I have a 9 Month old yellow American Lab, she has gained only 4lbs in the last few months, just keeps getting taller. When I pet her I can very easily feel her Ribs. Everyone keeps asking me her breed and when I tell them they reply "oh I thought so, but she is SOOOO skinny". I run her daily but not an excessive amount. Just wondering if this is normal and if anyone can suggest the best food for her, she is also always acting like she is starving, she eats her food so quick, doesn't ever chew, I've invested in an elevated food bowl because I know the risks associated with eating so quick, but I can't get her to even chew her food, she acts as if she is starved. I am currently feeding her Blue Buffalo wilderness, Chicken and Rice and giving her 4 cups a day. Can anyone offer advice, I've asked the experts at the pet stores (who agree she is skinny) but nothing they have suggested has worked for weight gain. Please help! Thanks
To simply keep an eye out, they tested her for the obvious like worms, and of course she is healthy, he said Blue Buffalo was a good food and to give it time, but that over 3 months ago. Sometimes I feel I can get better feedback from people with Lab specific experience. Either way I know as far as the vet goes she is health and just "slow to gain proper weight" but I'm just wondering if people have been in a similar situation and found a good food for it. Thanks for your response
I am sure someone will be along with some good advice/personal experience....although a grazer my boy has always eaten well and gained weight, although he is a good shape (tummy tuck) and can feel his ribs as if under a blanket). Sorry I can't be more helpful x
At 9 months old Jura was very leggy and gangly looking, and I got a lot of comments about how thin she was. It was just the way she was at that age and at 16 months she has filled out more though she is still a very slim and finely built lab in comparison to many labs. If your vet is happy with her general health then that is the main thing, and she will fill out in time. I do top up Jura's food with sardines a couple of times a week and she gets salmon oil added to her food but that is more to help with her coat. Was your vet happy with the amounts you were feeding? Oh and Jura always acts like she's starving too - it's a lab thing!
How about just feeding an extra meal each day? So if she's on two meals now then go back to three. Ultimately if it's not a health problem then increasing calories is bound to lead to weight gain.
Jesssie was extremely skinny up until around 8 months then she suddenly started to fill out. She is working lab, and am I right in thinking that is similar to American lab? The vet suggested staying on the food she had and bulking it up with carbs (we used rice or left over potatoes). They did suggest that if she didn't put on weight she go on to a working or large breed dog food when she got to a year old. But just to keep an eye on it until then. I've stopped giving her the additional carbs for around a month now and the weight seems to be staying on. She is still very sleek compared to other labs in the area, but I think that is the working breed. I also think lots of labs around here are overweight, so I try not to compare!
Some young dogs just don't seem to be able to eat enough to gain weight without getting upset tummies. This probably isn't a bad thing, and lots of teenage Labradors go through a very leggy/skinny phase. I think unless the vet thinks there is anything to worry about, then just see how she goes. No, it's because you don't overfeed her. There are plenty of porky working line pet Labradors around.
Are you increasing her food as she grows? She does sound to be very hungry and if you are running her, she will need more food than a dog who has less exercise. How about giving her a little raw tripe on top of her kibble, it is supposed to help. I feed my dogs by how they look, if skinny they get more, if getting more weight on, then less food. When a dog is going through a growth spurt, they do need more food, then you give less when the spurt is over. You say she was tested for worms, how long ago was that? She could be re-infested?
According to Oban's breeder 9 months is about bang on for when you might see a plateau in weight gain. AS you say yourself, growth goes into height and they can look quite lanky at this stage. Oban's weight did plateau at that time and he was about the same weight for around a month and a half. I was given a year chart of what growth phases to expect. Your breeder's lines may be different, what does your breeder say?
Sorry, just seen this. Yes, my Shadow is one of those that was always really skinny. At times he looked like something from a concentration camp. He's always had a great appetite, but if I increased his food too much it just came (rapidly) out the other end. With him, it's just been a case of slowly increasing his food, bit by bit. He's still slim (as I want to keep him) but he sometimes gets too ribby again, so I have to up his food. He has a vast amount more than his twin sister, but uses it up really quickly. It may help to add another small meal in during the day if his stomach can't cope with more food just added on to his existing meals. Or, aim for more calorie-dense foods so they're not taking up too much space in his stomach, which can cause the runs. Tinned sardines in oil is a good one for adding extra calories without much bulk. Maybe try a tin of those every other day or so?
