# Is he ever going to gain weight??



## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

I know your pain, I tried putting weight on Vegas for a year, and he LOST an ounce. I don't have any advice, nothing has worked for us either! He's just so picky!


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

Have you tried increasing his current food a tad? If he stays at 45 lbs easily and is healthy (good energy levels, bright eyes, nice coat) then I wouldn't worry too much. Have you felt his ribs? They should be easily felt with a thin layer of fat over them. Trevvor is slender like Sawyer, he's 16.5" tall and about 17 lbs. Most dogs his height or sometimes shorter are at least 20, if not 25. He eats plenty though so I don't worry.


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

I can't see Vegas's ribs, but it feels like his spine sticks out, and his hip bones stick out bad.. ugh. Vienna is solid, she looks at food and gains weight, and I can't keep it on Vegas. Typical man and woman.


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## Cheryl&clouseau (Jun 6, 2012)

Hi I'm having the same problem with my 7month old he is 23" and 40lb ish he has a fab appetite but does not sit still, I have a few friend who show poodles and have had poodles for the best part of 20yrs and they all say the same some are very difficult to hold onto weight or gain any, I tried clouseau on my own uk version of satin balls this week as we have our first ever show the coming weekend so I will let u know if they work but there are plenty of recipes on the net it might me worth you trying them out be careful as they claim to gain weight very quickly  good luck 
Luck X


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

We did satin balls, I even added lard. After a week he wouldn't eat then frozen, so I had to thaw them, after a week of that he wouldn't eat them thawed, so I had to warm the up..


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## Sawyersmomma (May 28, 2012)

I've tried increasing his food, leaving it out all day. He just won't eat anymore than that. He's very energetic, we go hiking almost everyday, could that be overdoing it? It's not long but he's running/pouncing the whole time. from half an hour to an hour.
I don't shave him down because he looks so unhealthily skinny. When you pet him you can feel each individual rib. They aren't sticking out tons, but he definitely has 0 fat. I've been to the vets for check ups and no ones mentioned his weight, they say he's healthy... But I've never brought it up as a concern before either... When I HAVE shaved him down, a friend told me her boyfriend asked if I was starving him :S I feel bad but I can't think of what to do! He's still happy and stuff, but ugh...


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Try some grain free canned food mixed in his kibble- not a lot, just enough to make it more flavorful. Vary the flavors to keep him interested. I use one can for two dogs and it lasts three days. I almost wish I had your problem. My dogs are pigs and I have to watch it or they pack on the pounds. Some poodle do stay on the thin side naturally, but you shouldn't be feeling every rib that easily. You should be able to feel the ribs with a small layer over them.


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## Sawyersmomma (May 28, 2012)

ya, that's why I'm concerned, and that he hasnt gained weight in so long. I guess I'm gonna get some canned food then too  any suggestions of grain free kinds? hopefully not overly expensive lol. and do I just mix it so he wants to eat more of the other food?


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## star (Feb 20, 2011)

Sawyersmomma said:


> ya, that's why I'm concerned, and that he hasnt gained weight in so long. I guess I'm gonna get some canned food then too  any suggestions of grain free kinds? hopefully not overly expensive lol. and do I just mix it so he wants to eat more of the other food?


I am feeding Lola 'GO NOW GRAIN FREE ENDURANCE -FIT & VITALITY' http://dogfoodchat.com/go-natural-grain-free-endurance-formula/ which is grain free and a higher protein more for working dogs. She has been underweight for so long now, she weighs just 34lbs and she is a standard poodle (turns 2yr the end of this month). I had tried various foods, extra feedings, treats, cheese, canned etc etc etc. She actually goes in for monthly weigh ins at my vets so her weight is monitored. You can see and feel her bones. Anyways I switched her food 2 weeks ago and she is putting on weight and she seems to have more energy as well. I believe the food has a good rating and is reasonably priced.


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## lwm1984 (Apr 15, 2012)

My girl has lost a good amount of weight since I've had her. She always seems hungry, but i'm feeding her a pound of raw a day. She's 21" and 35.5 pounds. When I got her and she was still on kibble she was 39 pounds. I wish I could see her ribs to gauge if she's too skinny, but there is too much hair. 

Her vet isn't concerned, he just comments on how she has zero fat.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

Since my last post on this thread, I've discovered that Trev gained a pound and a half. I'd switched him from totw (due to the recalls) onto Innova Prime, which is grain and potato free. He even eats less now, probably about 25-30% less. He definitely feels heavier, has more muscle, and doesnt look quite as slender which I'm loving! If you haven't tried that food yet, it might be worth a shot.


