# how to keep size on dog...



## PhilaPitbull (Nov 11, 2014)

hi how are you i have a 1 and half year old american pitbull terrier that eats but dont gain size.. she eats 5 cups of dry and 1 can of wet a day..after she looks nice and full but at the end of the day it all goes to her front....she is very picky eater and is on cheap food....could this be a reason why.....any info or help would be great....


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## ::::COACH:::: (Apr 4, 2012)

Please post some pictures of her, it would greatly help me figure out what is going on with her. 
You don't want an overweight dog.


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## BCdogs (May 30, 2014)

That sounds like WAY too much food in my opinion. Wet isn't even necessary. Can you post a standing side shot? Are you trying to gain weight or tone her up? Cause feeding extra food will just make your dog fat.


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## PhilaPitbull (Nov 11, 2014)

my vet said to feed her 2 times a day she gets it at 6 am and at like 5 pm....i took a pic its the best i could get im gonna post it now


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## PhilaPitbull (Nov 11, 2014)

not sure how to post pics.....


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## PhilaPitbull (Nov 11, 2014)

pics i was able to fig it out


PhilaPitbull said:


> not sure how to post pics.....


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## BCdogs (May 30, 2014)

She already looks slightly overweight. Why are you trying to make her gain more weight? 5 cups of food is a LOT, let alone an entire can of (unnecessary) wet food.


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## jttar (Jan 31, 2013)

Hello PhilaPitbull and welcome to the forum. Judging by the pictures your girl doesn't need to gain any weight. Actually, she could drop some weight. 
My suggestion would be to quit feeding her 5 cups of cheap food a day and stop the wet food completely. Switch to 2- 2.5 cups of a quality meal a day. It won't be any more expensive as the quality food will last longer. Check out the health and nutrition section of the forum for other food tips. If you do decide to make the switch, it should be a gradual change as not to upset her stomach. As far as being a picky eater, put her food down and if she don't eat it after 15-20 minutes pick it up and don't put it down till next feeding time. Eventually when she gets hungry she will eat.
Best of luck, please keep us posted.

Joe


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## PhilaPitbull (Nov 11, 2014)

the reason for trying to gain weight is cause she dont keep it on..has been that way since a pup....ill have to try a diff food she is always very picky with her food and seems to eat what she gets now..she didnt like some of the higher end foods.....thank you for the info.....


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## jttar (Jan 31, 2013)

What does your vet have to say about her not being able to keep weight on?


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## BCdogs (May 30, 2014)

Honestly, feeding her crap food isn't going to help anything. She clearly doesn't need to gain weight. If you switch to a higher quality kibble she'll need much less and do much better on it. It's like you eating McDonald's every day, you wouldn't want that for your dog, would you? Pickiness is created, not born. A healthy dog will not starve itself. Like Joe said, put the food down for 10-15 minutes and if she doesn't eat it make her wait until the next meal. She'll eat it eventually.


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## PhilaPitbull (Nov 11, 2014)

the vet told me to feed 3 times a day with a lil wet food....im gonna try a new food and see what comes from it. the pics are off a cellphone so not the greatest and hard to really see...i had her since 8 weeks and she was tiny then... was the runt of the litter.... thank you again for the info....


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

Welcome!! I was super surprised at how much cheaper it is to feed a better quality kibble. I used to feed 4 cups a day of cheap kibble and now I feed 1 cup a day. Looks like your pup no longer has a problem keeping weight on  super cute!! Keep in mind most vets take a class or two on nutrition unless they are specializing in animal nutrition. I would take a look below at the charts and judge for yourself


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## PhilaPitbull (Nov 11, 2014)

thank you for the info...she does have some tone to her...ill have to try and get better pics of her....i guess ill have try a few diff foods to see what she will eat....she is on purina one smart blend...she likes it and eats it so i stuck with it......


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## JoKealoha (Mar 22, 2011)

better pics would help.
but i see some jelly rolls around that harness. putting weight on is not the same as putting "good weight" on.
a dogs genetics and metabolism only allow for so much muscle mass. after that, they just get fat. high quality diet and exercise is the only way to maximize their potential.


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## Jen A (Jul 13, 2014)

I have to agree on genetics being the primary driver for a "built" dog. My staffy mix looks as conditioned as all get out -- and he doesn't get any more exercise than the other dogs do. That's just his build. My pit mix actually gets more jumping in with agility training, but she's long and skinny just because that's how she's built.

As far as judging weight goes, you should see the back ribs on a dog. There should still be padding and muscle around the hips, but those back 2 ribs should be visible. I get told all the time that my dogs are too skinny - by people who have overweight dogs.

Don't get freaked out if the dog doesn't eat at first. Just pick up the food and see if she's hungry again next feeding time. She won't let herself starve. I feed Taste of the Wild, and my biggest dog gets 3 cups of food a day. (65 lbs and still developing) The others get 2 cups. One of them actually needs to go down to 1 1/2 cups because she's putting on some weight.


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## TheHiddenAngel (Mar 21, 2014)

She doesn't look even slightly too skinny to me, why would you want her to gain size? She ain't supposed to be a hippo.  Five cups sounds like too much to me, I feed my boy two cups a day (mind you the food is higher quality) and I think he's a fair bit bigger than your dog (not fatter, just bigger).


