Adding weight/muscle to a dog

[Herschel]

All of this talk of cups/day is confusing!

First of all, what foods are you feeding? If you're feeding Pedigree Large Breed then you would probably feed 5 cups a day to reach the same number of calories in 2 cups of Eagle Pack (or other healthy food).

A lot of foods have the metabolizable energy (ME) on the back of the bag. If it tells you the number of kcal/cup, please calculate the number of kcal that you are feeding. That will give all of us a better standard!

Some dogs love to eat, some dogs don't. Some dogs gain weight easily, others never fill out. Some dogs are extremely active, others are happy with being couch potatoes. It's impossible to compare dogs, especially of different breeds/mixes.

Whackichic, have you considered switching to a high protein/high fat food like Innova EVO, Timberwolf Organics "Serengeti" or "Wild and Natural", or Solid Gold Barking at the Moon? You will feed less of these foods (due to the high caloric content), but dogs that do well on them seem to fill out nicely.

[Herschel]

Originally Posted by Duke'sMommy

Some days I think he could use a few pounds, other days I think he looks fine. He's just a really lean dog. Everyone else that sees him thinks he should put on a few pounds. He has great muscle tone in his hind end. You can see it all when he does his "look at me Im so handsome" stand. lol. I want him to build a bit more muscle mass but to build muscle you need some mass to do it. Thanks everyone so far for advice given.

It sounds like he's in great shape and doesn't need to gain any weight. I'm not sure if he would appreciate being forced to do so, either!

Shepherd dogs are naturally lean and a lot of people mistake "in-shape" shepherds as being underweight. Sadly, a lot of the shepherds I see are overweight and people think that they're in perfect form.

[showpug]

Originally Posted by Herschel

It sounds like he's in great shape and doesn't need to gain any weight. I'm not sure if he would appreciate being forced to do so, either!

Shepherd dogs are naturally lean and a lot of people mistake "in-shape" shepherds as being underweight. Sadly, a lot of the shepherds I see are overweight and people think that they're in perfect form.

I agree. If you can't see ribs your dog is fine. Why push him to gain weight especially while he is young and still growing? Extra weight can lead to joint problems down the road. I think too many people don't understand their dog's build. Some dogs have heavy bone and others do not. Adding fat will only make your dog unhealthy and out of proportion for his frame...

[Spiritus]

This is a dutch shepherd cross. Dutchies are very closely related to Belgians and have similar body type. They are light dogs.

My male is 25" tall and 64 lbs. He's a bit overweight and I'm working on bringing him down to 60 lbs. I have another adolescent (2.5 year old) male Belgian who is 26" and 51 lbs. I'm working on putting weight on him because he is definitely underweight.

On Dutchies and Belgians, you want to easily feel their ribs. "Good weight" is LEAN. A layer of fat over their ribs is too heavy. The best way to tell if your Dutch Shepherd cross is too thin is to put your hand between his hips. If there is a divet (dent) between the two hip bones, then he is too lean. If you can feel his spine, he is too lean. But, you should be able to feel his ribs easily, and if he is a short coated dog, you should be able to easily make out the line of the rib cage.

This is a picture of Viper the Belgian Malinois. She is in perfect weight for her age. She's five. Belgians, and Dutchies too, don't really start to fill out and get "solid" until between the ages of three and four, particularly the boys.



As for putting on muscle, the only way to do that is exercise. Exercise, exercise, exercise.

[Zoom]

My 67 pound foster Lab eats 2 1/2 to 3 cups a day and she's perfect. Lean and muscled.

I personally think dogs look and do better when slightly on the lean side.

[whackichic]

My dogs eat Innova adult. The male 3 1/2 cup and the female 3 1/4 cup mixed with 1/4 can of tripett canned food.
http://www.thedogathlete.com/eats/tripett/14/#more-14

They are both 18 months old and too young for Evo. I picked Innova adult cuz it's such a good food. The female has a wicked sensitive stomach. I hate changing foods because of that.

[DanL]

A Dutchie and ACD are not supposed to be real big dogs. 60lbs is probably a good weight. At just over a year, he's not done growing yet, so be patient.

If you can feel his ribs under his skin but not see them, I'd say he's just fine. On my GSD you can see the last rib or 2 when he's running, and feel them under the skin, and he looks great. Most people think a dog that they can see or feel ribs is too thin, but actually that is where they should be. We're used to seeing fat dogs and consider that normal.

[Duke'sMommy]

Thanks everyone with the input. I was on the fence with his weight and with everyone saying he was to thin made me really debate it. I know you dont have a pic to really see but from what people said to determine if hes underweight or not and going by that then hes perfect.

Spiritus - Thanks for the post. It put my mind at easy alot.

I was thinking the same thing as another posted. With so many over weight dogs its easy to think Duke is to skinny. I'll just keep doing what Im doing with him and be glad hes not over weight. I do forget at times that he still is young and has still time to fill out abit. Thanks again everyone

[OutlineACDs]

Try Satin Balls, I used this on my ACD when she was going through the gangly stage. I'm not using it right now because shes at a good weight, but try it out.

http://www.njboxers.com/satin-balls-recipe.htm

[OutlineACDs]

oops, also, don't free-feed. Give him two small meals a day. I prefer to feed once a day. (My dogs only eat once a day) This way you can guage how much he's really eating and if he goes off of his food you will know ASAP. If he is underweight he probably isn't responding well to free-feeding anyway. They have to get in a habit of eating regularly. It also helps if you travel, you will know exactly what time of day the dog needs to potty.