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How do I fatten up my super skinny Great Dane???

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NewDaneMom:
Hi,
We just adopted our first Great Dane who is 3 and a half and SOOOOOOO skinny. He has a great appetite and is otherwise healthy according to the vet but he needs another 20-30 pounds on him. We have no idea how to accomplish this since we've been feeding him quality food mixed with rice and we can still count every bone in his body. Does anyone here have any suggestions. We have another dog as well who needs to lose a few pounds so it is kind of chaotic at our house trying to meet all the dietary requirements!

Looking forward to hearing some ideas from you all. We're doing our best to make sure he's happy and healthy given all he's been through in the last few months. He's an amazing dog and we love him already - now we just need to make sure there's a bit more of him to love! Any suggestions welcome!

ZooCrew:
Hello and welcome!  Hope you stick around and enjoy all the love.  ;)

First I guess I would have to ask what brand you are feeding the dane now and how much?  I think that may help others know where to go from there helping you.

NewDaneMom:
Thanks for all the replies! I will try to answer some of the questions. We're feeding him Wellness CORE dry food. He gets 3 cups twice a day mixed with rice or pasta and also it's mixed with California Natural Puppy which is what he was eating in rescue. I think they were feeding him the puppy food because of the high protein content since he's so underweight.

He is definitely the leaner type of Dane, he's not the huge muscular type. He's very tall but lanky. Our vet recommended we try to put 20-30 pounds on him. We keep feeling guilty when people stop to gawk at him and then inform us that he's 'so skinny' as if we don't already know this. We have the excuse that we just got him from rescue now but that will only work so long.

I could try Satin Balls, should I ask our vet before trying them or is it ok to just give them to him?

I will attach a couple of pics. They're not the best quality since I took them on my phone. He's a great dog. We lucked out with him. He is so well behaved and calm and he's very gentle with other animals and kids in our neighborhood. He is a little clingy but I sort of like that about him. He is attached to my hip at all times. I love him already, I just wish I could get him healthy!

Thanks again for your input.

ZooCrew:
Awwwe, he's adorable!  I love the white patches/spots on his ears and the black spot in the middle of his head.  :D

I'm a bit surprised though he wasn't neutered at the rescue?  Was it b/c of his weight?

In the first pic he does look a bit thin, but then he's curled into a ball, which would make his backbone stick out further.  In the second pic though, he doesn't look bad from the front.  

Everyone always thinks Gunther is skinny (well he is right now, he lost close to 20 lbs in the fall when we switched diets........1 0 left to go to get back to normal weight, on a similar diet, different brand).  But around here apparently danes are on the heavy side.  One worker at the pet store always has to tell us that there is a dane that comes in that weighs 230? lbs.  I dunno......... ..that seems almost fat to me, esp. since she said he wasn't taller than Gunther (or at least not much so).

Lyn:
Welcome to BPO! He's a cutie! I love the spot on top of his head. :)

I don't have a Dane but I have a Saint that was next to impossible to keep weight on. I was getting the comments too. Some were downright crude basically accusing me of starving my dog. :(

I would defintely try the Satin Balls, they are known for putting weight on quickly so you need to make sure you don't overfeed them. But they do work!

I missed Julie's post. Just to add, some dogs are unable to maintain weight on the grain free foods. Maybe something like Innova adult (with grain) would help?

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