Skinny dog - eating well, already on heartworm med - why??

MarleyBoy · 03-25-2008, 11:45 AM

Hi, our dog is a year and a month old and seems overall to be healthy, active, and (well, to our eyes) very happy. We seem to be feeding him a ton of food though - we give him about 5 cups of Canidae a day! - and he never seems to gain an ounce of weight. He is currently at 65lbs and has been for at least a month or two. I know the recommended daily allowances on the food bag are just a suggestion - but all the same quality type foods suggest 2-1/2 to 3 cups a day for him. He seems a bit skinny to us - and could've just hit a growth spurt. You can't see his ribs, but you can certainly feel them very easily. We don't give a lot of scraps and treats during the day (with the exception of a handful of training treats and a bully stick every other day or so). He is, however, a pretty active dog. We usually go on at least an one-two hour hike in the woods every day, plus a 30-min morning walk, and then many days, we'll play fetch in the lake for 30-min. Are we just totally overdoing the exercise and that's why he looks so skinny? I know it's better for them to be slender rather than overweight - but everytime he pops out of the lake he just looks sooooo scrawny it's sad! He was tested for worms in Dec and was fine, and has seen the vet about other things since Dec (conjunctivitis) and the vet never said he looked unhealthy. Could he have gotten worms since Dec even while on heartworm meds? Or should I just take a deep breath and stop being ridiculous? thanks

cshellenberger · 03-25-2008, 11:57 AM

He's going to look alot smaller under all that hair. How tall is he?

Heartworm meds don't stop tapeworm, so you will need to have him tested for that periodically.

MarleyBoy · 03-25-2008, 12:01 PM

He's about 2 feet tall to the top of his shoulders, and about 27" at the top of his head.

Are there any other symptoms of tape worm to look out for?

cshellenberger · 03-25-2008, 12:20 PM

It sounds like he's right on track for his height. If you're worried, hav ethe vet do a basic physical on him.

Tapeworm
unusually increased appetite, lackluster coat, weight LOSS (anorexia), the poop will have what looks like rice grains in (tapeworm segmants)

MarleyBoy · 03-25-2008, 12:24 PM

ok - thanks Carla! I had the vet to a basic check last time we were in (for the conjunctivitis) and he thought he looked fine. Maybe it's just because when he comes out of the water he looks so pathetically tiny in comparison to all that hair!

He doesn't seem to have any other symptoms. How do you know about the height/weight ratio? Is there a site that has that info posted?

thanks again

cshellenberger · 03-25-2008, 12:33 PM

LOL, just from having dogs all my life including Mastiffs (very similar build).

Angel my Dobe is about the same height, and weighs 52#, but she has a lighter bone structure than the mix you have would.

Willowy · 03-25-2008, 07:14 PM

At that age he's going to be in the awkward teenage "long-leggedy beastie" stage. As long as you can't see his ribs, he's at a good weight. He should start filling out after he's about 18 months old or so. 5 cups of Canidae is a lot....my 110-pound Rott eats only 4 1/2 cups a day. Nothing to worry about

.

MarleyBoy · 03-25-2008, 10:24 PM

phew! That's good to know - thanks all!

Ponyboy · 03-25-2008, 10:44 PM

It could be that the dog has no enzyme production. My German Shepard could never seem to put on weight and it wasn't until our vet came upon the fact that he could not produce enzymes. Now he's packed on a lot of pounds since we've been giving him Prozyme with every meal. I would consult your vet about this possibility.