I think it's a good weight for him. He is a little guy. At one point he was almost 50 lbs and I got quite a lecture from the vet, lol. Now you can see his waist, but he does have a round little tummy. I don't feed him that much, but he does eat 3 times a day. I have tried to feed twice a day, but he gets terrible gas! I mean knock your shoes off bad gas. I guess he swallows more air as he inhales the larger amounts. So it is 3 times a day for him!

Janice

and a definite waist and weighs 58 pounds, but whenever I take him to a show, people tell me to put weight on him. Hi ribs don't stick out by any stretch of the imagination and he eats as much as he wants. My vet tells me he's overweight and show people say he's underweight. What to do?

Michelle, Helen, Penny, Spanky and Faye pup

This is what I have been told about mixing brands---

"Every brand of dog food follows a specific formulation and nutritional philosophy, developed by the manufacturer. All products are formulated to supply a balanced amount of nutrients in a ration of a certain size (remember kibble size and density vary from brand to brand), based on the body weight of the dog. When mixing different kibbles, instead of getting "the best of both", your dog isn't going to eat enough of either one to get the full benefit of a particular nutritional system designed and researched by a manufacturer. Last but not least, if digestive upset occurs, it's going to take so much longer to figure out what exactly caused it, compared to just eliminating either the commercial food or whatever extras were fed recently. If you want to offer more variety, stick to one line of food of the same brand at a time and rotate between brands every few months. Supplementing the dry food with fresh, unprocessed foods like vegetables, fruit, yogurt, meat or a bit of canned food is also safe and healthy."


I don't rescue animals because I want to feel better about myself, or morally superior to anyone. The best part of my life with animals is the humility they teach and the humanity the foster.
Jon Katz "Soul of a Dog"

I loved that old man. He was my pediatrician too!


I don't rescue animals because I want to feel better about myself, or morally superior to anyone. The best part of my life with animals is the humility they teach and the humanity the foster.
Jon Katz "Soul of a Dog"

Kim
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Kim
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Thanks for the great suggestion... and I'm happy to hear it's worked for you. Gives me hope! Is this different from a probiotic and is there a specific brand you use? I tried Gleneflora probiotic and it didn't help at all. Are you planning on using this longterm or short-term? Every food and combination of food I've tried thus far has left him with soft stools (C.Natural/Fromms/Canidae ALS/Frozen biljak). Only time he has firm stool is first thing in a.m. . Nothing has worked...pumpkin, yogurt, rice, oatmeal, etc. I was thinking of trying cottage cheese, since I heard that might help but I hate to keep adding things to an already sensitive tummy. By the way, I've heard great things about Natural Balance...

Kim
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try a digestive enzyme powder on his food. I've got an older gal with a sensitive tummy and it seems to help her have nice firm stools.

I've got her on NB Duck with 1/4 tsp of Prozyme on it. I've tried lots of different foods with the same results- upset tum, gas, and loose stools. Then I have to put her on canned i/d and Flagyl for a week and it clears up. This time I'm trying the Prozyme on her food and so far so good.


I don't rescue animals because I want to feel better about myself, or morally superior to anyone. The best part of my life with animals is the humility they teach and the humanity the foster.
Jon Katz "Soul of a Dog"

Thanks for the explanation about mixing different kibbles. Originally I'd been doing this mostly to transition him from the puppy kibble to the Fromms all life stages. He suffers from loose stool and after doing the slow transition when I tried going to straight Fromms he suffered from loose stool again. He seemed to have firmer stool with a combo of the two foods (Cal. Natural Lamb and Rice puppy and Fromms Salmon a la vegetable ALS) Since he has a sensitive tummy I've just been doing an extended transition. Once this bag of the California Natural puppy kibble is done my plan is to either have him totally on the Fromms or switch to another food! Feeding two foods is kind of a pain and I agree it's probably not a good idea to do this long term. I was thinking of the Purina Sensitive stomach formula but that's not an ALS formula so I'm still on the hunt for a good ALS food for a sensitive tummy. And I heard grain free isn't a good idea for a growing pup....

Kim
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Good advice! Definitely wouldn't mind less potty trips!


Kim
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for life...makes it easier on you, and perhaps less poopy trips outside as well? It would mean feeding the same total amount, just divide it into two portions.

Kim
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But I definitely see the point of the article.Chubby is not necessarily good!

Kim
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Tuffy gets three cups a day of kibble (and a couple of low cal snacks in between). He gets a mixture of two kibbles one is 540 calories and the other is 405 calories. He doesn't seem overweight (I still see a waist and he's pretty active.) He is ravenous at each meal and eats his kibble in about 2 minutes so I don't think I'm overfeeding but I guess I'll see what the vet says at his next checkup!

Kim
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Yeah, me too - sigh!

I need to reduce the mealtime 1 cup to 3/4 cup to accommodate for the 1/4 cup bedtime snack. Roxy started packing on the lbs when I had her on i/d. I've switched her to NB duck and I'm cutting her back in hopes of getting her 58 lbs back down to 54. Belle is okay, but Jr and Bent are a little short for their weight. Ted is slim.


I don't rescue animals because I want to feel better about myself, or morally superior to anyone. The best part of my life with animals is the humility they teach and the humanity the foster.
Jon Katz "Soul of a Dog"

it is so unhealthy, especially for joints. I learned quickly to keep Winnie trim because the difference of just a pound or 2 could worsen her hip dysplasia symptoms. Luckily, Hooch is small for a boy and I'm keeping close watch on his weight too. He was very underweight when he got to rescue and is about 53 now...has a nice waist.

Love the chubby jowls.

Woof!

Bulldogs are supposed to have a waist or a 'tuck-up'. They shouldn't be shaped like tubes. I don't think that most Bulldogs are overwieght, I think that some people who aren't familiar with Bulldogs or vets who don't see allot of them think that they are.




http://norcalbulldogrescue.org

any more...the girls are down to 55 finally and Griff is his lightest weight in a real long time 67 lbs...

hugs

http://www.flickr.com/photos/griffin6/
http://www.facebook.com/Deborah075?ref=name

the vet wants them at here..
Bella and Gus both have a waist..
Bella is in the best shape for a bully for weight that my vet has seen so that is a good thing...
she is very active and very healthy too. as is Gus as well.
thanks for posting the article