# Does my Bully need to Bulk Up?



## Bulls.Like.Bud (Oct 7, 2016)

To me he seems skinny for a nine month old guy. However, after reading massive articles about whether he is "conditioned" or "skinny", I am just not 100% sure. 

He is a APBT mix and he does have a few behavioral quirks (i.e. barking, shitting in the backseat of the car in fear of being dumped off like his last owners did to him, a profound hatred of squirrels). But he is doing ALOT better than he first did when he showed up, so I cannot complain too much. 

I just don't know if I need to feed him more than the 5 cups of food he gets a day, or if he needs to be checked out by a vet for the 4th time since March...

Perhaps you guys may help a beefless bully out.


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

he looks fine, I don't see hip bones sticking out. he is young and lanky. 5 cups seems to be alot but each dog is different. have you dewormed him? he is deff not conditioned as there is no muscle on him but again he is young and conditioning a pup this young you need to watch you do not over do it. what kind of exercise do you do with him? 
I would avoid "bulking him up " that just leads to more health issues, is he is part apbt they are not big dogs to begin with . Love his face , the expressions sable dogs have is one of a kind .


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## jttar (Jan 31, 2013)

First, welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing pictures of your pup. I agree with angelbaby that five cups of food a day for the pup is excessive. With a good quality meal, 2-3 cups a day would be plenty. Also, he doesn't appear to have a bully body type and may stay long and lanky, which isn't a bad thing.

Joe


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

at 5 cups a day can I ask what you are currently feeding?


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## Bulls.Like.Bud (Oct 7, 2016)

Thank you all for such quick responses! And I have been feeding him the 4Health Puppy Chow. I had originally had him on the Taste of the Wild, but that seemed to make his tummy upset, so I switched him. 

The bag says that it is recommended a 3 1/2 cups a day, but he literally acts like he is starving at each feeding. 

I had dewormed him a month or so ago, and I don't believe that could be the problem. 

As for exercising him, he goes for walks regularly with my other two dogs (a Yorkie and a Basset Hound). He enjoys a game of game of "rip mommy's arm off" (AKA Tug-of-War). He also goes for runs while I ride my bike twice a week. So, I do my best to wear him out most days, as he gets quite destructive when he is bored. 
Any more suggestions for exercise would be greatly appreciated though! He loves to put his mind to work. 

I don't want him to be fat or overweight, I just don't want to be stared at at every walk that he doesn't have a jacket on for, because you can see his ribs at times.


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

he looks great in that pic from the side and has nice deffinition for a pup. sounds like you are doing everything right . people will say stupid things about dogs being skinny just due to them not knowing what a in shape dog looks like. You should be able to see the last 2-3 ribs that does not mean skinny. He has a nice tuck up . Skinny is when hip bones are sticking out and I don't see that at all. I had a dog who we fed crazy amounts too as well and he was always lean, different dogs metabolize differently and it looks like the amount he is eating is fine. I am not familiar with that food so can not comment about it , if it is a lower quality that could be a reason you are having to feed so much , however I fed my boy orijen and he still ate like 6 cups a day and was still lean. 
for other exercise ideas have you tried flirt poles or spring poles? can look up threads on here for directions on that , makes it easy on you for days you don't want to get out and be active with him. Swimming is a great one if you have access to water and in warmer weather. 
I liked doing weight pulling and dragging tires with my crazy high energy dog but due to your pups age you want to start out light if going to get into that , until his joints mature . good to get him used to those things early though .
Doing mental stimulation can be good for destructive dogs as well, focus on obedience or agility type activities. Lots of ideas on this site just type some things in the search button up top and I'm sure a ton of good threads to read up on with ideas


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## Bulls.Like.Bud (Oct 7, 2016)

Well Buddy has put on 4 pounds in a month. I made an attempt at Satins Balls, which he love, love, loves...
Thank you guys for all of your help!


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## BCdogs (May 30, 2014)

Just curious why you're feeding satin balls? Those are designed to pack fat on dogs that are underweight, and yours was not. Why put unnecessary weight on your dog?


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## [email protected] (Oct 17, 2016)

*zeus a 5 month old pitbull with Demodex*

I have a five 5 month old pitbull with demodex he has hairloss and red bump all over his face belly and arm pits.do anyone in this forum have this problem with there pit pup please help


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