# Vet said vizsla puppy is too skinny



## honetl3 (Oct 11, 2018)

I took my vizsla in at 13 weeks and the vet said that she knows the breed is known to be thinner but is concerned she is not eating enough. I have her on diamond puppy food and her food is always available for her to eat. I estimate she eats between 2 to 2.5 cups a day. Her weight was 16.4 pounds at 13 weeks and 10.5 and 9 weeks so she had gained just under 6 pounds in those for weeks. Should I be concerned or is it possible my vet is just not as familiar with this breed. I want to make sure she is eating enough without forcing her to eat more than she needs


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

It would help if you could post pictures.
Are you seeing hip bones on your puppy?


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## spiraling (Jul 21, 2018)

You might try switching the foods around with other high quality brands and flavors. Our 16 week old definitely likes some foods better than others, and that changes daily. I guess I would hate to eat the same thing every day too. 

At 14 weeks ours was also a bit on the lean side (19.5 lbs) according to the vet. He also eats as much as he wants. His ribs show but not the hips. I got a can of wilderness puppy food, mix it with some kibble, and fill a kong, He loves it and eats more because of it.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

So much depends on the build of the puppy.
You can't just go by wieght..
Shine was just under 10 lbs at 8 weeks old. Her last wieght was 42 lbs, and she's 8 months old.
She's at the tall leggy age and will probably hit 50 when she fills out.
Different bloodlines grow, and slow their growth at different ages. It all evens out over time.


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## honetl3 (Oct 11, 2018)

Here's a pic of miss Ruby!


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

ribs showing on the picture, but not hips, looks normal puppy for me. i am not familiar with the brand of food you give, so i cannot comment on that. when u say food always available, does it mean free-feeding? i generally don`t recommend that, but rather a schedule. at this age 3-4 times a day.


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## spiraling (Jul 21, 2018)

She looks just like my pup - and I'm not concerned. Some days he looks a little bit chubbier, some days his legs look like he's a kangaroo. I do add some apples and carrots to his "stuffy" treats for a change too. 


@Gabica why don't you like "free range" feeding?


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

She looks perfect.


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

on free range feeding: 

https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/19_3/features/Meals-or-Free-Feeding_21416-1.html

hopefully it answers question.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Ok, I'll be gentle here.....

First, your baby is definitely underweight based on that pic. Puppies are typically "ribby", but yours is also "hippy"and there's a clear indentation where the ribs end and the belly starts, shes too thin. 
'

Switch your food immediately! Diamond Puppy food is not a very high quality food, the first ingredient is "Chicken by product meal"..which is basically the waste parts of the chicken not usable (nor identifiable), and then a lot of grains and cereals. The first "real" animal ingredient..(unnamed!) fish meal... is too far down the ingredients list. V's need a high quality, animal based food..compare "Nature's Variety Instinct Original"and see.

Visit "Dogfodadvisor.com"and pick a 5 star food, one with at least some identifiable meat meal as the first ingredient. And under the circumstances, I would suggest "Free feeding" so she gets the nutrients she needs to grow and develop properly.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Granted I'm viewing it on my phone, and not my computer. I would not say, that puppy is drastically underweight. 


I don't feel dog food advisor, is the end all to choosing a dogs food. Helpful yes, but the person is not a ACVN. American College of Veterinary Nutrition


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Ok, I looked at it...twice now on a full screen PC and enlarged it...and based on just one pic..more would confirm it for me.....pup is definitely underweight.

Agreed that any website isn't the final authority on most matters. Websites are best seen as resources..providers of (hopefully) objective information which then should be further assessed based on individual need and circumstance. Dogfoodadvisor offers both a listing of manufacturer provided ingredients as well as a fairly objective discussion of those ingredients..making comparison easier.

Diamond puppy food is not a demonstrably "Quality" food, especially for the particular needs of a high performance breed, like the V. This puppy is eating waste animal parts and cereal.

Therefore, the vet seems accurate in his/her assessment of pups weight, and the OP would do well to change the food and allow free feeding to compensate and catch up and gain weight and nutrients she seems to be clearly lacking. Proper nutrition during the formative first year is essential to development and overall health.


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## honetl3 (Oct 11, 2018)

Thanks for all the input! I am looking into other food to see if she will be more interested in it!


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## lebanesemommy (Jul 13, 2018)

Your puppy is adorable and very similar looking to my Indio when he was that age. He definitely gained his weight and now looks great! I have no worries that it will happen to your puppy. I agree with Gabica on switching food. I highly recommend Fromm puppy food. It is the pink and gold bag. Excellent high-quality brand. The price is not too bad. Good luck and she is so sweet!


