Thin German Shepherd

[Green Acres Farm]

We have a young ~8 month old German Shepherd and she is very thin. We thought maybe she was gluten intolerant, so we switched her to Sportsman's Pride beef free and grain free dog food. We took her to the vet as she still wasnt gaining weight and they said it was unlikely she was gluten intolerant and told us to put her back on puppy food, they reccomended Purina Puppy Chow. She has been on puppy food for a couple months now. Anyways, she is still just as thin if not more and I don't know why. She came back negative for parasites at the vet, so not that. She is a VERY energetic dog, so I don't know if that is part of it. We leave food out for her free choice and change what she doesn't eat in the evening. I am not sure exactly how much she eats. We have often been mixing things in with her food like goat milk or shredded cheese or chicken broth to make it more appetizing.

She gets monthly heartworm and flea and tick medicine. Has not been spayed. UTD on all her shots, etc.


@Southern by choice

 

[Southern by choice]

sending pm

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Hope you get it figured out!

 

[Roving Jacobs]

Young GSDs can be pretty hard to keep weight on and if she is lean and lanky but otherwise healthy I probably wouldn't worry that much about it. Being lean and muscular is better for their joints anyway. If she is very underweight, losing weight, or has other symptoms I would look into EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency) and have her tested though. GSDs are very prone to it.

 

[Green Acres Farm]

Young GSDs can be pretty hard to keep weight on and if she is lean and lanky but otherwise healthy I probably wouldn't worry that much about it. Being lean and muscular is better for their joints anyway. If she is very underweight, losing weight, or has other symptoms I would look into EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency) and have her tested though. GSDs are very prone to it.

Oh, that's awful! But, that might be it! Is it something she would have been born with? Passed on by her parents? She is VERY skinny, but her belly is full most of the time...

 

[Green Acres Farm]

But her poop is normal. Maybe she is gluten intolerant like we thought?

 

[ldawntaylor]

Hi, I don't know about dogs with gluten intolerance. But, for me when I get too much gluten I will often be bloated and my bowl movements are not normal. Also, gluten intolerance really doesn't seem to have much effect on weight unless I don't eat for a few days because of the discomfort.

But, as stated, this is just personal experience and I don't know about how it is for dogs with the condition.

 

[jitz]

Try giving her food enriched with proteins.Just make sure that you stay away from kibbles that have fillers especially those made from wheat or corn.

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome to BYH @jitz Hope you'll take a few moments to visit the social section and post an brief intro in the new members area. Share a little about yourself and let us welcome you properly

 

[Green Acres Farm]

Sweet Ginger was put on a higher protein food and filled out and was looking much better I thought.
Tragically, she was killed recently by a car.
I miss her terribly.