My 10 month old is looking a little on the thin side for my tastes and his breeder's.
He's feeding Canidae ALS protein 24 fat 14.5.
From what information I've gotten from the breeder, many from his line are not great eaters. I have trouble getting him to finish 4-5 cups per day.
I've tried adding Nature's variety rolled food. And alternatively, adding Canidae wet food. Both give him runny stools

What would you suggest?
Perhaps a performance formula?

Can you describe what you mean by "a little on the thin side for my tastes" ?

4-5 cups sounds like a lot of food to me but I don't feed Canidae either.

I had experiences with puppy owners feeding Canidae, their youngsters were way too thin, weedy looking, and lacking in bone. They didn't resemble their littermates at all. When I told them to switch to another food the weight came on, bone improved, and they looked like their littermates again. A breeder friend has also experience this same thing when any of her puppy buyers have fed Canidae. Needless to say we don't recommend feeding Canidae.

JMO but I'd change the food (4-5 cups is a LOT) and work on gradually increasing gentle exercise like swimming to build up muscles & mass.

feed raw.

Might try switching to the Exceed chicken and rice dog food found at Sams club, that stuff puts coat and mass on really fast and FYI it is made by Purina and is almost identical in formula to the Pro Plan.
Aloha,
jackie

You can't grow muscles by feeding they have to be built up with exercise.

Switch to a performance formula, such as PP performance.

You may also want to try K-9 Puppy Gold, it put bulk on my puppy and also gave her a better appetite and great coat.

I have my 10 month old boys on about 4 cups a day of the Kirkland Chicken and Rice, but they are supplemented with a raw egg now and then, cottage cheese, raw bison, etc. They can look a bit thin at times, but since they run alot, they are very developed in regards to their muscles. It could be genetics at play too, since my 2 litter mates don't look like littermates. One is chunky with alot of bone and coat, the other has alot bone and coat, but is longer and very lean with less loose skin. I would rather have them lean now and let them bulk up with age later.

I have had 10 month old puppy boys , literally eat me out of house and home and still be lean, they are very active here, I have an 11 month old here now growing up, and he looks like a mature 3 year old.
I do agree that Perforance food ie. [something with a 30/20 breakdown] will put muscle and some fat on that puppy.
BUT , [a very big but] is that what you really want to do, AT THAT AGE , I say feed a decent adult food , I prefer a ProPlan product because Labradors do so well on it, and let that puppy grow at his own pace. There are alot of lines that just look like crap at this age. If puppy still looks bad at 18 months, then perhaps he is just one of those that does not bloom untill age 3 , not my cup of tea, but perhaps that is what you have ?

I agree with breeder/ohio , this might just be your 10 month old's "look" at this age.

One of my females at that age, almost became avail because she was so lean and leggy and didn't have any substance on her so it seemed. she certainly wasn't lacking in muscle though- as she's an active and has been an active girl. At 18months of age, she looks great. I feed her no differently. She was slower to mature that's all.

If your boy is lacking muscle, could just be lacking excercise. Depending on how extensive you mean by not any muscle on him. If all jelly, then i'd look at helping him become more active. walks, swims, maybe some retrieving? If he had alot of muscle on him, and now it's diminishing, i'd be looking at medical possibilities.

It'll either come as he matures, or he's predispositioned to not have alot of substance. I don't like to play with weights too much. Especially on a dog that age.

I have fed Canidae and the dogs didn't like the food. Try switching. Pro Plan puppy is a good food as is Eukanuba large breed puppy. I would NOT feed the puppy a Performance food as he is still growing. Switching foods gradually will help with runny stools. Sounds like any change in food will do this to him, but that should clear up quickly.
Good Luck!

I have to agree with "anon" up there. Since I have switched to feeding raw, I don't have near the problems with fluctuating weights that I experienced with kibble. JMHO though, you should get some really good ideas from some of the folks here though.

"I would NOT feed the puppy a Performance food as he is still growing."

Pro Plan Performance is an All Life Stages food and is ok for a puppy.

I said I would NOT feed a performance food to a puppy because it is intended for Adults that are highly active. I would stick to a Large breed puppy food until at least the age of 15-18mo. This is just what I would do, not saying anyone can't feed a Performance food that says it's an all life stages food. I personally don't agree with all life stages foods, again my own opinion.

Well the OP wants to put weight on a 10 month old, performance food can do that.

I wouldn't try to put weight on a puppy that age in the first place. All recent research says that it's better for joint health to have him lean.

Neither would I.

I would not hesitate to feed a puppy performance food. The problem is not the food, it is how much you feed them. Lesser amounts of a more nutrient dense food is probably better than higher amounts of a maintenance food.

Having said that, I tend to keep my pups leaner. When they reach the age where bone length growth has slowed down and joints are more mature (12 months), I will fatten them up a bit so that they will reach their genetic potential for substance. But, I do not like fat pups nor do I like dogs who are fat adults for their entire lives.

Also, fat is not muscle mass. Please don't confuse the two. People with a good eye can see the difference.

For those dogs who do not like to eat enough, I add some canned 100% chicken or beef. They love it, it is healthy, and in the can it is very convenient.