Bulking Up for Winter

[BellaDad]

I have a 1 year old GSP female. She's naturally a small girl with her mom only weighing abuot 45 lbs during hunting season and her dad at 55. My girl has been stuck at 40 pounds for some time now, almost 4 months or so and is still skinny as a rail.

Over the past few months she's definitely started filling out in her chest more and her rear legs do look muscular for her build but I'd still like to beef her up a little for hunting season. I feed her as much as she'll eat but she also gets a pretty fair amount of exercise and burns quite a lot of energy. Any tricks or tips for adding a few pounds to her? She's going to be doing quite a lot of Missouri quail hunting but will be sitting in the duck blind a fair amount in mid-late December as well.

[slistoe]

Why do you want to put fat on your dog when she will be asked to work? Keep her trim and fit and feed her enough calories each day to maintain the ones she is burning.
Bulking up for winter = bad idea.

[mcbosco]

Chances are that feeding a naturally slender dog more only to add weight will just result in big soft stools, wasted money and vet bills down the line. During periods of stress or activity either feed more regular food or add high protein/high fat foods or supplements but there is no reason to put pounds on before.

Do you think she is unsually thin?

[BellaDad]

I wonder if she'll be cold while hunting this winter. She'll be fine quail hunting because she never stops, but I question duck hunting. I plan to buy her a 5mm neoprene vest. I'm not trying to bulk her like a lab at all, but she could use a little bit of meat still. She's about 21" tall at the whithers and right at about 40 lbs. She's a tiny girl, I get that but was wondering if a little meat (nothing drastic, maybe 5 lbs) would help.

[mcbosco]

if she is otherwise healthy i would leave her be...if it concerns you it cant hurt to give a little extra oil or animal fat in the feed or egg yolks, something easy to get and easy to give, my wife bakes angel food cakes all the time so she freezes the yolks for me..cheap, safe, healthy and easy

[Greg Jennings]

I'd look into the neoprene no matter what...and keep a place open by the blind heater.

[nanney1]

Give her a little extra kibble and add a little canned food to the kibble. Gradually increase the amount. The canned will add extra calories and should entice her to eat more and she should gain weight.

Or you could try Satin Balls as a treat or add to the diet.

Or you could try frozen Bil-Jac as a treat or to add to the diet.

The canned food is probably the most covenient and the cheapest route. Just a few ideas.

[mcbosco]

canned is a good idea as is frozen, Bil Jac doesn't sell frozen on the east coast which is ironic because there is a big market here for raw frozen.

[Bigsur009]

I agree with what everyone else has said so far. I can't think of any reason to put extra weight on what sounds like a healthy, athletic pup. The neoprene should help with the duck hunting weather. As for her weight, I wouldn't stress over it. She sounds fine.

[slistoe]

I wonder if she'll be cold while hunting this winter. She'll be fine quail hunting because she never stops, but I question duck hunting. I plan to buy her a 5mm neoprene vest. I'm not trying to bulk her like a lab at all, but she could use a little bit of meat still. She's about 21" tall at the whithers and right at about 40 lbs. She's a tiny girl, I get that but was wondering if a little meat (nothing drastic, maybe 5 lbs) would help.

Satin balls will help you make her fat. A pound of raw hamburger every night in addition to the regular feed schedule will do it as well.

21" and 40 lbs is about the exact ratio of my Brits when they are in working condition. Anything more than that and they are fat and out of shape. Doesn't help them in the winter one bit, and is a big handicap in the field. 5 lbs on a 40 lb dog - that would be 25 lbs on a 200 lb man.

[Rick Hall]

My 21", 38lb Brittany and I are firmly in the fit and vested camp.

[Will]

+2

Don't "bulk" her up. She'll fill in as she matures. Extra fat will only be problematic.

I agree with what everyone else has said so far. I can't think of any reason to put extra weight on what sounds like a healthy, athletic pup. The neoprene should help with the duck hunting weather. As for her weight, I wouldn't stress over it. She sounds fine.

[Shadow]

I have a 1 year old GSP female. She's naturally a small girl with her mom only weighing abuot 45 lbs during hunting season and her dad at 55. My girl has been stuck at 40 pounds for some time now, almost 4 months or so and is still skinny as a rail.

Over the past few months she's definitely started filling out in her chest more and her rear legs do look muscular for her build but I'd still like to beef her up a little for hunting season. I feed her as much as she'll eat but she also gets a pretty fair amount of exercise and burns quite a lot of energy. Any tricks or tips for adding a few pounds to her? She's going to be doing quite a lot of Missouri quail hunting but will be sitting in the duck blind a fair amount in mid-late December as well.

yeh- keep feeding the same amount and don't exercise her at all- that should put some fat on her

hum- don't suppose that's why 65% of folks are over weight