BULTERRIER 3.5 month weight.

SETAH

Hey there,

read a lot in this forum, some great info here Being a newbie, Im attaching some pics of my male 3.5 month bullterrier - Glock. When we picked him from the kennel he was the biggest bully among his sisters and brothers. And currently he is becoming the thinnest of them all. As I recently talked with the kennel owner she said that the brothers reached 29.7 pounds and at that time Glock was only 21.6 pounds. Tried to give him meat but he got diarrhea so we were left with kibble for the moment. Feeding him super premium class kibble but the problem is - he eats so little.. even thou we feed him two times a day. Usually he gains 2.2 pounds every week, but he is still behind the brothers.

The question is - isnt he too skinny for his age and how could i bulk him up? 

philsergeant

At 29.7 lbs, for his body size he would be doing well, at 21.6 he could do with a diet improvement, more because of the fact that he obviously isn't enjoying his current mealtime. He is a beautiful boy and could do with having his ears taped before its too late. But what Kibble are you feeding him? Remember any diet change needs to be gradual, if you introduce raw, do it slowly, adding just a little more every few days. There are tons of threads on here about how others create variety, adding eggs, livers, vegetables... but the main thing is finding a good base food and working from there.

BulliesofNC

Keep in mind that some people often provide inaccurate weights which may even be inflated.

Introducing raw meats almost always cause loose stool for a while until their digestive system gets used to it. 

Assuming he is worm free he shouldn't be any different from his siblings in regard to growth and weight. Yes, there might be one or two that are heavier or bigger but it won't be by a lot. 

There are many good foods you could provide him with that have a higher concentration of protein, calories, etc that will maximize weight gain.

SETAH

Thanks for the input. Highly appreciated.

Currently I was feeding him super premium dry food - rice and lamb - junior large breed, today bought grain free dry food with 65% salmon and white fish for adult dogs, the seller said it suits puppies too, bully seems to like it better, will see..

Speaking of ears - his start to rise each day, will wait for a couple weeks, fathers ears rose at 4 months or so..

SETAH

Hi there,

So more than a year has passed and my bully is 18 month old now. Before reaching 12 months we had countless visits to the vet due to an unexplained diarrhea which broke out from anything and anytime, vets had no explanation or solution. After reaching a 12 months his digestive system stabilized and he seems to tolerate food easier and we are even able to give him some boiled meat to give him more protein. But the weight gain seems to be an issue, he weighs 25 kilos or 55 lbs and holds this weight for several months now.

After introducing a new kibble he was able to gain 2 kilos, but lost them a month later, cause whatever food you introduce him he gets bored of it after several weeks and starts to eat less - we tried countless kibbles - orijen, acana and others.. the scenario is always the same. His bowl is always full of food, as there is practically no way of overfeeding him.

His body looks like from the photos of what bullies looked hundred years ago, despite the head )

So my question would be - is it just his body type and his weight will stay the same, or should I do something else to try to bulk him up?

BulliesofNC

It could very well be genetics. Do you have any recent photos of him that you could share with us and maybe photos of the parents?

SETAH

Sorry, i thought I uploaded his pics so , lets begin

The father - 

the first pic is the mother

the second - brother.

all the others - my little bundle of joy

BulliesofNC

By chance, did he have coccidia as a puppy? What was the cause of the diarrhea?

He doesn't appear very skinny but looks like he could use some more mass to match his nice head size. Have you tried giving him some Raw Meats in conjunction with his normal diet?

SETAH

The cause of diarrhea was never determined... Vets took countless samples of stool, blood, at one time saying that puppy's blood started showing signs of anemia, but as soon as diarrhea stopped - blood normalized. Usually doctors gave medication to stop the diarrhea, some kind of antibiotic and lots of probiotics. No one gave the cause and said that maybe he has poor digestion system. At first I tried to introduce raw meats, as I've was told in the kennel that they were feeding the puppy raw meat, but in my case it only gave him diarrhea, I even couldnt give him a bone to chew, cause that would give him diarrhea too, so I got him elk antlers. So I tried introducing meats for him but usually boiled in water in order to prevent any contamination...     

BulliesofNC

Raw meats will often give young puppies diarrhea. It's best to wait until they are older to start them on raw meats. I doubt the people you got him from had him on a raw meat diet.

Whatever he went through as a puppy could have very well caused some issues with his growth development.

I would keep him on a good 5 star grain free diet and provide him a supplement to boost his immune system.

http://bulliesofnc.com/bull-terrier-nutrition/