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Saint Bernards => Saint Bernard General Discussions => : Lyn March 14, 2006, 09:31:03 AM
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I have had 3 people within the last week tell me that Bubba looks malnourished. My father in laws new wife went as far to accuse us of starving him!! And I'm getting beyond irritated.
As some of you know Bubba had a problem with very loose stool for just over 9 months straight. I have no doubt that it didn't help his weight. But for the last months or so his stool has been normal and he has gained weight, although slowly. He's getting just over 1800 calories a day right now. We have had him up to 2500 calories a day and all that did was make his loose stool problem even worse.
My vet said his weight is fine.. even when he was thinner than he is now. I'm not sure what his weight right now.. I need take him in to the vet office to get him weighed again. But here is a fairly recent pic taken feb.26.
What do you all think? Could he use a few pounds? I'm tempted to try "Satin balls" but I don't want to put too much weight on him. I just want to help him catch up a bit.
(http://67.18.37.14/95/148/upload/p477836.jpg)
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Hmmm, that pic is a little small.. I'll try uploading the full size pic instead.
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Isn't thinner better for these big fellows? And he's young too right? Don't saints fill out more later in life, past 1 year?
Bubba looks great!! I don't see his ribs, or his hip bones protruding.
I think some people think fat dogs look healthier.
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We posted at the same time. lol
He's 13 months old now.
And nope no treats.. I stopped giving him any months ago hoping that was the problem but it's not. We switched his food and he went through a round of de-wormings. Since then his stool have been back to normal. So I don't know if it was the food that helped or the wormers.
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Hi there,
I am at work and so cannot post updated pics of Day-z but we also have been faced with a similar issue. In my case i think i was not feeding her quite enough. This got sorted out by buying one of the cup sized scoops from the petstore and realizing how big a cup really was.
However, she had still been getting plenty of food - so please don't think i was starving her.
Her build is very similar to that of Bubba's though, and i agree that it is better for their hips.
Upping her food just by say half a cup though has filled her out a little and given us even more Bernard to love.
I feel your pain.....
Jill
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I think Bubba looks just like he should for his age...At 15 months Samson still looked like a runway model...He was all legs & looked really thin...He went through another growth spurt after that & put on like 15 more lbs...I bet Bubba is just going through the gangly teenage time....Here's Samson all legs & ribs.
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I have been thinking the same thing with my Zoe. She had a slow start in her life and was underweight because she got parvo just before she came to live with us. Certainly she has gotten tall over the past year, but she's not really "padded". She's currently just shy of 15 months now.
You mentioned trying the Satin Balls. I made my first batch this weekend and am supplementing her kibble with 2 meatballs per day (about 3 full tablespoons each). We'll see how that works.
I agree that this breed fills out more after the first year, so we need to be patient. I think Bubba looks very svelte.
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If Bubba is only 13 months old, I'd say there's nothing wrong with his weight at all. I can't see any bones sticking out anywhere and to be honest if he was rolling and chubby, I'd be far more worried. The people who have commented are probably expecting him to look like Beethoven from the movies. But Bubba is smooth coated (they never look as plump as a longcoat at the same age for obvious reasons) and he's only a gawky 'teenager', not a fully mature adult.
If he's just going to poop it out as diahorrea, it seems counterproduct ive upping his food. Have you tried changing it? I had terrible problems with Flynn when he was a puppy. I tried two premium giant breed puppy formulations and he had persistent soft black smelly poop. He also had scurfy skin. I changed him to a 21% protein adult food at about 5 months and he was a different dog in a week. I was terrified I was going to ruin him on such a low protein food, but his poop was lovely and firm and he enjoyed the food more. I saw his dad and 3 of his siblings at Crufts last week. He is as big as his brother at 15 months old, but not quite as heavy or mature looking (good thing at 15 months I would have thought in a breed that matures at 5 years old). And he's larger and as well boned as his daddy. I don't think I've done too bad a job now. ;)
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Isn't thinner better for these big fellows? And he's young too right? Don't saints fill out more later in life, past 1 year?
