How to put weight on?

[redlottie]

Otto is now 15 months old and a working cocker.  We dont work him but he does get about 2 hours off lead exercise per day and is on the go constantly.

We have alwasy struggled a bit with his food and have finally got him settled on Arden Grange Lamb which he appears to enjoy.  He isnt underweight in terms of the scales as he is 16.5kg but he looks on the skinny side you can definately see and feel his ribs and at times see his ribs.  I have tried just increasing his portion size of the AG but he wont eat anymore than his usual amount.

Any tips on what healthy additions to give him?  I don't want to mix anything with his food as it as taken us a good while to get him to stop being a fussy eater and don't want to undo that hard work. 

He will happily eat veg, fruit, scrambled eggs - is it just a case of giving him something as an addition after he has eaten is AG?  Any ideas welcome?

He has recently been to the vet for his vaccinations and she was happy enough with him but I am conscious that with the amount of exercise he gets I maybe should be feeding him a bit more.

[Helen]

he sounds fine to me, exactly how he should be Why do you want him fat?

He will fill out more naturally up until he's around 2 

[Nicola]

I agree with Helen, he sounds pretty normal for a working Cocker of that age. Caoimhe's 20 months now and has filled out a bit in the last couple of months but up to then I was calling her 'teflon ribs' because nothing seemed to stick to her even though she eats like a horse. She had good muscle on her shoulders and bum but she was all ribby in between but I didn't give her extra food as I knew she was getting enough (and it sounds like Otto is too as he's not hungry for more) and she'd even out eventually. I would wait and see how he fills out naturally in the coming months, he should develop more muscle and bulk.

[redlottie]

Thanks for the replies - that makes sense, he does eat well and I am sure is eating enough just looks a bit 'ribby'.

I will leave him to it then and from what you say wil naturally fill out over the next 6 months.

 

[JeffandAnnie]

As with people, a little bit lean is healthier than fat; both my dogs are nice and slim. Unfortunately I don't practice what I preach 

[Black Red + Yellow]

Finn is just reaching his 4th birthday and it is only this year that he seems to have bulked up a bit....still really slender and fit but obviously now muscled up.  I'm happy he has bulked up tbh as this will help with the shoot season when he really gets lean...wish I could burn it up as quick

[Cath]

As others have said; don't worry at this age about being a bit ribby. I went through this with Murron now 2.5 mths and she is slim but very healthy looking now. Breagh is coming up 19 mths and a couple of mths ago I was embarrased for people to see her  she was so ribby and ate like a horse, it did not seem to go anywhere.

Let nature take it's course 

[wendyt]

My WCS Murphy is also 15 months old and we have struggled to keep weight on him, he weighs in at around 13kgs at the moment. He is very ribby, but has got good muscle defination around his shoulders and legs. He is a fantastic eater and we have tried various foods to try to get weight on him. Unfortunately the only food on which he did gain weight easily also made him scratch and lick off a lot of his hair on the inside of his back legs, ( a very expensive brand I may add!!).
However we are busy trying Barking Heads at the moment which he really enjoys and he seems to be holding his weight, doesn't scratch or lick, his hair is growing back and the rest of his coat is very glossy. I suspect he will always be on the lean side, but I've decided not to worry about it, hopefully he will fill out as he gets older.

[JaspersMum]

I have problems getting Charlie (show type) to eat and consequently at 16 months old, he still weighs just over 12kg.  His recent show critique described him as "Very underweight"...  I've found a food he will eat, but now he's chewing his coat and itching so I've got a slightly less underweight dog with holes in his coat 

However, in the vets eyes he's lean and how they like him, it seems that we can't please everyone and I live in hope that as he gets older, he will bulk with maturity.