You might have a thyroid panel done. Hyperthyroidism makes it hard to keep wait on (reverse of hypothyroidism).

Does she have any coat issues?

there is a fellow up here with a very hard charging female lab that sounds like she is physically much like your dog - thin to the point that her backbone is easily felt and seen but has no health issues that would cause it. Just the 'type' of metabolism she has, could be the same for your dog.

 

I have an 18 month old BLM. Last spring and summer, we trained hard daily. She was pretty thin, but I blamed it on our training regimen expecting her to gain weight this fall when she had more down time. We stopped running setups mid November.

She eagerly eats her Pro Plan Sport - 2 1/4 cups morning and night. Her weight didn't increase so, I made some satin balls and fed her four balls, about the size of a golf ball, each day in addition to her food. Her stool is normal. She gained some weight with the addition of the satin balls, but is still really thin.

I've scheduled a vet appt next week. She's a great dog. We ran 3 peat 400 plus yard blinds yesterday with three of the dogs and she by far won the day against dogs more advanced than she. All her immunizations are current and she is on Advantage Multi.

She acts and appears healthy and happy, but I can see more of her ribs than I like and her spine is easily felt on her back.

Anyone have ideas for increasing caloric intake?

I'd put a lot of credence into the part in red. Some dogs are prone to have different metabolisms/body structures
The vet visit is always a good idea when in doubt

 

If all the blood work comes back good, suspect Gardia. I had a dog that we couldn't keep weight on so I treated for Gardia and he put on 12 lbs in two weeks!! It is hard to diagnose and if you work around pastures or anywhere cattle run off could contaminate water it is possible!!

 

could also be the food. i have a small frame lab(50-53lbs). i like PPP and so does my dog. some foods we tried did not allow her to gain any weight...

doesnt ghiardia come with serious runs though? the case my dog had, it was the only reason i took her in and found out she had it...

 

Not always, very active dogs can appear healthy with good stools, Thats why it can be hard to diagnose. He also indicates the dog works and lives in a Bovine enviroment "dead give away". If blood work comes back good Fish Zole cant hurt..

 

Thanks for the input guys. Her hair coat is fine. She's shiny and looks good...just really thin. We feed her more than any dog in the kennel. We are around horse and cattle pastures all the time. We have both on the farm where the kennel is at. I hunt ducks with a retired veterinarian. He said he thought my food had too much protein. He said he always liked Science Diet. I'm sure it is good food but it is hard for me to get away from PPP...all the dogs do great on it except for this one. She rarely has any loose stool at all and certainly no signs of infection in her stool. The thyroid panel sounds like a great idea.

 

Why don't you just feed him more kibble??? 4.5 cups per day is not a huge amount of food for an active young dog.

 

This. I was feeding mine 6 cups at that age and adding Impact Supplement, high in calories, dogs like it, put weight on once i reached an amount of kibble I didn't want to increase (6 cups).

No one has mentioned feeding once a day after training an training on an empty stomach, but most serious trainers do.

 

I have had hard keepers in the past eating up to 8 cups a day until they got older. Is she in a run or in the house? Some don't settle in a run. Make sure she has a good deworming, 6 days of Panacur. Add probiotics and digestive enzymes. Slowly add more food.

 

This^^^^alloftheabove

 

Currently have a dog in the same position. I too feed PPP and don't want to go to a different food. I have been mixing it with a puppy food and using the Dyne supplement. Great results in a short time frame feeding 3 cups in the morning and 3 cups in the evening.

 

All vets recommend science diet. this is who sponsors the nutrition part of their training. It is not that good of a food. Feed more pro plan.

 

Not Giardia, have seen it first hand and they are not happy and healthy with good stools. As mentioned feed more at this age. Had a young male that got 5 cups twice a day until he was about 3 and then was able to back off a little.

 

Have you tried switching over to fresh, organic food for your dog?

It doesn't have to be a daily thing, but it sure helps my dog to eat even more. It's simple - processed foods aren't that yummy for my lab anymore

/Adam