# Need help. Baby Dax needs to put on weight.



## VizslaNewbies (Jun 10, 2011)

Greetings everyone!

Sorry we haven't been active since Summer and keeping up to date with a lot of things. Hope you can forgive us! Dax is a little over 5 months now and he has been one **** of a ride.

Housebreaking him has been very interesting but it seems the war of not letting him on the sofa continues, and I have a feeling this is a war Mommy and Daddy will probably end up losing because he has mastered the art of the Pouty Face. 

Anyways, we are slightly concerned about our pup with his weight. We know that Vizsla are naturally meant to have a lean build but we think he might be behind several pounds from his actual weight at his age. We did change his diet from Purina products too Blue Wilderness a little while ago and since then he has packed on weight but still appears to be 'frail' 

Now we are not sure how much he is suppose to weigh at 6 months so we are pretty much going by eye ball and the hug test for him. His last vet appointment, she did tell us Dax was still underweight but apparently thats a norm with vets who see Vizsla so we kind of took it as a grain of salt because our particular area has a low populous of Vizsla owners, and by low we mean we've almost met everyone from our area who have Vizsla and it's just a handful. (We live in a small community out in the country)

This week we did make adjustments to his diet to see how we will fair because his appetite fluctuates like crazy and it's partially our fault because we are not consistent with his eating schedule.

In the morning we leave him 1 cup of Blue Wilderness for Pups and let him settle before he goes out for his walk and playtime in the yard.

When we leave for work, we leave about 2 maybe 5 cups in his crate and by the time we get home it's normally be done except for bout maybe 10-15 kibbles that kind of lingers inside that he randomly snacks on when he's in there for his break time.

At night time we leave out another 1 maybe 2 cups and leave the rest in his crate when we put hiim to bed. 

Now on a good day, he seems to eat all his food but on other days he barely makes a dent.

Does anyone have suggestions on eating schedules and perhaps gradually increasing the portions? Also, any other altneratives of food we can add to his Blue Wildnerness chow to help him gain some more weight.

Thank you all in advance for help!


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

Our pup was underweight looking until about 2 weeks ago (she's about 6 1/2 months now).

Her ribs showed, her hip bones stuck out, etc. She looked like we were starving her to death.

Now at 6 1/2 months, she weights 39 pounds, she's thickening up a bit and seems a bit more interested in food. She is a very finicky eater. We've been adding about 1/8 cup of milk to her food lately - seems to increase her interest.

She eats a small amount at about 11 am or noon - usually about 1 1/3 cups. (we tried feeding her at 9am when our other dog ate and she would never eat it - we just had to learn HER schedule)

Then at 6 or 7 pm we give her about 2 1/2 to 3 cups and she usually eats well then.

From what I've read, most Vizsla's are picky/finicky eaters. I'm sure your baby will pick up weight within the month.


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## Crazy Kian (Aug 10, 2009)

At 6 months Kian was being fed 2 cups in the morning, 1 cup at lunch and 2 cups in the evening.
We never left food in his crate, one of us was always available to come at lunch to feed him (maybe not the case with you).

Perhaps he is eating too much during the day. You have to realize he isn't doing anything in his crate to burn off the food, so why would he want to eat so much.

Just a thought.


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## Looney (Sep 28, 2011)

i thought i read somewhere that MILK and products with MILK are bad for dogs...turns to sugar and does something?
i also thought you supposed to feed after play time to avoid the bloat?
sorry if i'm mistaken, but please correct me i am making mental and written notes for February!
thanks.
SEARCH "SATAN BALLS" on here or satin...


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## kiminboonton (Nov 22, 2011)

Hi there, I’m new to this forum, but since signing up have really enjoyed reviewing all the forums. I have a 15 month old Vizsla who was very finicky about eating and never seemed to put on weight. She had all of her ribs showing, hip bones sticking out and a good 3-4 vertebrae bones showing as well. Right now she is 42 lbs and really filling out nicely. We tried the Satin ball recipe, but the wheat products in the recipe didn’t do we’ll for her allergies. We finally found a nice mix of raw. 2x per day she gets 1.25 lbs of Oma’s Pride mixed with sweet potatoes, this also includes salmon oil and supplements (she had some skin allergies for a while) If she is acting hungry we give her a cup of Wilderness dry mixed with an egg or extra bonus calories if you can find raw goats milk, this stuff is packed with calories and great for their system. Hope this helps!

Kim


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

Looney said:


> SEARCH "SATAN BALLS" on here or satin...


LOL! They are Satin balls, not Satan's balls ;D ;D ;D


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## KashagLake (Sep 27, 2010)

After Holly comes back from hunting trips shes usually skin & bones!! Last hunt she lost almost 3lbs! The 3lbs was very noticeable on her..(could see all her ribs & her waist was very small) We always have to bulk her up again after a hunt like that...so we usually add some protein into her food to put the weight back on...normal portions of food, but will add something to each meal. (boiled egg, boiled chicken/pheasant/beef, rice, boiled potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc...) she was back to her normal weight within a couple weeks.


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## KashagLake (Sep 27, 2010)

How much does Dax eat a day?? 8 cups??


