14 month golden retriever won't gain weight

This topic has 6 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 6 years ago by Charles B.

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April 2, 2018 at 5:55 pm #113095 Report Abuse

darien g
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My 14 month old golden retriever would not gain weight. In general she is a smaller female golden retriever then others but she just is very skinny and I try and bulk her up with enough dog food and fresh boiled sweet potato as treats. My vet said to buy her the Natural Balance adult sweet potato venison formula. So she has limited ingredients and can gain weight. Is that true? Before that I had her on taste of the wild puppy food, merrick puppy food, and she would not gain 1 single pound in 3 months but seemed fine on it. She is a very active puppy and loves to play, I just wish she would gain at least 5-8 pounds so I would not feel her ribs. Can it be that she just has a fast metabolism since she is still so young? She does poop a lot. My other golden never had this problem.

April 2, 2018 at 6:01 pm #113098 Report Abuse
haleycookie
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You should be able to feel ribs but not see them. Dogs should have an abdominal tuck as well. She’s still young and Golden’s aren’t done growing until around 2 years so she’ll likely start bulking up. But as far as Golden’s are concerned you want them to be as lean as possible. If you can’t feel her ribs she’s fat and a fat Golden is going to end up with a lot of serious health problems later in life. Just feed the recommended amounts and make sure you can’t feel hip bones or see ribs. But you SHOULD be able to feel ribs under a thin layer of fat/muscle, see an abdominal tuck, etc. That is a sign of a healthy dog.
- This reply was modified 6 years ago by haleycookie.
April 2, 2018 at 6:18 pm #113101 Report Abuse

darien g
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Hi there,

I can see her ribs when she is standing or laying on the ground. She is only 58 pounds and the vet said she needs to gain more weight. Like you said she is still young and I should not worry, but when a lot of people around me keep telling me that my pup is too skinny so then I worry. I give her about 4 cups a day and she has big poops. She also likes to eat other dog/moose poop since she was 3 months old. I have other goldens that never had these issues and are not over 70 pounds, nice and lean, active mountain goldens. Do you agree with the natural balance food that the vet told me to go with?

April 2, 2018 at 6:37 pm #113102 Report Abuse
haleycookie
Member
I’m not a huge fan of natural balance. It’s more carbs than it is anything else. Which I guess would cause weight gain, but I wouldn’t make it her permanent diet. I don’t think any certain food will do a whole lot but I would try natures variety raw boost. It has a nice ratio of carbs to fat to protein, which i think would be better for gaining weight than just loading up the carbs. But whatever you do keep her on a puppy food of some type until she starts filling out. She is still considered a puppy and puppy foods will be high fat and protein for growing muscles.
- This reply was modified 6 years ago by haleycookie.
April 3, 2018 at 7:01 pm #113120 Report Abuse

CockalierMom
Member

Since she is pooping a lot and not gaining weight, your vet may think she is having trouble digesting the food she has been eating. Natural Balance is limited ingredient and easy to digest, and that is probably why it was recommended to see if it makes a difference.

April 4, 2018 at 1:03 am #113130 Report Abuse

Susan
Participant

Hi Darien,
has she been tested for EPI or S.I.O.B ? join the face book group called “EPI dogs”, has she been put on Metronidazole for 21-28 days? are her poos sloppy & yellow?? if yes look up S.I.B.O in dogs, sounds like she has some type of Intestinal problem, vet needs to work out what?? if you see the vet again ask can you have a 28 day course of the Metronidazole (Flagyl) also have you tried a dog probiotic “Purina Forti Floria” is very good, has live bacteria..
after she starts a Limited ingredient kibble or a vet diet & takes the Metronidazole twice a day every 12hours with a meal then when the Metronidazole tablets are finished then you start her on the Forti-Floria, 1/2 the dose then slowley increase the probiotic.. or she can take a dog probiotic 3-4 hours before or after she has taken the Metronidazole..

Look at “Wellness Simple” or “Canidae Pure” formula’s they have limited ingredients but higher in Kcals what she probably needs, the Natural Balance LTD is low fat & low protein not good for a growing pup…

April 11, 2018 at 9:24 am #113458 Report Abuse

Charles B
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With our now 2yr old golden, we couldnt get him to put on weight. We were feeding him almost 4 cups of Fromm a day when he was around 16months old. I ended up switching him to Acana Duck (he gets the farts on Chicken) and after a few weeks, at only 2.5cups a day, he stared to fill in. He was hovering around 59lbs but he’s taller then out female. Now hes at 66lbs and solid. Can easily feel his ribs, but he doesnt look starved.

Also when we switched to Acana, the poops dropped from 3-4x monster ones daily down to 2 normal sized ones.
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