# Dog too skinny?



## vangtt (Feb 27, 2014)

Fellow vizsla owners...is my dog too skinny? Ive read and have seen pics of other vizslas that look similiar to mine, but affirmation from this group will make me feel much better! I feed him once to twice a day (he usually doesnt eat the 2nd meal) at 3-4 cups of dry kibble. I have gotten comments that he is too skinny and have even been insinuated that i abuse/dont feed him enough. Is his look normal? If not, what can i do to ensure that the one meal he actually fully consumes thickens him up?


----------



## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I like to see just a little more cover over the hip bones. So I would consider him just slightly under weight. How old is he? Some of the young ones, go through a skinny stage. They grow tall, and it takes them a little while to fill out. 
I would look at the percent of protein, and fat in his food. Then look for a food that is a little higher in both.


----------



## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Can't tell much from those pics. Age, height at the withers (shoulders), and lbs?

Mine have always been about 24-24.5" tall, and weigh south of 60, usually about 57 or so..and look and perform great. 

Don't listen to strangers who know nothing or less about the breed! Look at him from the sides when he's standing, you should see a hint of rib and feel just that, too...and from above, he should be nice and svelte, with a slight pinch at the waist, just like a human.

You didn't say what type of food it is, but 3-4 cups is a healthy amount, so unless you're doing really heavy field work, I'd doubt he's underweight. Post a pic looking down on him while he's standing and I can offer a more accurate answer, though.

A well maintained V will self maintain optimal weight.


----------



## vangtt (Feb 27, 2014)

Thanks for the replies! He is 4 years old. And I feed him Fromms Gold. He actually doesn't get to run around as much as he should. Used to run him all the time from puppy to about 2 years old. Hopefully moving out of the city to an 8 acre farmette next weekend will help! I am pretty strict on him getting any other food besides his regular kibble. I may start feeding him eggs and bacon or something fatty to see if he can retain any weight 😛.


----------



## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

😛

It's unclear what this means.


But, don't try to artificially "Fatten him up" especially by adding extra fats, that could cause pancreatitis. And bacon is loaded with nitrites and nitrates which are known carcinogens.

You didn't post a picture of his topline taken from above, but if you're worried about weight, and especially before you add stuff, change the food and see if that helps, find a grain free with at least some identifiable animal meat meal as the first ingredient and a protein content of at least 30+% dogfoodadvisor.com


----------



## tegee26 (Apr 25, 2018)

gingerling said:


> change the food and see if that helps, find a grain free with at least some identifiable animal meat meal as the first ingredient and a protein content of at least 30+% dogfoodadvisor.com



This is what I did for my 10-month old male. Went with Annamaet GF meat based: http://www.annamaet.com/products/Manitok_Formula

He's been much better about eating and seems happy for now. And, after owning Labs all my life and this being my first V, I've simply got used to him self-regulating and not getting all bunged up about how many meals/day and or amount per day. He seems fine and not malnourished.

FWIW


----------



## vangtt (Feb 27, 2014)

Here is a pic of him from the top view as he was eating.


----------



## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Oh, he is definitely underweight (or malformed).

I think you should change his food immediately, dogfoodadvisor.com, any 5 star grain free. I've had great success with Annamaet.


----------



## vangtt (Feb 27, 2014)

I am going to change diet to something more commerical like iams. Maybe he will eat it more often and/or ot will have more ingredients that will fill him up. This Fromm brand is supposed to be very "natural" but it may not be the best suited for my dog.


----------



## vangtt (Feb 27, 2014)

Since ive switched him over to Purina Pro Plan Sport. I think he is filling up more???


----------



## Anida (Jun 10, 2016)

Definitely looks like he's filling out more


----------



## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

He looks better.


----------



## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

I'll try this one more time: Dogfoodadvisor.com Pick a five star food.

Pro Plan is junk. Read the ingredients.


----------



## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

A lot of owners, and field trialers have been using pro plan for many years. 
You can go for stars, or you can go far what works for your dog.


----------



## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

texasred said:


> A lot of owners, and field trialers have been using pro plan for many years.
> You can go for stars, or you can go far what works for your dog.


Yes, and Pro Plan advertises heavily at most field, trial, and show events. However ingredients do not lie, and especially in a dog that is undernourished, the best recommendation is for a high quality, high protein meat based formula. It is totally unclear (and surely not at all evidenced by those pics) that Pro Plan is "Working".


----------



## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

My comment was not to start a debate.
It was only to give a opinion.
I've had dogs on 5 star rated dog foods, and ones on Pro Plan. Though trial and error, each dog was on a food that worked best for them.
So my personal opinion, is feed what works for your dog.


----------



## Najo (Feb 16, 2018)

My Vizsla definitely had a say in the matter. I tried multiple 5 star foods that he would barely touch and I got concerned about his weight. I continued to experiment until I tried Nutro Essentials, its a 3.5 star food, but he eats it with joy. Go for quality food, but 5 star quality food is useless if they don't eat.


----------



## Anida (Jun 10, 2016)

You have to find what works for your dog. I used to always feed my dogs a 5 star food. Kaylee (my V) always has had runny stools etc. until I decided to go back to kirkland. We used to have our beagles on it but their coats weren't as shiny and they had horrible gas on it. I think it's still a 4star food on dogfoodadvisor, but Kaylee actually has solid bowel movements now. Not sure why, but the "worse" food actually works better for her digestive system and my beagle seems to have outgrown the gas issue.


----------

