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As a lot of you probably already know, we got our third APBT, Jayda, a few months ago now. When we got her she was really thin, you could see her ribs and her hip bones and we just assumed that it was because she was so badly treated and she would gain weight now that she will be eating regular meals. Well, we started out feeding her a little more than Destiny (our youngest and smallest APBT) and a little less than Brooklyn (our oldest and largest APBT), but she didn't seem to really be putting on weight, so we started feeding her the same amount as Brooklyn and now we are feeding her more than Brooklyn and she still doesn't seem to be putting on much weight! She has gained a little weight, you can't see her rip bones unless she's sitting funny or something and you can still see her ribs, but not as much. We just took her to the vet for a check up and to get all of her shots and the vet said that she was healthy, but she wanted to see her gain a little weight. Her stool sample came back negative, so no worms. I'm guessing that she's just going to slowly fill out as she gets older?? She is only about 10 months old. We didn't have this problem with either of our other dogs, but I know every dog is different. When we first got Destiny she was sooo sick! She would have died if we didn't get her that day and get her to the vet when we did. She was very, very thin, but once she was all better she put on weight very quickly. Jayda is very active, but no more than Brooklyn and Destiny are. I mean, like I said, the only thing I can think of is that she will just fill out as she gets older. Do you think that the vet could have missed something? She has to go back to the vet for more shots in about two weeks, should I talk to the vet about this again? Is it normal for dogs to be thin like that until they are full grown? I have owned 10 dogs, including the 3 we have now, and Jayda is the only one that has had this problem. Because she is healthy (or so the vet says), she is eating and she looks and acts normal, with the exception of being thin, I guess she's okay. I just get really worried about every little thing when it comes to my fur babies. What do you think?
I don't really have any pictures of her that show her ribs really well because I don't want to have a bunch of pictures of my baby where she looks sickly but I'll take some in the morning and post them For now, this is the only picture where you can kind of see her ribs. Besides that though, she looks healthy. I mean, it's not really that bad, I'm probably getting worked up over nothing, but you can definitely see her ribs and you can feel them better than you should.
When I look at her pictures, I don't think she is skinny...Just a normal dog. Maybe she is the most atcive, and maybe you should try putting her on different diet. Hef didn't get so much weight at first, but now we notice that he is gaining a little bit of weight. Little by little. Maybe she is just naturally thin...Is she active?
They are all three very active, but Jayda is no more active than Brooklyn and Destiny. Destiny is by far the most active and she's not like Jayda.. You have seen that picture of Desy's tummy! lol! In that picture Jayda doesn't look too thin, but I promise you, she is. The vet even said that she needs to gain weight. You know how if a dog's a good, healthy weight you should be able to feel their ribs a bit, but not see them? Well, when Jayda is standing up or laying on her side, you can count every single rib. If she's sitting down you can see her ribs and her hip bones. In the picture I posted you're looking at her from the front, so you can't see her ribs much anyway, plus she's laying on her tummy which makes her look more normal. When I pet her I don't ever touch her ribs because all you can feel is skin and ribs and it makes me feel like I'm neglecting or abusing my dog for her to be that thin. I'll take a picture of her right now and post it so you can see what I'm talking about. I know it's not just me, the vet said she needs to gain weight, Serg sees it, my mother-in-law said something about it the other night and even my little sister-in-law (7 years old) and brother-in-law (9 years old) said she looks really skinny and asked why her ribs stick out!
Both dogs look fine there, pits shouldnt have any weight on em.
If you are worried see a Doc, but id just change food first. As I said Dakota was a twig before I switched him.
It may take some time...Lady didn't start completely filling out for at least six months.
She was very thin when I rescued her....her neck was 14"...now it's 22"...and the rest of her caught up.
What kind of food and how much/often do you feed them? What did the vet suggest?
Both dogs look fine there, pits shouldnt have any weight on em.
If you are worried see a Doc, but id just change food first. As I said Dakota was a twig before I switched him.
