Aldric at 10mos.

[Druid]

Hi everyone, Our Aldric is now 10 months. He's 31" at the shoulder and 130#s. About a month ago he was skinny looking, I mean ribs, serratus muscles, spine and hips showing skinny he is an easy eater rarely finishes in one sitting. My supposition was the Kirkland puppy food at 8-10 cups a day wasn't equating with his growth rate nutritionally. I started slowly amending his diet with boiled chicken I think he may not be chicken tolerant . He almost immediately got the screamin' poops. poor guy it sucked. I switched to amending with very lean ground beef he seemed to tolerate it just fine for almost three weeks. now he's got the poops again. What kibble are you EM Moms and Dads feeding your youngsters? Do you amend the kibble ? If this continues through the rest of the week were off to the vet. My prior mastiff was a very "easy keeper" ridiculously so. I hope I haven't broken the poor pup.

 

[Oscar'sMom]

We feed Earthborn holistic and our 21 month EM does well on it. He eats 8 cups a day two feelings with about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil at each meal and a joint pill at each also! He does well on it. I've been super happy with Earthborn

 

[lexinrose]

I feed Purina pro puppy and my pup is doing great. I feed adult formula to my pit mix he has a sensitive system and was having trouble with alot of the other high name brand foods science diet taste of the wild so I went back to what I fed all my dogs back in the day. So far both dogs are doing great

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

 

[DennasMom]

The "amendments" probably just took his system by surprise... I'd add in a probiotic, and see if that helps.
Thin is good, but if you think he's too thin, you could up the number of cups, a little at a time.
Or, you could just work him harder in the training department, and give LOTS of treat rewards for a job well done. Bonus on two levels (more obedience practice, and more calorie intake for him).

You might also look at going with an adult food... the puppy (if not giant breed based) might have too much calcium per calorie. An adult food would let you get more calories in (although probably in more volume, too... i.e. 10+ cups) without over doing the calcium levels. You want calcium under 1.5 percent in the kibble.

We originally amended our puppy's kibble (Solid Gold Wolf Pup) with raw pre-made patties (like Nature's Variety or Vital Essentials from the freezer dept of the pet store)... and then went to 'the dark side' and now feed 100% raw, fresh foods. I love the control we have, and it does make for a well regulated pooper... when we have runny poops (which are rare), 99% of the time I know EXACTLY what caused it.

A lot of dry foods also use chicken fat as a calorie booster and preservative, so you need to read the fine print if you think chicken is an issue for your pup.
Check your food options at dogfoodadvisor.com if you're interested in researching ingredients.
Note purina pro is a 3 star food, versus Kirkland Puppy, which is a 4.5 star food at dogfoodadvisor.

 

[Druid]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! Our vet suggested Science Diet due to it being "easy on the stomach", of course Aldric thought he was getting a bowl of treats.. That makes me suspicious right off the bat due to him being such a mellow eater (very counter Mastiff behavior). You'd think it was doggy crack the way he went at it. I think I will continue to add the ground beef to his meals (I bought 1/2 a cow last year, waay more than a family of 3 needs) if for no other reason than he likes it and I don't want to waste perfectly (ok slightly freezer burnt) good hamburger. I last night was our weekly weigh-in fandango. Aldric is 133.4# still looks lean but at least not looking severely neglected. his buddy Hamish (4yr Rottie) now the little guy is 106#. Thanks again everyone! I'll get pics up soon. Bath time now that we are supposed to get a day or two of sun.

 

[Oscar'sMom]

Just be aware that a lot of vets push science diet. If you really look at he ingredients and see what you're feeding you may think differently...if it works for you fine....but if it doesn't sit well with him I'd change.

 

[Druid]

Just be aware that a lot of vets push science diet. If you really look at he ingredients and see what you're feeding you may think differently...if it works for you fine....but if it doesn't sit well with him I'd change.

You're so right, of course Aldircs system loves it.. go figure.