Too thin = Puppy food to gain weight?

DaisyPie · #1 9th March 2006, 10:05 PM

The vet says that Daisy is underweight (32 lbs) and that we MUST put her back on puppy food right away. She is five months and I have read on here that I should not give puppy food after four months. She has gained weight since we switched to Chicken Soup dry mixed with just a little canned for flavor. The vet says it is not enough calories even though she eats twice the reccommended amount for her weight. She was very thin because she refused to eat much before we added the canned food, but now she is looking much better. Should I switch back to puppy food or just give her a little more time to fill out?

**Jan** · #2 9th March 2006, 10:38 PM

I would give her more time.

How skinny is she?

DaisyPie · #3 9th March 2006, 11:29 PM

Her ribs show, but not much. Before I changed the food, we could see all of the ribs, but now you can only really see the very back ones. She has a very large chest though (3 inches larger than a male littermate...we measured!) Her tummy looks small but I think it is just because of her big chest. I personally think she looks okay, but I'm used to Great Danes who are supposed to look thin.

**gmacleod** · #4 10th March 2006, 03:45 AM

LOL - if she is gaining food on the CS adult, but you could see her ribs previously, that would tend to suggest that this new food is helping her to gain weight and should not be changed

CS adult contains more calories per cup than many puppy foods, and if she is eating twice the amount recommended for her weight, I certainly wouldn't suggest that she needs more. Like Danes, most boxer puppies are very lean - you do see ribs until adulthood (and even then, you should be seeing the last couple clearly, or the dog is overweight).

fayebay1969 · #5 10th March 2006, 04:20 AM

Buddy was small when we got him too. He weighed about the same as yours at her age also. He started filling out better in the last couple of months. I had a neighbor that didn't recognize him today. She will fill out.

dharmadoodle · #6 10th March 2006, 05:14 AM

Concrete walking helps build a nice fit shape too.

Most Boxers are skinny when young, they go through funny looking stages.

**gmacleod** · #7 10th March 2006, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hayleesdad

Also i ahve heard 6-8 months but 4 months to switch WOW.

Most people who use puppy food (and many don't use it at all) switch to adult food between 4-6 months. A very small minority continue up until a year of age. But the big growth spurts a puppy goes through are all over by 4 months, and from there it is a steady climb to maturity (which doesn't happen with a boxer until close to 3 years old).

What is more important though, than the label on the food bag, is the quality of the food

Many so-called puppy formulas are just junk.

In the case of the particular food the OP has her dog on, this is one of the highest quality foods around. It contains more calories and more accessible nutrition than the majority of puppy (or adult) foods on the market. Moreover, the only difference in this particular brand between the puppy and adult formulas is that the puppy one contains more chicken fat (and it's very high in fat). Besides that, the puppy and adult formulas are identical. And both better than the majority of foods available, whatever the label.

Btw, Hayleesdad: Please take the time now to introduce yourself to the community in the introductions forum. It's just polite, and gives everyone else a chance to say hello. And per the site rules, that is supposed to be the first post you make on this site, before participating to the rest of the forums.

StormKatz · #8 10th March 2006, 07:35 AM

So switching them from puppy to adult food will actually help them gain weight?

I'm glad DaisyPie started this thread, as I've been having very similar concerns regarding my Donte. He's soooooo lean, even though he's quite heavy. You can see his ribs a bit also, & his just looks so gangly, it's embaressing, I don't want people to think I don't feed my baby.

**gmacleod** · #9 10th March 2006, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StormKatz

So switching them from puppy to adult food will actually help them gain weight?

No, in most cases only time will do that. Boxer puppies have a tendancy to be extremely lean (they're lean dogs), and for many that means outright ribby. That's quite normal, and it is not unhealthy (it is far far better than being overweight!). Thing is, many (possibly most) boxer pups put all their energy into growing upward, and save the filling out for when the upward growth is all finished. And that commonly takes until the dog is three years old.

If you've got hip bones and vertebrae protruding as well, then the puppy is underweight. But even then, feeding more will very often just result in the pup growing taller faster - and that is *not* a good thing.

Whether you feed a formula that has puppy or adult on the label is usually just irrelevant. It is the quality of the food that counts, not the labelling. In some cases, there is no difference in the food at all - the exact same product is sold as puppy/adult/small/medium/large breed food. So it's better to ignore the advertising hype and look at the quality of the food. And Chicken Soup adult food contains more good nutrition and more calories than many (probably most) so-called puppy foods on the market. It is a better product to feed.

Where adult foods are certainly better than adult foods is that they are not commonly overloaded in protein and calcium. Those are things that can actually cause growth problems for pups through accelerating their growth - which does not mean making them fill out, it means making them grow taller faster. When choosing a suitable food for a puppy, you need to check that the food contains good quality accessible nutrition (ie. plenty of meat and no junk ingredients like corn, wheat, beet pulp or by-products) and that it has a suitable overall protein/calcium/overall calorie level. Whether it is labelled puppy, adult or all-life-stages food is actually just irrelevant

StormKatz · #10 10th March 2006, 08:39 AM

Thanks so much gmacleod. After reading this thread we will definatly be switching to Chicken Soup. I'm going to try & get some body shots of Donte to post next week, but in the meantime I feel much better about his "lack of" fat after reading your post.

Thanks again... love the new avatar (sp?) by the way.

DaisyPie · #11 10th March 2006, 11:32 AM

Thanks everyone. I thought I was doing the right thing, but it helps to hear it from someone who knows.

BTW, I know the owner of one of her littermates and his male is obese. I've tried to tell him about good food and exercise, but he doesn't listen. When Daisy plays with her brother, he constantly has to lay down and rest. It truely is sad.

Roscoe Boy · #12 10th March 2006, 04:59 PM

This is a good thread. I was also worried about Roscoe's weight b/c his stomach is kinda skinny, but then again he's got a lot of muscle mass already (15 wks).

Good info, thanks