Satin ball failure - ideas?

[ChickFarmer]

Fast growth in GSD's can cause joint problems later. He will gain mucle in time. 17 1/2 months isn't full grown for these dogs.

 

[Brindlebtch]

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Yeah, pretty much ditto!

 

[gritsar]

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Yeah, pretty much ditto!

I know! I know! I'm working on being a bit hard-hearted with Kane and not giving in to those sweet, pitiful eyes. I have arguments with myself regarding Kane. I worry that if I don't feed him enough he won't grow to his full potential. It's hard for me to use common sense where my boy is concerned.
DH and I were having yet another conversation about Jax last night. He's active, his stools are fine, his eyes bright and his coat is beautiful and shiny (not counting the shedding). To me those are all signs of a healthy dog, weight not withstanding.

 

[gritsar]

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Satin balls are a combination of foods - raw hamburger, total cereal, molasses, wheat germ, and whole eggs designed to put weight on a lean dog.

 

[cutechick2010]

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Satin balls are a combination of foods - raw hamburger, total cereal, molasses, wheat germ, and whole eggs designed to put weight on a lean dog.

Ahhh ok, now I see. Actually sounds similar to what a friend of mine used to use for fishbait, LOL.

 

[Akane]

Such dogs will go through really odd looking scrawny stages. It happens with a lot of large breeds. My akita looked like a half starved grey hound for awhile and her breeder said she was just a bit below normal for her age. A good dog food and a supplement like satin balls should be plenty. So long as his coat is good quality and not showing signs of allergy I'd leave it at that. An oil might put on more weight but you don't want to supplement too much. The diet needs to stay balanced for a growing large breed or they can have lots of issues. Supplements that are all fat/protein with no calcium and minerals are only going to lead to issues. Satin balls have total cereal, wheat germ, the shell of the eggs, and molasses to help add in lots of vitamins and minerals with the protein and fat so it stays balanced. The only step I'd attempt from here if I wasn't happy would be a completely raw diet. I think though that you just need to keep it up and wait it out. Also portion down the other dog. We make mini satin balls for our other dog. She gets a little 1/4th ball if she's out when the akita gets hers. We also keep the akita's dog food in the bedroom over night while the other dog sleeps in a crate due to causing mass destruction and waking us up constantly if she's loose. That makes it possible to feed them 2 separate things and amounts since bowls just have to be picked up during the day and put back down at night. It took the past year to work out that system and finally have one dog that doesn't look like a round barrel and one dog who's hip bones and ribs aren't sticking out.

 

[gritsar]

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Our feeding routine is to prepare Jax's bowl and set it in front of DH so he can encourage Jax to eat. We didn't poison train Jax, he just does it naturally. He also won't do anything - go out with me, go to bed (crate) unless DH tells him it's okay. Thankfully he only acts this way when DH is home. He obeys me fine when DH is gone.
Anyhow, Jax eats at DH's feet, Kane eats in the kitchen with me. We have started taking Jax's bowl up before we let Kane out of the kitchen, so he can't clean up Jax's leftovers. Jax gets the satin balls in his food, Kane gets a tad bit of plain hamburger on his.
As far as their crates go, both go to their crates and stay in them, even with the doors open, whenever DH and I are sleeping. We have been thinking about hooking their crates together so they can sleep together. These two dogs are true brothers and when not in their crates always sleep curled up together.

 

[Equus5O]

Axl's 6 months old now, and about 55 pounds. He's very lean and lanky. The vet has said that he's perfectly healthy and at the weight he should be for his frame. Right now, he's growing upward, and I'm sure that the time will come when he'll grow outward. Just like my mother always said about my son when he was younger, "You can only grown in one direction at a time. Up or out."

Edited to add that Axl was at the vet today, and he's 61 pounds.

 

[gritsar]

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I love it.

Someone forgot to tell Kane that. He just turned 9 months old and he weighs 95 lbs. He's taller than Jax and needless to say, heavier. The vet puts his adult weight at 110 lbs., based on a chart she has. I look at Kane's grandsire and I see his twin. I know everyone says watch Kane's weight, but when I feel through all the fluff I can feel his bone structure and he does have a waist, even if he doesn't look like it.

Kane is simply not going to look like the american shepherds do. He has east german shepherd all over.
ETA: Nice to see you around Equus.

 

[cassie]

Try a walnut sized piece of kidney fat daily. It is pure energy. Won't find anything more calorie dense than suet. If he can't tolerate it just don't feed it any more. But if he just needs more calories you can't beat it.