Great dane needs to gain weight?

Question

Thanks to all that have answered my questions about Stein in the past. He is becoming a very well behaved dog both on, and off his lead.

Today's question is regarding his weight. He is a big guy at 108 lbs, but I feel that he needs to put on a little more weight. His ribs are visible and hips easily palpable. I have tried different feeding schedules for him, as well an switching him from Pedigree to Natural Choice (but I am told I could have chosen a better dog food?). He has had a full workup from the vet and given a clean bill of health.

He is just over a year old- obviously, this is my first giant breed dog. But he just will not fill out, and actually looks sickly because of it. I do not exercise him rigorously. Just standard walk/fetch.

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr315/Lpfirman/Bigdog-1.jpg It doesn't really show how skinny he is- but I don't have any shots from above at the moment.

I just want him to look as healthy as he is happy!

Answer 1

try him on some real food(raw chicken necks) or cook up his own casserole( mince,frozen veges,pasta)and dry food of course,his only one so no matter how much you feed him he will continue to burn it off( youll notice changes over time) I suggest you find a local breeder and ask them for some hints. My doberman is around 3( he was rescued so age is estimated) and ive been told for him to be fit looking 1-3 lower ribs should show providing his hips are covered and his fed well with plenty of exercise.Good luck love,his gorgeous-( secret fan of danes but dont tell my dobey xx)

Answer 2

He looks fine in the pic to me.  How tall is he at the shoulder?  My boy is 14 months, 36", and 135 lbs.  His brother is just as tall, but has a higher metabolism and much skinner.  But both are perfectly fine weight wise.

You want him lean.  He'll fill out naturally btwn 2-3 years.  Don't pack weight on him for no reason. Seeing ribs is not a reason to panic, esp if the vet said he's looking good too.

Get him on a better food though.  Chicken Soup is very good, as is Eagle Pack.  Canidea too although they just changed their formula and the rating went down a bit. NO PUPPY FOOD! These may be more expensive bags, but you feed less, and it works out to be the same as the cheaper food in the long run.

Good luck!

  

Answer 3

Natural Choice is not the worst dog food out there, neither is it the best. Personally I feed Merrick and Wellness. When picking a dog food read the ingredients list. Meat, not meal, should be the first ingredient. The food should not contain corn as corn leads to allergies and skin problems. Feed your pooch 2 to 3 times a day for the weight you want him to be. To hold my guy at 60 pounds he gets three 3/4 cup meals a day. Good luck.

Answer 4

Healthy is in the eye of the beholder. Most people see an overweight or obese dog and say its healthy. They see an underweight dog with a clean bill of health and say its starved to death. He'll fill out in another year or so.

Answer 5

HE IS OK! DONT WORRY.  

Answer 6

He looks just great in the photo!  You need to keep in mind that large and giant breed dogs go through a lanky stage where they've done their growing in height but haven't filled out yet.  That's probably just where he is.  He's just not gotten to the filling out stage yet.  He's much healthier the way he is, than if he was putting on a lot of weight and stressing his joints at a young age.  Be patient, he IS healthy and he will be putting on some weight as he gets older.  He doesn't look sickly at all!

Answer 7

he looks great. dont worry