Puppy's ribs show! Help!

[BugattiAlva]

I have a 10 week old DDB and his ribs show, I don't know what the weight rule for puppies is. I heard that
you should be able to feel and not see their ribs. He weighed 15.8 lbs at 8 weeks and at 9 weeks he weighed 17.2 lbs. I will be weighing him today to see how much he weighs now. As far as worms, he had them, got treated and stool parasite culture came back negative. I feed him Bil Jac large breed puppy food 2Cups a day divided over 3 times a day. Is his weight ok? Should I feed him more? Should his ribs show?

 

[bruno12]

His ribs shouldn't be showing, especially being a puppy. I would definitely up his food amount. Is that the amount it says on the bag? 2 cups seems awful low to me

 

[kevinmuaythai]

Id start with adding half a cup more to his feedings. then after a few days see how he looks. He should look athletic. You don't want to over feed a puppy causing him to grow faster putting unnecessary stress on his joints. Don't over stress out about it, Just start feeding more and he'll gain weight easily. I had the same problem with my Corso. Once I moved hr up to 1 -1/2 ish cups a feeding should looked much better.

 

[raechiemay]

I agree that he does need some weight put on him. But keep in mind that if he had intestinal parasites, the meds might have taken a toll on his body. I would definitely get him rechecked for parasites at his next vet visit. I know my vet dewormed Duchess throughout all of her puppy visits.

As far as the food goes, I'd definitely possibly a consider a different food. We had initially started out feeding Bil Jac to Duchess & noticed EXCESSIVE bowel movements throughout the day. Most days she was going between 7-8 times. We switched her to a better quality food & have found that she is now only going maybe twice a day now. 2 cups seems very low to me & it's pretty obvious he needs more food. I don't remember what the side of the bag said for that food but I'd definitely check it. I would think for his age he should be eating at least double that if not more.

 

[BugattiAlva]

Hello bruno12,
Yea the bag says to feed 1-2 cups for weights 15-20. I just weighed him right now and he weighs 18 lbs. therefore he is gaining weight, but the ribs still showing I think I might add half a cup to his current feedings, I'm going to take him to. the vet tomorrow just so they can see his physique and ask if adding half a cup is ok.
Thank you!!!

---------- Post added at 08:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:21 PM ----------

Hello Raechiemay,
He has 3 bowel movements/day on bil jac. I'm going to ask his vet tomorrow what he thinks I should do. As far as parasites, I will ask them to recheck him and def ask what the test covers as far as types of worms, because I feel it may be possible the culture may have missed a specific parasite.
Thank you!
By the way what did u switch to after bil jac?

 

[BugattiAlva]

Hello Raechiemay,
He has 3 bowel movements/day on bil jac. I'm going to ask his vet tomorrow what he thinks I should do. As far as parasites, I will ask them to recheck him and def ask what the test covers as far as types of worms, because I feel it may be possible the culture may have missed a specific parasite.
Thank you!
By the way what did u switch to after bil jac?

 

[raechiemay]

We actually made two switches. Initially we switched to Merrick Grain Free for all life stages. Duchess liked it at first but then the place I got it from quit selling it so then we went to Blue Buffalo, it's grain free as well. Duchess is a very picky eater & I was having to mix a lower quality food in her meals just to get her to eat. I no longer have to do that & she eats roughly 5-6 cups a day. Sometimes she will finish her meals & sometimes she won't. There's a great dog food website you can look up called www.dogfoodadvisor.com. Depending on what your budget is you can research a 4 or 5 star food. I considered switching to Earthborn which is a pretty good food & reasonably priced. From what I've read in this forum, less is more as far as feeding goes & there's not as much picking up in the yard. I may actually end up switching to that if Duchess doesn't start putting on weight. She'll be 7 months on Monday & her last weight was 65.6 lbs. Not sure how accurate that is as I weigh her at home, but she looks like she hasn't grown very much at all.

Does your vet do the fecal test in house or do they send it off to a lab? My vet sends it off to a lab which provides more accurate results but they need a decent sized sample. There's nothing wrong with doing the test in house, but sometimes the vet doesn't get an appropriate sized sample. I'd recommend taking a fresh stool sample into the vet with you when you take him in (no more than 24 hours old). Usually they need about 1 gram to make the test accurate. Adding 1/2 cup to his meals would probably help temporarily, then I would definitely consider switching. Make sure you do a slow transition to the new food to avoid any upset tummy. Keep us posted on what the vet says & his progress. He's adorable!

 

[Robtouw]

I would begin by putting your pup on a better food product, one that contains more meat. Bil Jac would not be my choice as it contains fillers that are not beneficial. dogfoodanalysis.com is a great site that will analyze the food you choose by content value. Also, adding meat, yogurt, veggies is a great way to give him a little more natural nutrition. Peanut Butter is a nice treat that helps as well. Keep in mind that meal products, corn, rice, beet pulp, glutens and potatos are all fillers. A grainless feed with a high meat content is usually the best choice. His ribs should show when moving, playing, etc but not be prominent when standing still. From the pic, your pup could use a little weight, but not much. Every pup grows differently, some are leaner then others.

 

[Cody]

He is on the thin side definitely. A little more weight would be a good thing.
I keep my dogs so I can see the last couple ribs when standing. But I prefer them on the lean side for a healthier development and less stress on the joints as growing.
I would scratch the bag amount to be honest and get a better quality food.
I know my CC pup at that age was eating around 4 cups a day and still lean, very lean.

 

[DennasMom]

We have an EM, so not sure if this would help or not, but she puts on about 0.5lb/day - from the day we brought her home at 7 weeks to today at 8 months.

We fed her Solid Gold Wolf Pup (not a highly recommended on this forum, but she did fine on it), 1.5cups per meal, 3x a day. We switched her to 100% real, raw meat just over a month ago, and she LOVES it. But, raw is not for everyone...

 

[BugattiAlva]

Hello Raechiemay,
Thanks for your input on the food! I went on a dog/puppy food web search last night and almost went insane I heard a lot of good things about earthborn, Origen and precise. I went to a small pet store owned by an amazing family and he is very knowledgable. He recommended precise puppy formula for giant breeds. I just started him on it this morning. 75%old and 25% new. He ate it so that's a good first step, I just hope his weight gets better. I also added a cup to his diet, he is now eating 1 cup at each feeding 3 times a day for a total of 3 cups/day.
As far as the fecal test, I was given a sterile container to get the sample (which I carefully collected making sure not to touch any surface). I dropped it off within 2 hours at the vet and they sent it out to the lab. He gets his last shots next week, so I will ask his vet then about his weight. I honestly think he just needs a bit more food (quality food), but not too much that It will stress out his joints. I will follow up next week on his weight and how he is doing on the food
Thanks!
Jess & Bugatti

---------- Post added at 11:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:59 AM ----------

Hello Robtouw,
I agree bil jac is not a good brand! I'm excited for his switch to precise holistic giant breed puppy food. It has 5 stars on dogfood advisor. Optimistic

Thanks,
Jess & Bugatti

 

[BugattiAlva]

Hello Robtouw,
I agree bil jac is not a good brand! I'm excited for his switch to precise holistic giant breed puppy food. It has 5 stars on dogfood advisor. Optimistic

Thanks,
Jess & Bugatti