
He was 46 pounds when in for his neuter 3 months ago so he is gaining. My vet hasn't been concerned as he has steadily been gaining weight.
I just didn't realize how thin he was until we groomed him. I can't see his ribs but his spine is very noticeable. I will try and up his food a bit. Would it be a bad habit to add lunch back in?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I wouldn;t add lunch back in. You also probably don't want to go down the slippery slope of adding things to his food bowl to entice him to eat. While an egg is a very healthy addition to his diet, once you start doing that, some dogs will start expecting it, and may refuse to eat the food without it.

It's pretty common for dogs to not eat much at breakfast. Often, the dog is anticipating the family leaving for work, school, etc and is nervous about that. They usually eat better at dinner, when everyone is home.  One thing that might help is to set aside 10 minutes and stay near him when he gets his breakfast, perhaps having some food or coffee yourself. Keep distractions to a minimum; nobody coming in and out of the room, etc.

You might also consider giving him a bit less at breakfast and adding it to his dinner meal. 

But in general, if your vet isn;t worried, I wouldn't be either. Many Poodles have very thin builds. A full-sized Standard Poodle who weighs only 40 or 45 lbs is not unusual, and not unhealthy. Your guy may just take after that side of his genetics. As long as he is healthy and has good energy, he's probably eating enough. 

[Erin]

I don't think based on guidelines you are feeding enough. My Otto is 43 pounds and he was underweight looking until I bumped him up to 1.5 cups twice per day. He is just now getting to where his ribs aren't protruding and my vet is
Much happier with his weight.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Erin, how old is Otto? 

[Erin]

He is 6.5 months so he is probably estimated to be bigger....not sure 43 pounds at 6.5 months vs 50 at 9. I just know he was super bony when wet until I bumped up feeding amount toward the higher end of the recommended amount on the feeding chart of Orijen puppy. I can still feel his ribs but they are no longer protruding out. My vet also said he was too thin before I fed him larger amounts.

[Erin]

I should also note that now that I'm happier with his weight I have gone to feeding 2.75 cups per day (1.5 in morning and 1.25 in the evening) to see if he can maintain a healthy weight vs gain faster. He seems okay with this.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

At 6.5 months, Otto is still growing, and the amount of calories puppies need per lb of body weight actually goes down as they get closer to the end of their skeletal growth, which is usually 8-10 months for standards and earlier for the smaller sized doodles. Also, the larger the adult size, the fewer calories per lb of body weight they need. You'll notice that on the Orijen Puppy feeding chart, a 44 lb puppy who is going to end up weighing about 65 lbs as an adult needs 3 cups of food per day, while a 55 lb puppy who is going to end up the same size needs only 2 and 2/3 cups per day. This is because the heavier pup is obviously closer to his adult size, which means that he's probably older and his growth rate is slower, so he doesn't need as much energy (calories are units of energy) as the smaller (assumed younger) pup. With mixed breeds like ours, this is harder to calculate, because unlike purebreds, we can't be certain of their final adult size, lol. But it sounds like Otto is getting the right amount of food for his age and weight. 

[Stella]

Remember that most vets are used to seeing fat dogs - this has become 'normal'. When I volunteered at a vet I often scored their body condition different from the vet, dogs that were heavy the vet would say were fine, and dogs that IMHO were lean and healthy the vet said were too thin. My first ever vet always said he'd rather see a dog on the lean side than the heavy side - better for them in the long run. I have a labbish doodle that would eat until he exploded if given the chance, and my more poodly doodle often walks away from his meals without touching them, he is naturally lean and this is normal for him. As long as your dog is eating, has plenty of energy, wants to play, and is poopong normally I wouldn't be too concerned. It is always a shock when all that hairy fluff is groomed off and you see the 'poodle' that was under all that coat!!

[UggaMugga]

Thank you! I do think he is has mostly poodle traits. I was just totally caught off guard after the grooming!