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

Indy is thin too (25 inches tall, 42 lbs) but she's hungry ALL the time and eats a lot. Maddy is 24 inches and 42 lbs but looks like that's her perfect weight. She's got fat over her ribs and her hip bones don't stick out, but still has a tucked up belly. However Indy WAS only 39 lbs 6 weeks ago and her poor hip bones stuck out sharply, poor little thing. But don't worry too much about it, they come in different builds and most do gain weight as they get older. You don't want to overfeed either, or they will get diarrhea. And I don't think you are overdoing the exercise at all; ours are really active but they need that much exercise.


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## Sawyersmomma (May 28, 2012)

Thanks! My poor dog, I shaved him down to a 5 since he's getting his adult coat and was matting. Now people just look at me like I'm the scum of the earth to let my dog starve. I guess it's reasonable to assume that. He sure looks like it but it makes things awkward for sure


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## Trillium (Sep 1, 2009)

I've truly been there!! Jenny was an absolute pain to put weight and and she looked like a scarecrow she was so thin! Thankfully she has finally put on weight and I'm so happy!! I found that feeding her seperately from the other dogs (we put her in the bathroom) and making yummy toppers for her food helped. We topped her food with everything from scrambled eggs to organ meat to fish... find what they like and mix it with their reg food. 

All that said she just suddenly turned a corner and gained weight. I tried for a long time to get her to before she did. I used to laugh when I was talking to Cherie about it and say that I'm drawing the line at white table clothes and candlelight because we tried many things short of it. The other thing seemed to be variety helped. 

My vets told me (one of which used to breed poodles) that putting weight on poodles can be really hard. I was more concerned about her weight then they were.


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## Sawyersmomma (May 28, 2012)

So I took him to the vet a couple days ago for his allergies, he was about 13 months when I first posted this, and only 45 pounds. Well guess what? He hasn't gained ANY weight since! The vets and assistants said he still looked and acted healthy, but it seems so bad... I mean he's 17 months now, at LEAST 27'' and still only 45 pounds...
There was a time when he was 48 pounds, but he seems to just go back to the 45... Since he's on a duck and potato formula, would giving him mashed potatoes with his food help put on some weight do you think?


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

I would personally increase the food maybe 1/2 more a day. The other option if your in to it is feed some Raw offerings like a few chicken wings a week. Raw really helps put on nice solid weight.


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## caroline429 (Mar 5, 2012)

I'm guessing he won't eat more kibble if you offer it?

If you want him to gain weight, he needs more calories and potatoes really don't offer a lot. An ounce of potatoes has about 25 calories. You'd have to add quite a bit to make much difference in his weight. You'd have better luck if you could add some duck which has double the calories per ounce. You do have to be careful when adding fresh foods to kibble not to add too much or you'll upset the nutritional balance of the food, in particular the calcium phosphorus ratio. 

Cali has allergies so I do understand how careful you have to be with foods. If your guy really isn't all that interested in food, you could look for another kibble with the same ingredients but with more calories. If you can't find that, maybe you could try another one with novel ingredients that has more calories than the present one. If you can find a kibble with higher calories, he'd get more calories with the same volume of food.

Cali used to be a very poor eater until I changed her to a cooked homemade diet. She now finishes all her food in two minutes whereas it took her all day to finish kibble, if she even managed to finish it. Having fed both Rotties and an mpoo a homemade diet, I've got to admit it is a lot easier to do it for a little dog vs a big one so I understand if that's not a route you want to go. 

One advantage to a homemade diet (be it raw or cooked) is that you have total control over the ingredients. When you've got an allergic dog, this can be a real benefit in figuring out what the allergens are. The other benefit is that dogs usually really like it and will eat as much as you're willing to feed.


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## Sawyersmomma (May 28, 2012)

Thanks, I actually just leave his food out all day so he can snack whenever he wants. I tried doing meals morning and night, but he'd just eat a few bites, then be done
I measured him today, he's 27 1/2'', so a big boy. A big bony boy lol
My concern with an all raw diet is the cost. I know it shouldn't matter-whatever helps him... But realistically if I ever want to move out of my parents place, or save any money, I can't keep choosing the most expensive things for him. I have mental illnesses and can't work full time, so I basically just make enough money to keep my pets fed and happy.
I don't know, is there anyway to make it less than like $100 a month on food?


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