# A Reason to Stay Thin



## alphamum82 (Mar 18, 2009)

What could be a reason, besides worms and ill feeding, to make a pup stay thin? He gets a total of one cup of food a day (1/2 cup each feeding). He's healthy and active. He just isn't gaining weight. He doesn't have worms and is getting fed (that's why I say besides worms and ill feeding). Should I be feeding him more since he is a pup?


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## Ninja Monk3y (Mar 2, 2009)

I know most dog foods recommend for pups up to I think about 4 months to get fed at least 3-4 times a day. I tried that with Elektra but she only ever ended up eating 2 out of those 4 meals. But I think it's up to your dog, try feeding him 3-4 meals a day and just keep track of when he eats, if he only eats twice a day just go ahead and feed him once in the morning and once at night. Hope this helps


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## LiiL_L0cz_Red_N0se (Sep 15, 2008)

depends on you really. i know BBB feeds only a cup to her pup comabt... i personally feed 2 on regular days, and 2.5 on sch and hiking days for my girl... i feed one in the morning and one in the evening.

how old is ur pup? how much does he weigh?


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## dan'sgrizz (Oct 22, 2008)

Id feed more than one they are growing puppies.... i like to add eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese and other things in the mix too. Have you tried 2 cups?


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## alphamum82 (Mar 18, 2009)

I think I will try two cups a day instead of one. China gets two a day and is looking great. Aries is only 3 months old though so that's why I haven't been feeding him too much. They eat once in the morning and once at around 5pm


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## hell no they wont go (Oct 4, 2007)

i heard some dogs dont gain weight because of thyroid problems. how heavy is ur puppy?could he be going through a growth spurt?


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## BedlamBully (Jun 6, 2008)

I feed a cup and a half a day. Aside from Combat being geneticly lean I personally like a leaner dog, NOT SKINNY by any means. Its just helps keep weight off their joints and its easier to get them into show shape once they are old enough.

I also feed a high quality food so less is needed at each feeding, And I add eggs on weekends


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## mom2twopups (Mar 4, 2009)

Lucy is also 3 months and we feed her two, sometimes 2.5 cups a day (depending on how much excersising we do). The vet told us that he thinks that she is pretty thin, but other than this, she is healthy. You can see her ribs, but we think that she is just right. She has high energy and just overall looks healthy. How much does your pup weigh? Lucy is 3 months and is 18 lbs...and that is with 2-2.5 cups a day.


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## alphamum82 (Mar 18, 2009)

I'm not quite sure how to weigh him. He isn't due for his last set of puppy shots til Friday and we didn't take him to his second set because he wasn't ours at the time so I don't know how much he weighed then. He's growing quite fast and has put on some weight since we got him but we can still see his ribs...If that's normal then I'm cool with it. China was almost 4 months when we got her and wasn't THIS thin...So I wasn't sure.


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## mom2twopups (Mar 4, 2009)

From the pics, he looks a lot like my Lucy...of course, pics can be deceiving...you know, how we weigh Lucy is I get on the scale, weigh myself and then pick her up and see what the difference is...we were spot on when we took her to the vet. Maybe he is just a thinner dog? I have no idea of how to judge Lucy ourselves. We, like you, see her ribs, the vet said that she was kind of thin, but we know what she eats and how much, so we think that she is healthy. Maybe bump it up to 2 cups and see if he starts "plump" up some...


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## PullDawgPits (Apr 15, 2008)

What kind of food are you feeding? I am not saying anything about the quality but some dogs have problems with certain types of protein. 

We had a young dog that had to have lamb and rice or she would lose weight drastically, it was like she just couldn't process the other food.

Stephanie


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## alphamum82 (Mar 18, 2009)

Right now they're all on Orijen. Puppies got puppy brand and China has adult brand.


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## PeanutsMommy (Sep 21, 2008)

BedlamBully said:


> I feed a cup and a half a day. Aside from Combat being geneticly lean I personally like a leaner dog, NOT SKINNY by any means. Its just helps keep weight off their joints and its easier to get them into show shape once they are old enough.
> 
> I also feed a high quality food so less is needed at each feeding, And I add eggs on weekends


good post.

I feed Peanut 1 cup Orijen at breakfast and 1 cup at dinner and hes active all day...no longer the springpole..*cough* he broke it. Peanut is 1 year old now and 50lbs. He has always been small and lean naturally. I am with BBB I like a lean healthy dog.


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## LiiL_L0cz_Red_N0se (Sep 15, 2008)

im with yall too i like em LEAN AND MEAN  hhaha but kenya is just heavy.. she is like 50lbs or something, i dont know how, she looks just like peanut lmao


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## PeanutsMommy (Sep 21, 2008)

heheheh Kenya is Peanut's female twin 
i want to get an updated weight on Peanut since I got him on Orijen after his little ordeal but I am scared to step on the scale first HA!! Nah, I need to find out..I might do it tomorrow last I checked at the vet he was 50lbs on feb 26

edit: okay i did get on the scale with Peanut this morning he is 47.4 lbs

Erika I didnt know you used Orijen. LiiL_L0cz_Red_N0se and Infinity got me looking into orijen and LOVE the results of the food!


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## alphamum82 (Mar 18, 2009)

Yeah when I'd read through the DFC forum about kibble, Orijen stuck out at me and I decided "what the hay?" and they love it! I love the results too. China's a sausage. She's gotta be 50lbs now. She was under 40 on raw (she was at 48 before we tried raw and only stayed on raw for about a month). I'm going to up Aries' meals by 1/2 cup a day and see how he does with that. Hopefully in a week we'll see a good improvement!!


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## Patch-O-Pits (Jan 12, 2008)

alphamum82 said:


> What could be a reason, besides worms and ill feeding, to make a pup stay thin? He gets a total of one cup of food a day (1/2 cup each feeding). He's healthy and active. He just isn't gaining weight. He doesn't have worms and is getting fed (that's why I say besides worms and ill feeding). Should I be feeding him more since he is a pup?


You should not be comparing what an older pup or dog is eating to what a young pup needs.

Pups need to eat more often and have more food than what you are feeding IMO especially if they are having weight issues. that is most likely the problem if there is no health cause. I usually feed pups from 8 weeks to a year 3x a day splitting up the total amount of food into those meals.

Did you read the feeding guidelines for a pup on the bag? How old is the pup?

here is the feeding chart for the orijen puppy food; This is where you need to start gaging how much, and then you add or take away food as needed.
Puppy Feeding


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