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

If he's eating 8 cups a day, maybe he has worms. 

Also, i don't think milk is bad for dogs - some are lactose intolerant & it gives them gas/bloating. We give ours just a tiny amount - like 1/16 or 1/8 of a cup (if that) and she's showing no signs of problems. 

Of course if the gas kicks in.....the milk is outta there and we'll find something new to entertain her picky palate.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

I think we discovered the key to getting our V to eat more after reading a post on here the other day (in relation to her UTI). I sprinkle a sodium-free chicken bullion packet on a cup of dry food, then I mix in about a cup or so of boiling water. Add some cold water to cool it down, then all I have to do is set it on the ground and Riley SUCKS it down! :-o We've been doing this twice a day for the past few days and I can honestly already see her gaining weight. The key is to make sure the bullion is sodium-free, because then it adds the smell and flavor but without all the salt!


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## Vespasia (Apr 19, 2010)

You could also feed your V some raw, fatty bones- things like raw chicken wings, necks and feet - that could help with keeping his weight up. It's also good for the teeth!


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## Crazy Kian (Aug 10, 2009)

Crazy said:


> At 6 months Kian was being fed 2 cups in the morning, 1 cup at lunch and 2 cups in the evening.
> We never left food in his crate, one of us was always available to come at lunch to feed him (maybe not the case with you).
> 
> Perhaps he is eating too much during the day. You have to realize he isn't doing anything in his crate to burn off the food, so why would he want to eat so much.
> ...


Sorry, I know it's vain of me to quote myself but I just realized that we used to feed Kian a table spoon or two or Tripett back then. He LOVED that stuff.
http://www.tripett.com/Home.html


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## VizslaNewbies (Jun 10, 2011)

Vizsla said:


> If he's eating 8 cups a day, maybe he has worms.
> 
> Also, i don't think milk is bad for dogs - some are lactose intolerant & it gives them gas/bloating. We give ours just a tiny amount - like 1/16 or 1/8 of a cup (if that) and she's showing no signs of problems.
> 
> Of course if the gas kicks in.....the milk is outta there and we'll find something new to entertain her picky palate.





KashagLake said:


> How much does Dax eat a day?? 8 cups??


Lol, I'm sorry that was a typo I made with regards to how much we feed Dax, we leave him around 2-3 cups in his crate when we leave.

Our schedule is a bit rough, and 5-8 hours of the day Dax is cooped up in his crate. Normally I never really suggested leaving food for Dax in his crate but my GF (not to throw her under the bus or anything) has a Mothers nuturing sense with everything around her and is scared Dax will starve too death the hours he's alone and as mentioned not doing anything.

So for quite awhile now we would leave Dax 2-3 cups in his crate. It's been a hit or miss but he has on average consumed about 3-4 cups/day ... and on a rare occassion maybe 2.

The mention of bringing anything Raw around the GF (not to throw her under the bus yet again) is a definite no no right now and it seems pretty indefinite. The only reason she really gives me is that she doesn't want Dax to become a serios picky eater and end up being one of the many dogs (not to be rude) who only eat 'people' food. Now I'm pretty indifferent when it comes to feeding Dax food. I just want him to be the best of health his body can allow him to excel in, but the same time, I dont want my GF do be weilding a knife over my head while I'm sleeping.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

The way I see it, if Dax doesn't need it, he won't eat it. Our V eats considerably more if I increase his exercise routine or if he feels he needs more food. Since you are feeding a premium quality food there is no need to worry. 
Our V always ate and still eats 3 cups/day. He is 10 months old and intact. If he looses interest I just exercise him a little more and mix a little wet cat food in his kibble. We walk a lot, run and bike together. On very bad days - after all this is Canada - Sam jogs on the treadmill 30 to 45 min and I teach him basic obedience (used to have a GSD and it's hard to replace the habit).
As far as RAW diet, please consider the unseen. Bacteria, spores form on all surfaces meat touches. These can sometimes be transmitted to you. Carefully consider cooking the food instead. 
The 5-8 hours alone is a little on the boring side for Dax since he is a Vizsla after all.

Hope this helps, all the best.
Julius


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2010/06/dog-food-for-very-active-vizsla.html

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2010/12/satin-balls.html

Hope this information helps you with baby Dax.

RBD


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## tanners_mama (Sep 22, 2011)

datacan said:


> The way I see it, if Dax doesn't need it, he won't eat it. Our V eats considerably more if I increase his exercise routine or if he feels he needs more food. Since you are feeding a premium quality food there is no need to worry.


^This

Same for me. Some days it is 4 cups and some days only 3 (I feed Wellness Puppy). Tanner is 5 months and weighs a healthy 35lbs. I don't feel this breed should even be close to being on the verge of "overweight" especially if they are getting sufficient excercise. I also work during the day so Tanner gets 2 meals, 2 cups at each meal. One at 6am and another at 6pm. Nothing in his crate besides a Kong with goodies inside. This way he is more excited for both meals. If he doesn't eat it all within 30 minutes, it is removed and he will have to wait until his next meal. Some people may not agree with this but I believe he has learned that he better eat or else it'll be gone!

Just my .02


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