Skinny Australian Labradoodle

[Joanie]

Hi everyone :)  I'm a little concerned about my Lani girl and I want to know your opinions and experiences.  So my Lani is four years old and completely healthy, outgoing, loving, and very very active.  Recently my husband and I changed up our babies diet so they eat more of an all natural diet.  They eat Honest Kitchen in the morning for breakfast and at night my husband makes them dinner consisting of meat, veggies, coconut oil, brown rice and pumpkin.  Lani has ALWAYS been on the small side.  Everyone always says she's more poodley than she is Labrador.  At her most she weighed 30 pounds, last time I took her to the vet she was 27 and I think that's only because we changed up her diet.  We've since readjusted and she has been on a pound or two.  She eats twice a day and during the day I constantly supplement with fresh veggies or meat as a snack.  Here is a picture of her taken yesterday.  What are your thoughts?  Is she too skinny?  On a side note she did just have a hair cut so her hair is really short.

[Leslie J]

I think it's the poodle shape. Cocoa is like this when she gets her hair cut and my husband always thinks she is too skinny. I asked our vet and he isn't concerned (if you're concerned you should ask your vet). Is she gobbling all of her food or does she leave some after she eats? Cocoa always leaves some food in her bowl, so I'm guessing she gets enough. Since Lani is so slim I would definitely feed her more if she's acting hungry.

[Joanie]

She always gobbles up her food but she did that even before I changed her food too.  The vet mentioned to me that she had lost 3 pounds and was very skinny... but this is a new vet and Lani has always been like this.  I'm a just an overly worried mommy, lol.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

It's hard to tell from that angle if she is "too skinny." I think looking at her from the top while she's standing is easier- do her ribs and hips just out? When you run your hands over her ribs and back, are feeling just bones or a little padding over the bones? 

If she's a good eater, you could just try feeding her more of what she is currently eating. Depending on what version of The Honest Kitchen that your feeding, it can be fairly "carb heavy," as is your home cooked meal with the rice and veggies. Personally, I would add some fatty meats and fatty fish for extra calories- cooked chicken livers, organ meats, water packed (and no salt added) sardines, salmon, an occasional spoonful of natural peanut butter, etc. 

But, with that being said, better to be a little underweight as long as she is healthy instead of overweight, right? She is a cute!

[Joanie]

Lani eats Zeal from the Honest Kitchen.  All my most recent pics I have of her are standing lol.  She LOVES to stand.  I will try to get a better picture of her later.  You can see her hips a little and you can feel her ribs and bones but there is padding.

[Ginny Nightingale]

I agree with Lori--at this angle, it is hard to see how she looks--we need a view from above her back--but I have a poodle-y doodle too and I have had to increase her food even now --and she is almost 8! She runs it off and my other two are tanks compared to her. If the ribs and hip bones do not protrude than she is OK--the fat is carried along the sides of the back and on the back so that the dog loses their "waistline"--the belly tells us nothing. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

She should be getting 750 calories per day. Most home cooked diets are very low in calories, it's hard to know how much they are getting unless you have a specific recipe that gives the calorie content. But they generally don't contain more than 200 calories per cup. It's also hard to know if she's getting enough protein, as every Honest Kitchen formula varies in its nutritional profile and you didn't say which one you're feeding or how much you are giving. But I don't think she's getting enough calories based on the info you've given us, and she may not be getting enough fat, either. I'm also wondering about a calcium source. If you want to feed a homemade diet, it's best to follow one from a recipe that is vet approved as providing all of the vitamins and minerals she needs. 

Oh, and she needs some fish oil as a source of Omega 3 fatty acids, very important. I don;t see any in her current diet other than whatever may be in the Honest Kitchen you're feeding. 

[Joanie]

She gets a cup of the Honest Kitchen Zeal formula, during the day she eats veggies, peanut butter, meat and for dinner she gets about a cup and a half of the home made meal.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Okay, so she's getting the Omega 3s from the Zeal, it's fish based. 437 kcal/cup plus lets say 300 in the cup and half of homemade food, calories look okay. 

I'd talk to your vet about maybe recommending a multivitamin, though, to make sure she's getting the right amount and proportion of minerals..

[Joanie]

yep... she loves fish

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

I was worried about Jade a few weeks ago because my hubby said she was skinny, but she's not.
Anyway, they have some charts floating around that give you an idea of what to look for.

Here's one: http://iheartdogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/BodyConditioning_C...

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

It's not at all scientific, but I always monitor their weight by feeling around their ribs.  I know they're weight is good if I can still feel the ribs but there is some flesh around them.  For example I know now that my Guinness needs to lose a couple of pounds because I can barely feel his ribs, so I'll cut his calories slightly until he gets to where I want him to be.  My Murphy's weight is fine because I can still feel the ribs....but just barely....they are not protruding at all.  I do pay attention to the calorie requirements on their food, but because I'm also feeding a combination of home cooked and Honest Kitchen for Guinness I kind of rely on the "rib test".

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Check with your vet to see how he/she feels about Lani's weight.