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Bravo916 · 11-16-2007, 09:30 AM

Thank you all for being so helpful. I am sure some of you have run into this with your males so any advice is greatly appreciated.

I have a 14mo leggy male who has a natural disposition to be very skinny. Before I launched this huge initiative to fatten him up he was only 4.5lbs on a frame that should have been about 5.5lbs as the ideal weight for his current age, and should hit 6lbs at full maturity. He literally looked like a hot dog with 4 chopsticks for legs (especially looking down at him when he was in wraps).

He has always been a finicky eater. Previously I had him on Royal Canin Yorkshire Terrier which my vet took off of because the high protein was causing him to have urinary issues (the problem resolved immediately thereafter). I have tried various other foods but he still will only consume enough kibbles for sustenance and leave the rest in his dish. I have tried adding the grated Natural Balance roll to his food and he still just picks.

I have tried boiled chicken and rice have also tried cooking other nasty smelling things like pureed chicken livers/hearts/gizzards with rice but after it loses its novelty he wont touch it.

His conformation instructor suggested that he needed to beef up because that was the one real thing that he could see that would hold him back. So for our last show l broke down and put him on a junk food diet to give him some temporary weight. I started food processing plain McDonalds cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets adding Show Stopper to it. While he was a lot more interested in this food I still had to hand feed him. (no diarrhea in case anyone is wondering) I hate the idea of feeding him this junk food as I wont even eat it myself but right now its the only thing that seems to be putting weight on him.

On a side note, I figured that part of his loss of appetite could be due to not enough exercise so I treadmill trained him. He runs daily for 15-20 minutes at a slight incline which has done wonders for his muscle tone and movement but hasnt made a dent in his appetite. His vet assures me its just an adolescent thing.

For any of you out there who have gone through this can you offer any advice?

Thanks a million!
Kristena

11-16-2007, 09:30 AM	#1
Bravo916 No Longer a Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: CA Posts: 459	Advice on Fattening-Up Young Show Male Thank you all for being so helpful. I am sure some of you have run into this with your males so any advice is greatly appreciated. I have a 14mo leggy male who has a natural disposition to be very skinny. Before I launched this huge initiative to fatten him up he was only 4.5lbs on a frame that should have been about 5.5lbs as the ideal weight for his current age, and should hit 6lbs at full maturity. He literally looked like a hot dog with 4 chopsticks for legs (especially looking down at him when he was in wraps). He has always been a finicky eater. Previously I had him on Royal Canin Yorkshire Terrier which my vet took off of because the high protein was causing him to have urinary issues (the problem resolved immediately thereafter). I have tried various other foods but he still will only consume enough kibbles for sustenance and leave the rest in his dish. I have tried adding the grated Natural Balance roll to his food and he still just picks. I have tried boiled chicken and rice have also tried cooking other nasty smelling things like pureed chicken livers/hearts/gizzards with rice but after it loses its novelty he wont touch it. His conformation instructor suggested that he needed to beef up because that was the one real thing that he could see that would hold him back. So for our last show l broke down and put him on a junk food diet to give him some temporary weight. I started food processing plain McDonalds cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets adding Show Stopper to it. While he was a lot more interested in this food I still had to hand feed him. (no diarrhea in case anyone is wondering) I hate the idea of feeding him this junk food as I wont even eat it myself but right now its the only thing that seems to be putting weight on him. On a side note, I figured that part of his loss of appetite could be due to not enough exercise so I treadmill trained him. He runs daily for 15-20 minutes at a slight incline which has done wonders for his muscle tone and movement but hasnt made a dent in his appetite. His vet assures me its just an adolescent thing. For any of you out there who have gone through this can you offer any advice? Thanks a million! Kristena