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## TeamCourter (Oct 22, 2013)

She looks overweight to me also, I would definitely cut her food back. My boy is 78lbs and he only eats two cups a day...and yes every dog is different and needs different amounts, but the pictures are showing that she doesn't need as much food as you are giving her. You can still feed her 3 times a day if you want, you just need to lower the amount of each meal. If you continue to feed a large amount of food she is just going to turn obese and unhealthy, unless you start to exercise the heck out of her to burn up all those extra calories.


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## PhilaPitbull (Nov 11, 2014)

thank you for all the info...i am going out to get a new food and try and see if that helps her keep a safe healthy weight on..yeah i understand the genetics part and that it has a lot to do with how she will be... she was the runt of the litter and all the other dogs are 3 times her size...they do have a small amount of gotti in them but more american pitbull terrier...i guess everyone has a different idea how they should look.. im not a fan of the ribs showing and that real deep tuck in the back....im happy with the way she looks now but i will be working her more to build muscle that she should have..she does have some muscle it does show at times after play time but dont show all the time....


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## PhilaPitbull (Nov 11, 2014)

PhilaPitbull said:


> thank you for all the info...i am going out to get a new food and try and see if that helps her keep a safe healthy weight on..yeah i understand the genetics part and that it has a lot to do with how she will be... she was the runt of the litter and all the other dogs are 3 times her size...they do have a small amount of gotti in them but more american pitbull terrier...i guess everyone has a different idea how they should look.. im not a fan of the ribs showing and that real deep tuck in the back....im happy with the way she looks now but i will be working her more to build muscle that she should have..she does have some muscle it does show at times after play time but dont show all the time....


added pics from tonights walk....


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## BCdogs (May 30, 2014)

I understand you don't personally like it, but that doesn't change the fact that a tuck and/or a couple ribs are signs of a healthy dog. Making your dog overweight just because you think it looks better isn't fair or right. It can cause health problems and reduce your dog's life span. I personally think a fit dog or a dog with a nice lean pet weight looks 100% better than an overweight dog. Just keep in mind that it is best for your dog to be at her ideal weight and you aren't doing her any favors if you don't, regardless of whether you prefer it...


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## PhilaPitbull (Nov 11, 2014)

i get what you are saying dont get me wrong... she getts plenty of play time i have 2 boys and she will never be fat.. her size right now to me isnt bad..but i do understand what you mean


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## JoKealoha (Mar 22, 2011)

i think she looks pretty good. her size matches her frame.
with some exercise she could have a really nice build. but she would be top heavy if you add too much.
one thing i kinda notice is her coat is a little dull. better food and some fish oil will make her shine. and muscles always come out to play on a shiny pup!


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## TheHiddenAngel (Mar 21, 2014)

She still doesn't look too skinny to me. There should be a tuck and the first one to three ribs should be visible on a lean, healthy dog (IMO). Unless she has worms or something I don't see anything wrong. Perhaps look into some supplements for her coat (fish oil, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, etc.) and/or a higher quality diet. Not trying to be critical or anything, just an idea.


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## PhilaPitbull (Nov 11, 2014)

thank you...she gets a once a day of shed x for her coat..i noticed it was like that..these pics where at night time with a cellphone camera....but i just started her it so im waiting to see how it comes out.... i understand about formation and how the standard should be. but i like a nice all around solid built dog.. she is my mutt, meaning she has no pappers to match her...but she comes from nice good sized mom and dad.. and one of them had some gotti line...to me the line dont mean anything. but some people live off of that


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## TheHiddenAngel (Mar 21, 2014)

I would have just gone with fish oil, it looks like that Shed-X stuff has soybean oil in it which might be allergenic. Just my thoughts though.


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## PhilaPitbull (Nov 11, 2014)

ill have to try that thank you for the info.... posting day time pics from today


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## PhilaPitbull (Nov 11, 2014)

PhilaPitbull said:


> ill have to try that thank you for the info.... posting day time pics from today...hope you can all see a better picture of how she is..thank you


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## PhilaPitbull (Nov 11, 2014)

PhilaPitbull said:


> PhilaPitbull said:
> 
> 
> > ill have to try that thank you for the info.... posting day time pics from today...hope you can all see a better picture of how she is..thank you


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## TheHiddenAngel (Mar 21, 2014)

She's a very pretty dog, if you want to build muscle on her though perhaps have her try weigh pulling or spring pole. Weight wise I don't think she needs to gain though.


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## PhilaPitbull (Nov 11, 2014)

im going to look into making a spring pole for my basement and see how she does with it...she loves to play


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## TeamCourter (Oct 22, 2013)

She is a pretty girl, but I would definitely not put any more weight on her. If you are not happy with her build then Exercise Exercise Exercise, and build some muscle instead of adding extra flab.


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## TeamCourter (Oct 22, 2013)

PhilaPitbull said:


> im going to look into making a spring pole for my basement and see how she does with it...she loves to play


You can also make a flirt pole easily and for cheap, just grab some pvc pipe and rope from the hardware store. My dogs LOVE it!


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## jmac (Nov 11, 2014)

I think she looks good, Im with everyone else i would cut the wet food and go all dry.


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