Bubba looks great!! I don't see his ribs, or his hip bones protruding.Â
I think some people think fat dogs look healthier.
Yeah, my vet wants me to keep Sadie as lean as possible. She said not to worry if she looks slightly malnourished, you want them as thin as possible while they're growing. What does your vet think about his weight?
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I agree with the others. He's at the age where he's grown a lot in height and the weight just hasn't caught up. Our Max is also 13 months and is slim in the belly and hip area. His neck area seems to be growing the most right now. I also agree that with Bubba being short haired, it probably stands out more.
If your vet is not concerned with the weight, I would feel comfortable.
I compare what Max went through to a 6 foot, 16 year old boy that just went through a growth spurt. Just can't help from being gangly.
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Thanks all. Those people had me feeling like I was a bad mommy or something. :'(
I measured Bubba's height this morning and he's 31.5 inches at the shoulder. His ribs are covered in a thin layer of fat. But I can feel the points of his hips although they are not visible. I'm not sure if I should be able to feel those or not? ???
Most Saints that are Bubba's age do look similar in body structure, unless of course they are the heavy boned Saints like Gershwin. They are born looking like little sherman tanks and stay that way. LOL When I mention that he's still growing they look at me like I'm stupid. Since most breeds are mature at 1 year they seem to think Giant breeds are the same.
But, I'm beginning to think you all are right and they think he should look like Beethoven or something. I get asked quite often if I've shaved Bubba. ::)
I'll see if we can take Bubba into the vet this coming weekend and get his weight. Maybe I could get my vet to just take a quick peek and see what he thinks about his weight now. I'll wait on trying the Satin balls until then. I'll let you all know what he says.
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I think he looks great, and as others have mentioned he is still growing. I think that people are used to seeing the rough coated saints, that they see on TV, and they look much bigger than they really are because of all that fur. Don't listen to the comments that people are saying to us.. except for ours LOL ;) You are a great mom!
Nina
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My mom is having the same problem with Cesco. I told her to make some Satin Balls for him, now I just have to find the recipe!
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I'm going to use this one...
http://theherbs.info/Pets/satinball.html
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If I were you, I would tell people to go "you-know-what" themselves. Or just ignore them. Every time we take Drake out in public during the Summer, we have people come up to us and tell us our dog needs water. I get SO ANNOYED!!! So, in my opinion, people have no right to tell you how to feed your dog. Honestly, it's better he's underweight than overweight.
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If I were you, I would tell people to go "you-know-what" themselves. Or just ignore them. Every time we take Drake out in public during the Summer, we have people come up to us and tell us our dog needs water. I get SO ANNOYED!!! So, in my opinion, people have no right to tell you how to feed your dog. Honestly, it's better he's underweight than overweight.
I'll second that. ;)
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Bubba looks amazing! When Hutch was Bubbas age he looked the same and I was worried about the wieght issue too, but soon enough when they aren't growing up so quickly they begin to fill out. I had everything said to me from "That can't be a Saint Bernard, I thought that they were smaller and thicker" to "he must be half Great Dane because they are thinner than Saint Bernards", the best part about all of these opinions is that they all came from people who I doubt have ever seen a Saint in real life before they met mine.
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I think Bubba looks great. I wished I had looked that proportionate when I was a teenager, human or not!!
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Bubba is pretty skinny for a saint, but that's ok because skinny is good for a saint's hips. I would try and get a little bit of weight on him, but I wouldn't worry about it too much
Have you guys ever managed to figure out what's causing the diahrea? What foods have you tried?
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I think Bubba looks just fine for his age! Im kind of speaking for Coonie who has Judge and he is also a smooth coat Saint. He didnt really start to fill out until just recently and he is going to be 2 on the 28th of March, so I think he just has some filling out to do. If my memory serves me right Im pretty sure he looked alot like that at 13 months, Actually he reminds me alot of the way Judge looks. Hes gorgeous! ;D
Carole
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I think y'all are stuck on how he looks rather then how he feels and sounds.
