How thin is your baby?

[lpham]

I came here with the same problem. I could feel her bones and her ribs. I started feeding my yorkie wet food and she's putting on weight now. I feed 1/2 cup wet food once a day and the rest of the day she free feeds on dry kibble. She looks forward to the wet food everyday!

[gaijingirl]

Originally Posted by lpham

I came here with the same problem. I could feel her bones and her ribs. I started feeding my yorkie wet food and she's putting on weight now. I feed 1/2 cup wet food once a day and the rest of the day she free feeds on dry kibble. She looks forward to the wet food everyday!

Wow! Really? What type of food are you feeding and how big is your dog? I have a 4 pounder that gets 0.4 cup of food all day and absolutely nothing else. (He is on a very strict prescription diet for liver disease and GI problems. His food is his treat too...when I tell him it is! haha).

You should be able to feel her ribs though. If not, she is probably putting on too much weight.

[QuickSilver]

Originally Posted by suda

This is George with the sun behind him it really makes him look even skinnier

That's how Thor looks too. I feel like he's too skinny, but the vet just said he's "lean". I feed him kibble, which he definitely doesn't love.

Generally speaking, it's better for dogs to be on the skinny side than heavy. I believe that one person here who wanted to fatten her yorkie up accidentally giving the poor thing pancreatitis. After I read about that, I decided just to accept that Thor's naturally skinny. At least someone in the family is.

[nana911]

Originally Posted by lpham

I came here with the same problem. I could feel her bones and her ribs. I started feeding my yorkie wet food and she's putting on weight now. I feed 1/2 cup wet food once a day and the rest of the day she free feeds on dry kibble. She looks forward to the wet food everyday!

Originally Posted by gaijingirl

You should be able to feel her ribs though. If not, she is probably putting on too much weight.

I agree, you don't want to be able to count ribs when looking at them...but you definitely want to be able to feel their ribs when you hold them/pick them up. Bug is very solid but long and lean. When I run my hand down her side and press very lightly I can feel all her ribs underneath her skin and a very light layer of fat that moves right along with the skin. I think that is healthy and wouldn't want her any fatter. Baby on the other hand is way too fat. I have to press in too much to feel her ribs and it is not just one nice layer that moves with the skin. The skin moves then the thin healthy layer and thick pad under that which doesn't move as easily, practically has to be pinched up. Does anyone know what I mean. I can't think of any other way to describe the difference between healthy/unhealthy fat.