Doberman Puppy Too Skinny!

RowantheEuroDobie said:

Yes, he's been cleared for worms and other parasites, as well as health checked to make sure nothing else was going on. And I talked to the vet and he recommended 3 cups throughout the day. I've added fresh meat and other toppers on top of that for extra calories. He's well exceeding his calories with his current diet, but he still is so skinny. Do I need to feed him more? I've tried slowly upping his dry food and every time I do he gets very bad diarrhea. The vet said that 4 cups was too much and was making him sick, and stick with 3 for awhile. He said he's just a slow gainer with a sensitive belly, but I'm still worried.
I just don't know what is going on with him. He's perfectly fine apart from being so skinny which is a relief, but also, doesn't help me to figure out what is going on

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4x4bike ped said:

Hi RtED. Welcome from the Pacific NW.

So... I have never had a 4 month male pup that thrived on only 3 cups of kibble per day. And that is regardless of whatever else I added. Given the photos, especially the 2nd and 4th pics, he does appear to be substantially underweight. I would want quite a bit more muscle and fat on a pup of mine

Of course, a few snapshots on the internet cannot provide enough information for a concrete opinion. But, personally, I would not be happy with your vet's nonchalant attitude. A developing pup needs a proper diet, including one that will keep it at an appropriate weight based on sex, age, height and genetics.

You don't need to throw food at an underweight dog to get it to gain weight. Finding the proper kibble and increasing the base amount slowly is what you may want to consider. You mentioned diarrhea as an issue when you went from 3-4 cups. While, over feeding kibble to a pup is definitely common cause of loose stools in pup, that is a pretty big jump (33%) for a young puppy. I generally add or subtract total kibble amounts by 1/4 cup at a feeding. That includes mature dogs as well. The Purina ProPlan kibble that I feed is about 450 kcal/cup. That means that adding 1/4 cup per feeding (1/2 cup per day), is adding 225 calories extra calories a day. That is pretty substantial. If the puppy tolerates the increase, you can begin to add more, cutting back if you see any problems.

BTW, If and when you do change kibbles, that should also be transitioned in slowly over the course of as few weeks.

JMO

John L
Portland OR

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dobebug said:

He's definitely too thin--puppies do go through stages where they pack weight on and look chubby and then go through a growth spell and get to looking leggy and thing--but not so thin that their ribs and back bone and hip bones show like you r puppy. So he's not getting enough nouishment for some reason.

As John^^ said sometimes it's a matter of finding the right food. That particular Diamond food is pretty good but maybe just not for him at this stage of growth. Like John I feed (and have fed for over 20 years as my go to food) Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach (it's salmon and rice) and have generally not had problems with it and for a puppy at nearly 4 months who was being fed 3 times a day I'd probably be feeding at least 1-1/4 cups per meal (total of nearly 4 cups a day--but I couldn't figure out the translation of the Diamond to kcalories per cup (thiers is kcalories per kilo). But I'd probably also add just a few kibbles per meal a day to get the three cups (which I don't think is enough) up closer to 4 cups a day. But I don't go by any hard core specific amounts but rather I look at the puppy and add a little more kibble per meal until his weight looked better--all those visiable bones covered.

I'd cut out any vegetables or fruit in the toppers you are using--they really don't provide more nutrition but they do add bulk and fill the puppy up--the kibble is more nutritious and the added meat or yogurt also add both calories and nutrition.

I looked at the information on Nulo foods--I'd rather feed something with a track record--and I absolutely would be very careful if I changed to any of the Nulo food--don't feed any of the products that use lentils or peas etc instead of grain--there have definitely been some problems with those formulation. And if you are going to change his food I'd try and feed one where the main protein source was fish (because it's the easiest for dogs to use--poultry is the next, beef --red meat types after that and lamb is at the very bottom of the source choices).

Good luck--a good look at your puppy on a daily basis will tell you more about what he needs to be fed and the back of the bag (or evidently your vet).

dobebug

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NOLAdoberman67 said:

Does he have trouble walking, how’s his gait?

His paws, front and rear, along with his stance, look peculiar,……….

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Gretchen_Red said:

He looks a bit thin to me. I generally feed 1.5 cups 3x a day for young puppies. a bit more if they've had more than usual exercise.

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Control_Freak said:

4x4 gave you great advice, I’ll just add my two cents in too. I think he’s definitely skinny and I would be concerned if my vet generalized all puppies by saying they should eat this much period. Now I agree that pups can go through a skinny phase but not this pronounced especially since you’ve ruled out health issues. Body condition should be the the determining factor on whether or not your puppy is getting enough or too much food…alittle skinny feed more a little chubby feed a little less. All puppies/dogs are different and some need more or less food. On average, Doberman puppies weigh 10lbs X their age in months give or take. So with your puppy being almost 4 months old he “should” be pushing around 40lbs, now this is a general guideline and not a hard fast rule. I also looked up the feeding guidelines for the food you’re using, these are starting points and again not a hard fast only feed your dog this but at his age at 30lbs they recommend 3 2/3C daily and at 40lbs 4 1/2C so 4 cups daily is definitely not unreasonable.

Are you feeding 2 or 3 times a day? If 3 then add a little extra in each meal to slowly work him up larger meals over the course of a few days. If only two then switch to 3 and split the amount over the 3 meals, maybe start at around 1 1/4C per meal and increases as necessary. You could also add an activity ball or puzzle with kibble as a snack to get a little more calories in him. Lastly, healthy toppers are good but in moderation, the more you fill his belly with low cal foods the less room there is for kibble.
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***edited to correct typos

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