I'm trying to put some weight on my 12 month old boys - they eat 6 cups of Chicken and Rice Purina Pro Plan Performace in the a.m. with 1 can of chicken and rice mixed in. At night they get 2 cups Purina Pro Plan Performance. They are both very active. Please no flames about the choice in food - we live in a very rural area and choices are limited. They are skinny and I just need some ideas on how to put weight on them....

That does seem like a lot of food. Assuming you've wormed them and everything is fine? At that age I usually feed around 5 cups - just as a comparison.

Have you had a fecal checked recently? Whip worms can prevent dogs from gaining weight. Sure seems like a substantial amount of food for them to be thin.

6 cups for all of the boys and all aren't gaining sounds like something is going on. I would do fecals on all of them, same advise you got from Melody and another poster.

I have girls and boys that are on no more then 2 to 3 cups a day b/c they gain too much otherwise. Yes, they get plenty of exercise.

The point is each dogs metabolism is different. I did thyroid testing on 3 of 7 dogs.

If I were you, I would rule out 1 thing at a time beginning with their fecal testing. You might wind up saving a good amount of money on food if you find out why they're all so slender.

Are you feeding the shred? I found I had to feed twice the amount of food. I switched to chicken rice all life stage with out the shred and they went back to eating less food. Sometimes I mix performance when they are working hard. Or stressed from intense field training. Also if fecal clean try Show stopper supplement. I put my boy on it for coat help after shedding. He gained weight big time. Maybe your boys are going throuh a late growth spurt. My line matures very slowly so happens to me at about that age or sometimes older. I would definitely check a fecal though! Keep us posted.

I had a boy that I was having alot of trouble getting weight on and placed him on strictly PP Performance and then purchased coconut from Natures Farmacy and he began putting on nice weight.(Not to mention a nice thick coat)

I highly suggest what the others are suggesting and that is do a Fecal (through your Lab not the Vet) and then go from there.

Good Luck....

Through your lab? Not the vet? Who has a lab? I live in a moderately large city, I don't have a lab. The vet does my fecals, progesterone, etc.

8 cups of PP Performance is ALOT of food. I've never fed my boys more than 5 cups a day. But then again, while my 18 month old boy is 90#, it's muscle and he would look thin compared to the specialty labs. But this is what he needs to be naturally, so please make sure you are looking at your boys weight realistically.

You never did say how much he weighed...60? 70? If he's 80 pounds, you are on target, and might not have the genetics for a BIG boy.

The only other thing I have to add is that 6 cups at one feeding is a lot and I wonder if it is going straight through them. I have had boys that were really hard to keep weight on, but if I fed more than 3 cups at a time their stool volume was huge. If they do need this much food, try splitting it into 3 meals so they have a chance to digest it. Even if their fecal test is clear, have the Vet worm them anyway. From there I would suggest the thyroid test as well. Growing boys can be a challenge and there are times when all you do is go to the feed store for more

By having your Veterinarin send the fecal specimens out to the Lab for a complete fecal analysis you will get more infomation. With an "in house" fecal flotation often times certain parasites are missed as coccidia, giardia, and whips can be difficults to see. Where I work we send all fecals out to the lab. As for thyroid testing, most times that dogs are diagnosed with hypothyroidism the dog will have problems with obesity rather than being thin. If they were my dogs I would start with the Vet sending out a complete fecal analysis. Good luck with your boys!

At 12 mos. and boys I would be feeding each one,
2 1/2 cups morning and same at night. 5 cups total. And it is hard to keep them full about that time. Young boys are busy. But a performance food. 30/20 and yes, not shredded.

My 2 cents would be try adding fish oil tablets for added calories or change your feeding/exercise schedule. Any chance that they can do their morning run before you feed them? And then just do a potty break after feeding? And I second the splitting up the meals assuming nothing else is going on.

Good luck.

Why would you worm the dog if the fecal is clear?

Thanks for everyone's suggestions on worming. They are not on shredded. A little back history, they were both boarded at my vet for 3 weeks and lost weight and am now trying to get them back to the weight they were when I left them. Will not be leaving them at my vet's kennel again! I have an appointment tomorrow for a fecal (just in case) and prelims as they were a year in April. Thanks again!

There are 25 calories in a fish oil capsule. Just sayin...

I would give them the larger meal in the evening so they would have the entire night to digest it instead of having it pass through faster during the day. That's what I do with my puppies.
Adding some digestive enzymes will help them pull more nutrients off of the food as well.

if the fecal isn't sent to a lab, they can still have worms that are missed by an in-house test at the Vet's office.