Putting weight on a setter?

[Aphrodite]

I don't know much about dogs.. I know how to put weight on a horse but poor Lily never wants to gain weight. She gets fed all day long but she is such a hyper dog she runs it all of and stays thin. I have no idea what is normal for an English Setter. She has been spayed and is about a year old.

[agilitydog]

When you say all day long do you mean free fed as in she has food available all day??

That is one reason she is a bit thinner. Food is always available so why bother eating at one time. Dogs tend to be pickier due to this as well.

There are a lot of benefits to monitored feeding.
1. you can monitor how much they are actually eating
2. if there is a loss/gain in weight you can determine if she needs more/less to eat or if it is a medical issue.

[SalemWitchChild]

What kind of food are you feeding?

[Aphrodite]

alpo prime cuts... im not in charge of the feeding by the way so if that stuff is no good just let me know and I will inform her "official" owner lol

she is my stepdads dog but I am the only one that loves on her or messes with her at all really.

[groominglady]

Well, the Alpo may not have enough calories to suit her needs. She would either need to be fed more Alpo, has less exercise, or have her diet changed to one with fewer fillers and with more fat and protein. Just like a horse in work: you feed him the good food; and he blooms. You feed him chaffy oat hay and no grain; and he becomes unthrifty.

There are plenty of good foods out there that are not too costly - Kirkland from Costco is one often mentioned - but this is a subject that is hashed all the time in this forum.

[Hudsons~Mom]

Yikes Alpo....get her off of that first off....then in this section I think is a recipe for these things called Satin Balls...they are used to put weight on a dog...go check it out they sound pretty good.

[agilitydog]

Why are you thinking she needs to put on weight? Do you have a picture? I would much rather see a thin dog than a fat dog as would many of us here.

And I agree get her off the alpo.

[Tankstar]

I would google te website dogfood annalyis" it will explain to you hw alpo is not a good food at all. Which my be the exact reason forweigt gaining issues.

We used to haveBlaze on Ol' roy before I knew better. He would et about 5-6 cups a day, and wouldnt ai much. After joining here andlearnin about dog food. I switched to much better brands and now when he is on kibble (we are attempting raw currently, have ben for afew months) he eats 1.5-2 cups a day of oo, which keeps him t a perfect weight.

I would also google satin balls as well. Its a quick fix for weigh issues, but shouldnt be used forever.

Has she always had this issue? if changing foods doesntwork out, I would sek medical advice.

[Moo]

Is your dog really underweight, or just relative to the dogs that you are used to seeing?

On my my dog, you can see and feel all the ribs, but he is very well muscled in the hips/shoulders/sides, and in great shape.

[Aphrodite]

I will get some pictures, but she really in underweight. Well, thats the the vet told us anyway