I know they shouldn't have any extra weight on them, but you shouldn't be able to count every rib and see her hip bones either. Brooklyn is the perfect weight, he is solid muscle and you can feel his ribs, but not see them. Destiny still has some puppy fat.. lol.. but she's definitely not over weight at all. She is starting to get more muscle now and is starting to look more like a pit. Jayda has the pit muscles in her legs, but you can count every single rib and when you pet her it's just skin and ribs! We took her to the vet about a week ago I think (remember, I posted something saying how proud I was of her for being so friendly to everyone at the vet ), she has to go back again in about 2 weeks, I'm not sure the exact date, I'll have to look at my calender, but when I took her in I told the vet that she hasn't been gaining weight and all the vet said was that you can see and feel her ribs more than you should be able to and she would like to see Jayda put on some more weight. I guess I'll just talk to her about it when I take her back in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by citybythebay
It may take some time...Lady didn't start completely filling out for at least six months.
She was very thin when I rescued her....her neck was 14"...now it's 22"...and the rest of her caught up.
What kind of food and how much/often do you feed them? What did the vet suggest?
That's what I'm thinking, I think she will just fill out as she gets a little older.. I hope! Like I said, it's not just me that sees this, so I know I'm not crazy! lol! Serg sees it, the vet sees it, Serg's mom said something about it and my little sister-in-law and brother-in-law even asked why her ribs stick out like they do!
We feed them all Natural Balance, Destiny gets 2 cups in the morning and 2 cups at night, Brooklyn gets 2 cups and then 2 1/2 cups and right now Jayda is eating 3 cups in the morning and 3 cups at night! She has been eating that much for over a month now and she hasn't put on any weight!
Last edited by PitBullMommie1206; 09-12-2007 at 01:01 PM..
Half a cup isnt gonna do much of a difference. Try 3 and 3 to see if it helps. Or consider a giving some left over human food to put weight on. I give Dakota left overs in the winter just because ...
Half a cup isnt gonna do much of a difference. Try 3 and 3 to see if it helps. Or consider a giving some left over human food to put weight on. I give Dakota left overs in the winter just because ...
Jayda does get 3 and 3, she has been for over a month now and she isn't putting on weight. I'm thinking about maybe mixing in some meat or something? Do you think that would help?
Did your vet do a blood test to see if she is lacking anything?
I feed Lady 1C in the AM and 1-1/2 C in the PM and one snack before bed.
I was feeding her IAMS...I recently changed her over to a food from the vet...can't recall what it is at the moment???
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She has gained a little weight, you can't see her rip bones unless she's sitting funny or something and you can still see her ribs, but not as much. We just took her to the vet for a check up and to get all of her shots and the vet said that she was healthy, but she wanted to see her gain a little weight. Her stool sample came back negative, so no worms. I'm guessing that she's just going to slowly fill out as she gets older?? She is only about 10 months old. We didn't have this problem with either of our other dogs, but I know every dog is different. When we first got Destiny she was sooo sick! She would have died if we didn't get her that day and get her to the vet when we did. She was very, very thin, but once she was all better she put on weight very quickly. Jayda is very active, but no more than Brooklyn and Destiny are. I mean, like I said, the only thing I can think of is that she will just fill out as she gets older. Do you think that the vet could have missed something? She has to go back to the vet for more shots in about two weeks, should I talk to the vet about this again? Is it normal for dogs to be thin like that until they are full grown? I have owned 10 dogs, including the 3 we have now, and Jayda is the only one that has had this problem. Because she is healthy (or so the vet says), she is eating and she looks and acts normal, with the exception of being thin, I guess she's okay. I just get really worried about every little thing when it comes to my fur babies. 
What do you think? 
lol! In that picture Jayda doesn't look too thin, but I promise you, she is. The vet even said that she needs to gain weight. You know how if a dog's a good, healthy weight you should be able to feel their ribs a bit, but not see them? Well, when Jayda is standing up or laying on her side, you can count every single rib. If she's sitting down you can see her ribs and her hip bones. 
), she has to go back again in about 2 weeks, I'm not sure the exact date, I'll have to look at my calender, but when I took her in I told the vet that she hasn't been gaining weight and all the vet said was that you can see and feel her ribs more than you should be able to and she would like to see Jayda put on some more weight. I guess I'll just talk to her about it when I take her back in. 