Is he solid with good muscle density?
Is his appitite good?
Does he have stamina?
Is he ch of his diet is grain and meat. getting GARLIC? great stuff!!! and brewers yeast?
Is he getting plenty of good freshh water. Water plays a great part in health?
How much of his diet is grain and meat. Avoid the meat byproducts.
He would likely gain more weight with good vigorouos exercise .
Anyway my opinion he looks good but out of proportion between body and head sixe.
Also loose stoolis usually from to much fat and non-water liquids.But true COD LIVER OIL is good for him.
If this seems ramblely it is from the drugsI took tonight. PAIN MEDS
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He looks just like Tyler whose been in the teenage stage since he was a few weeks old...I've never seen a more gangly awkward puppy in my life besides him. He has always been on the narrow side though recently he has started adding weight and he's around 18 months now. He's owned by a vet and she's never been concerned about his weight. As long as your vet says he's okay and he's not having any other problems I wouldn't worry about him. And it's always good to stay on the skinny side for his joints.
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Ok let's see if I can answer some of your questions..
shangrila, The diarrhea stopped when I switched him to Performatrin Ultra. But I also de-wormed him 4-5 times when we switched kibble. So I'm not sure which stopped the loose stool. But his poop has been normal since. So that's not a problem now.
But I do know that constant diarrhea can cause problems with weight loss and effect weight gain. And since Bubba had diarrhea from 9 weeks up until 11 or so months old. I have no doubt that's why he's so thin now.
Mark Dozier,
Is he solid with good muscle density? His chest, neck and legs have good muscle tone. And he sure feels solid to me..
Is his appitite good? He's always had a ravenous appetite. He would eat and eat if I let him
Does he have stamina? I would say he does yes. During walks I'm always the one that's tired and wants to go home. lol
As for diet he's only getting his kibble right now. I used to add wet food, yogurt and veggies and meats. But I stopped giving him those when we were trying to solve the loose stool problem. Now that his stool is normal I'm hesitant to give him anything else other than a little nibble here and there.
Last time I brought him into the vet with concerns about his weight my vet said he looked fine. Actually he said the same thing that most of you have said.. 'Better light than heavy'.
Hubby still wants to try the Satin balls anyway. I'm the one that does all the feeding so I can monitor how many Bubba's getting. 5-10 pounds might make all the difference. Hubby agreed to take him into the vet for a weighin and speak to my vet about how his weight. We might have to wait until Saturday depending on how late hubby works on friday. I'll get the vet to check his muscle tone.. cause I really don't know what to look for. lol
Thanks everyone. You all have made me feel so much better. I'll take some new pics today since the one I posted is about 2 or so weeks old just to see if there is any difference.
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Ok here's some new pics to critique taken today. lol I tried to get one pic of him in a similar pose to the other pic I posted. Looks like he has put a little weigh on in the past 2 weeks. It could just be me hoping. LOL
So what do you all think?
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yeah! It does look like he's put on some weight.
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I think he looks awesome! Esp. for his age:)
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I think he's a beautiful young dog. He looks very similar to Angus, I think anyway, and he's about the same age. They are short-haired, which is a different look than long-haired, which is what many people see and think of. I think he looks great, and he will fill out. Give him time. ;)
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He is beautiful, Lynn - so handsome and regal looking. I think you are doing a great job with him and it shows.
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I personally think he looks fine! Maxwell was tall and lanky as a teenager and now he's a bohemuth. Bubba looks perfectly normal to me. Max stopped growing in height and now he's spreading out but I'm trying to keep it under control. I have him on Wholesolme Blend Senior Large Breed. The pet nutricionist I spoke with recommended that he go on a senior diet as it is less calories and has more glucosamine and other good things in it. Poor Maxwell, not even two and already a senior!!