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## lilyloo (Jun 20, 2012)

She is a little thin, but this can be pretty typical for V's this age. I remember having trouble keeping weight on our girl at that age and we were feeding her 3 cups a day of a high quality food. They're just so active at that age and burn through calories. 

I'd also suggest stopping the free feeding and making a schedule. We did 7 am, 12pm, and 7pm with our girl at that age. If they have some time between meals, they're likely to be more hungry and eat more. The suggestion of finding a higher quality food is a good one, too! Just make sure you switch her over to the new food slowly, by mixing the new with the old to avoid tummy upsets.

She's a cutie!


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## Mav2015 (Sep 3, 2015)

IMO she is too skinny. Maybe consider using Merrick puppy formula or other high quality puppy formula and upping to about 3-4 cups a day. 

Dogs, just like children, benefit from having extra resources and will lean out as they get older, are switched to an adult food, and a steadily reduced amount of food over time. 

It took feeding my pup about 4 cups per day split between 3 meals until he was about 6 months in order to keep a healthy weight. He is now 3 and I’ve only recently cut his food back to 2 cups per day from 2.75 he has been eating twice per day since about 1 year.


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## TereLiz (Sep 21, 2016)

That's about what Zelda weighed at that age but she was the runt of the litter. Ruby does look a little bonier around the hips but it doesn't look like you can see her spine. We were still giving Zelda 3-4 meals a day at that point. My husband was always worried she looked too thin so he gave her a lot of high protein treats like beef pizzles and mixed canned salmon into her food (he's at home while I'm at work most of the day). We switched from whatever puppy food we were using at first to Victor Puppy and Active Dog food and it made a big difference. We switched to Victor Yukon River salmon and sweet potato (with additional canned salmon for dinner) at around six months in response to our other dog's food allergies and I highly recommend it.


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## biotricion (Jun 27, 2018)

for me, your Rubby looks good. if she eats well and has not get sick , have energy and playful behavior is just fine and could be her fisionomy and metabolism..
the requeriment equation to know how much calories she needs (Resting Energy Requirements or RER), which can be calculated by multiplying the animal's body weight in kilograms raised to the ¾ power by 70, for example, a 10kg (22lb) adult neutered dog of healthy weight needs RER = 70(10kg)3/4 ≈ 400 Calories. by a constan value on their physiologycal stage 1.6= 640calories. your dog need to be by 3 because is on growth. (after 4 months will be by 2) adult dog for exemple will be 1.8 intact or 1.6 neutered.
rubys weight 7.5kg raised to the ¾ by 70 X3= 951calories i ll give her 100 or 200 plus if you want she gain weigth (i think shes good).. total 1051 o 1151calories a day divided in 3 meals. choose a good macronutrient ratio puppy pet food, high protein, high lipid and the propper calcium phosporus ratio 1.1-1.2:1. if the label hasn t print the total calories per service or pound call to the brand pet food costomer service to know it, choose a five star pet food because is better ingredients. https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/companion/our-services/nutrition-support-service/basic-calorie-calculator your dog is eaten about 1095 calories because their brand states puppy diamond gives Calorie Content: 3,973 kcal/kg (438 kcal/cup) Calculated Metabolizable Energy. (https://www.diamondpet.com/our-brands/diamond/puppy/) so, 438*2.5=1095 just the amount that RER recomends . so your pupp. eats that he needs.. i think


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## Moby_1851 (Dec 11, 2018)

Get used to people - not just vets - presenting their opinions as facts whether you want / ask for them or not. My Griffin looked very similar. She is 6 months now and I’ve been given unsolicited advice on what she should eat and how much everyday. She hit 33 lbs. recently. My vet said she was on the lean side of ok. She is happy and energetic. I feed her a lot but I excercise her a lot. I can just barely see her ribs when she isn’t moving and they are pretty visible when she is. But Vizslas are lean / most people consider overweight normal because that is what they see all the time. My view is that if her energy level is high and she isn’t ravenous all the time, you are fine. She will go through multiple gowth spurts and be ribby...then fill a bit...then ribby again. Don’t worry. Just enjoy. You’ll find a sweet spot for feeding her in time. My opinion - not fact - is that yours is on the lean side of ok. Feed her what you think best. I use Nomnomnow and supplement with high quality kibble and raw bones.she will b fine with The diet she is on too. Don’t sweat it.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

I think she looks fine,


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