# Too many ribs showing?



## MindyRaeRiley

We just got our now-10-almost-11-week old puppy about 2 weeks ago and it seems like she's all ribs. She gained 2 pounds in the first week she was with us (from 9.9 to 11.9 according to the vet's scale) - that's basically a 20% increase in 7 days! Still she just seems so skinny. I really don't want an overweight dog, but I don't want to neglect her either. How do you tell if a Vizsla puppy needs more food? Or, for that matter, less food? ???


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## MeandMy3

Puppies will go from pudgy to skinny in a matter of hours, it seems. They go through growth spurts frequently. For adult dogs, a good rule of thumb is if you can see their spine or put your fingers between their ribs, they are too skinny. Puppies are a different story since they go through their growth spurts. One day they will be roly poly and the next, it will seem like they are all legs. As long as she is eating like normal, I'm sure she is fine.


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## Vizsla Baby

Most Vizsla's don't fill out until they are about 2 - and even then they are a thin breed with ribs that show during movement. 

As long as she has good energy and her backbone isn't protruding she's probably OK. 

Why don't you post a picture so people can see it and help you better?


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## MindyRaeRiley

Thank you so much for the replies! There's definitely no spine showing. Here are a couple of the more rib-y shots:

Side









Top









Bottom









PS: Wow... My baby is spoiled! She has a lot of toys.


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## lilyloo

She does look a little thin to me. It looks like you can see her hip bones a bit (first photo) which is definitely too thin. Sometimes this is just due to a growth spurt. If she doesn't gain a little more weight soon, or if she starts looking even thinner, I would up her food. How much is she eating a day at the moment?


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## harrigab

her vertebrae aren't poking through, and that would be a cause for worry if they were, my girl went through stages were she could look really thin and then really podgy even when she was eating the same amount of food. Her coat and eyes look healthy so personally I wouldn't be worried at this stage.


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## einspänner

Puppies need a lot more food than you would think could fit in their tiny bellies. 

I feed raw, but just to give you an idea of amounts: a puppy your age might need as much as 10% of his body weight in food whereas an adult might only need 2-3%. Not sure what the numbers for kibble would be, but I'd look at the bag's recommended amount for her projected adult body weight and start feeding around that. Reevaluate after a few days.


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## oliveJosh12

their weight does change a lot but I would say you need some more puppy fat on those ribs.
my breeder said if they are ill they need the extra weight to keep them going


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## lilyloo

einspänner said:


> Puppies need a lot more food than you would think could fit in their tiny bellies.
> 
> I feed raw, but just to give you an idea of amounts: a puppy your age might need as much as 10% of his body weight in food whereas an adult might only need 2-3%. Not sure what the numbers for kibble would be, but I'd look at the bag's recommended amount for her projected adult body weight and start feeding around that. Reevaluate after a few days.


Couldn't agree more! We feed Ruby 3 cups of food a day. She's been eating this amount since she was 11 or 12 weeks old! It seemed like an insane amount of food for such a tiny puppy, but it was what was needed to keep her at a healthy weight. As she grew and got older we never had to increase her feeding amount. She's a healthy 45 pounds now at almost 2 years old.


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## Vizsla Baby

She does look a bit thin but not alarmingly so. Just up her food by 1/2 - 1 cup per day and adjust as necessary. 

Are you feeding her 3 times per day? It's been a few years but as I recall, that's what we did with Sadie when she was a pup.

Also, if she's real active, you can't go by what the bag says, you need to feed more to put back in what she's burning off.

Lastly, make sure you are feeding her a good, quality food. Lots of articles on here about that.

She looks healthy & happy though so I would not panic!


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## Vizsla Baby

One final thought, if you up her food & she still doesn't gain, check for worms!


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## MindyRaeRiley

Thanks for all your responses. We are feeding her a transition mix of Purina ProPlan (from breeder) and Taste of the Wild - both puppy versions, of course. Right now we're on a 1:2 ratio and tomorrow we're moving to 1:3. She does eat 3 times a day, on a schedule (7, noon and 5), about 2/3 of a cup per meal of food plus either a dollop of plain Greek yogurt or half a hard-boiled egg, with some carrot chucks as treats. She has been dewormed and her fecal sample came back negative for any parasites 1.5 weeks ago, I bring another sample on Monday to confirm. 

I'll try increase her feedings a bit since she is pretty active. I'll try bringing it up to 3 cups/day (that does seem like a lot!) and see how that goes.


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## hcrowder

Penny is 14 weeks and she is eating about 800g of raw food a day. It seems like an insane amount of food and it is more than we expect to feed her as an adult. But she tells us when she is hungry, doesn't eat when she isn't hungry, and is growing very fast. 2 pounds/1kilo a week. 

I would feed your little girl more. Perhaps feed her four times a day but the same amount each time that you are feeding her now.


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