Re: [PyrNet-L] Triglycerides & Cholesterol

["Tracy Bassett" <espinay@dynamite.com.au>]

>Also, Tim, can you give me the name of the software RE:  nutrition you
>bought?  I would be interested in finding recipes with proper nutrition for
>my 16 month old male Pyr.  His vet says he needs to be fattened up.  He
>weighs 74 lbs. today but weighed only 68 lbs four weeks ago when a friend
>became alarmed at his size and recommended her vet.  He weighed in at 66
lbs
>in Oct as a 10 mo old pup and had only gained 2 lbs. when I brought him in
>for boosters, etc in March.  My original vet thought that was great.  They
>believe that the skinnier a giant dog is, the longer he'll live.
>
>I've been working very hard at trying to get Zeke to eat more but am
worried
>about adding too much to his diet of the foods that cause humans medical
>problems.
>Matty Costa


It is hard to tell whether a dog is too thin by its weight without seeing
the dog, so what are the results when you do a 'hug test' on your dog?  ie,
when you put your hands around your dogs ribs, can you feel them?  If you
can't, the dog probably needs to lose weight.  If you can still feel them
under a light covering of muscle/fat - sounds good to me.  It is easier to
tell on uncoated breeds, as you can see the effect when they are walking
around - they have a light covering over the ribs, but the back 2 or three
at least are still visible as they move.

I would believe that keeping the weight to this healthy level - not thin,
but definitely not fat either, would be the most beneficial for the dog.
Too much weight, particularly on a growing giant breed, would I think only
overburden growing bones and increase the risk of joint troubles.  Too
little weight and the dog is not getting the nutrients it needs to develop
those bones.

Can I suggest a book?  It is Dr Ian Billinghurst's 'Give your Dog a Bone'.
It looks at a lot of different types of food (eg different meats,
vegetables, fish eggs etc etc) and examines their value as a food for dogs
eg vitamin and nutrient content and what benefit or otherwise they can add
to a dogs diet.  A good resource, even if you are not too sure of 'the bone
bit'.  His new book 'Grow your Pups With Bones' also has some interesting
sections building on the first book.

Tracy Bassett
espinay@dynamite.com.au
Canberra, Australia