Afraid my dog is too skinny - HELP!

[Susan, Coby & Chloe]

I have a 16 mo. old chocolate mini Australian labradoodle who has been weighing in at 30 lbs.  Last time I took him to the vet, one I'd never seen at the practice, he laced into me about how skinny Bosco is - said he shouldn't be able to feel his ribs so prominently beneath his fur, doesn't feel much muscle mass on his legs. I was mortified - I'd been feeding Bosco California Natural diet, the rx'd amount, but Bosco didn't even eat all that I gave him in his bowl.  I'd even cooked him chopped meat, rice, chicken broth - he simply isn't much of an eater. And if I do introduce new foods I've learned I must do so slowly as otherwise it causes severe GI upset.

 

It wasn't until yesterday when we took Bosco in to be groomed and picked him up to find....a stick figure shadow of our dog!  Seems he was quite matted (Les Pooches brush is now on order!) so he needed to be shorn down. And what an embarrassing sight - this dog is fur and bones. 

 

What am I to do? He seems otherwise healthy.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Me neither.

But if vet says he is underweight, he probably does need a few pounds added on.

Peri is a mini at 25 pounds and has a similar build, maybe not as tall.  Vet says she is slightly underweight and perfect in her opinion. We feed less than recommended values since I trust my vet saying she is healthy.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I think Bosco just resembles his poodle heritage.  I think If Ned were cut really short, he would look just the same.  I would be concerned if the vet said he was too thin and try a more calorie dense food - like you just posted about.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The issue of body composition is an area that is confusing for most people. Weight alone does not tell the whole story about what kind of condition a human's body is in, and it's the same for dogs. The question is, how much of that weight is made up of lean mass, i.e. muscle and bone, and how much of it is made up of fat? You could have ten people, all the same height and weight, and they would be all different shapes and sizes. That's why these days, health professionals speak in terms of body mass (the BMI index) or bodyfat percentage, rather than the number of pounds on a scale. There are thin girls who are have no muscle mass and a relatively high bodyfat percentage, and then there are thin girls who have shape and definition in their arms and legs, and a low body fat percentage. It's common for people who undertake a strength training program to actually gain pounds on the scale, or stay the same weight, but go down several clothing sizes.

 It's the same for dogs. In rescue, we have taken many dogs out of bad situations where the dog's weight itself is only slightly on the low side, but there is so great a lack of muscle mass that the dog can barely walk normally. The muscle mass has atrophied, but the lack of exercise has increased the body fat. Muscle mass is essential not just for movement, but also for metabolism. You cannot tell if a dog is at a healthy weight from a photograph. Obviously, if you cannot feel the ribs, a dog is overweight. But when it comes to being underweight, sometimes the number on the scale does not tell the whole story. For this, we need to trust the vets.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Yeah that's what bothered me when a vet tech told us Luna needed to lose 3 kg.. and then it changed to them saying she had to lose 1 kg a few months later after she lost a bit of weight.  How could they know the exact amount of weight she needed to lose, especially when she was still growing?

 

Since then - she has gotten considerably leaner, but her mass has actually gone up by 0.5 kg.  She is clearly much healthier (stronger and leaner), despite being OVER the weight the vet wanted her to be at. 

 

We have discovered that she needs about 15-20% less than the recommended daily calorie intake for her weight to remain stable. 

 

[Susan, Coby & Chloe]

I know -- it was when the vet used the term "muscle atrophy" to describe Bosco's hind legs I became alarmed and upset.  Bosco's an active dog, his eyes are bright, his temper good.  His groomer and regular vet have never commented negatively on his build. Yes, he's lean and his recent grooming emphasized that fact. I would like to encourage him to eat more, and more of a healthy, nutritous diet so the Fromm dog food advice is much appreciated.  I'm afraid I've been so consumed (no pun intended) with various other health care issues in my extended family that I've not had as much time to puruse this site as I previously had so honing in on suggested solutions truly did help -- many thanks to all again.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

One last tip: When it comes to gaining muscle mass, it's protein, protein, and more protein.

Good luck and let us know how things go.

[Susan, Coby & Chloe]

Update: DH wound up going to the wrong store tonight. He went to Pet Planet, explained the situation with Bosco and instead of Fromm (which they don't stock) came home with samples of Orijen, which I do see leads the list of recommended food here.  DH also did some background check on the quality/purity etc. so we may wind up giving it a try.

 

Karen, I use protein supplements myself,,,but in my case, I'd like to DECREASE some weight while building muscle. Unfortunately, I don't have the same instant thin results after getting my hair cut....if only....<sigh>

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The Orijen has a lot of calories per cup, so if he likes it, you're in good shape. As far as quality goes, you can't do better in a kibble. And my 80 lb dog only needs three cups per day, so it will be easier for you to get enough calories into Bosco.

Jack likes the Regional Red best, but any of them are good. Ideally, you could rotate the three flavors. And you can always try Fromm if the the Orijen doesn't work out.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Jack is a toy golden doodle and up until he turned almost two he was really thin. He came to me at four pounds and didn't gain any more weight once he reached 8 pounds at 16 weeks. I could not get him to eat, no treats or anything. The vet didn't give me any grief over it, He is very fluffy so he didn't look bad unless he was wet.

 

I would do like Karen said, a higher dense calorie food, that is what I did with Jack, I put him on Orijen. with a wet food topper. I use a higher fat content wet food topper because he needed the weight. He is now a big fatty at almost 13 pounds... His weight is perfect, I actually not consider how many treats I give him a day and actually measure his food. He still does not eat the recommended amount on the bag but has filled in nicely.

 

Jack also self regulates himself, he eats more on days when he gets more activity, but days when we are lazy, aka me being lazy and he not getting his mile walks in, he barely eats anything and I mean barely.. and on days when he plays hard he is more likely to eat the amount suggested.

 

IMO, as long as he is healthy, does not have any worms or parasites. A little lean is better then obese any day. I learned everything I know from the Food Group.

 

I did feed Jack the raw food diet for a while, what I was told is that it prevents obesity because they eat less. 

 

Also one last point, dogs sometimes really fill in better around two years, I read that somewhere and found that to be true with Jack...

 

[Susan, Coby & Chloe]

Happy to report Bosco has gained >2 lbs!  After trying a variety of recommended dog foods (with occassional supplementation with organic canned food) we finally located Fromm and settled upon the Beef/veg fritata variety which he thoroughly enjoys. Many thanks for the helpful recommendations and support!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Great news!

[Jeanne, Tura and Dolly]

Hi Susan, glad to hear your pup is doing well. I had the same problem with my Dolly ALD and the breeder said although she looks very thin, it was not unusual for an ALD under 2 years old. I tried all kinds of things and she only gained one and a half pounds. The vet thought she needs to gain 10 lbs. I have decided not to be so freaked out about it since her lab work and energy level are normal. I will reconsider the issue if she doesn't fill out a bit after 2.