Underweight Vizsla.

lol...I have to agree with Edie though....I am not neutering my pup until  he is full grown for there are many studies proving that sex hormones play a HUGE role in muscle vs adipose deposition and metabolism. 

Papillon, you & Edie are most likely on the right track with this.  With our older dog, we called the vet to have him snipped when he was about 5 mo. old and the vet said he preferred to wait until they were closer to 1 year and physically mature.  We had that guy done when he was between 11 mo. and 1 year. I can see the shelters point, though.  I think they're afraid that when it actually came time to have it done, most people would put it off.  Myself, I think most people would probably find a way to have it done.

I think they're afraid that when it actually came time to have it done, most people would put it off.  Myself, I think most people would probably find a way to have it done.

Actually, given the choice, most will choose not to take the trouble.  I'm really shocked at how many friends of mine have strays, rescues adopted as pups, etc, and the dog is still intact.  The last three owner relinquishments I took in were adopted from shelters as pups, all still intact.at anywhere from two to five years' old.  The one I have here now is severely aggressive and three years old - no excuse to keep this dog intact.  She is a female - can you imagine the delightful puppies that could result? 

So most rescues, me included, choose juvenile sterilization over possible cosmetic handicaps with the risk of unwanted, poorly bred puppies.

When we were breeding cockers many moons ago, I charged two deposits....one was a spay/neuter deposit and one was an obedience class deposit.  That money could be sent to the vet when an appointment was confirmed for the spueter, or refunded to the owner when the pup became pointed if they were showing him/her.

The rescue that I foster for charges a $200 spueter deposit, same deal.   I waived that with a couple of the pups who went to idoggers cuz I knew the deed would be done with those folks...and it has been.

Typically tho, shelters are afraid to charge enough of a deposit to make a difference, because they want to find forever homes for these animals and it isn't as easy to do that when you say, gee, by the way, you also need to pay $150 or $200 that we'll give back to you once you spueter......

Actually it has been show (at least in large breed dogs) that an early neuter/spay causes the growth plates to stay open longer.  This usually results in a taller/longer/and sometimes thinner dog.  We had scout neutered at 9 months because we didn't want to deal with the male dog issues(spraying and humping, etc...). But we have always had issues keeping weight on him. Part of it is his genetic line.  And I wonder if part of it is his earlier neuter.  He is just turning 2 and in his genetic line the dogs tend to not fill out completely until they are 3.  We were feeding him more than 7 cups a day and he stayed just as thing.  Not to mention the large amount of waste he deposited.  We decided to switch him to a raw diet.  He gets more than the general recommended servings(over 3% of his body weight). But its a heck of a lot better than trying to get him to eat that much kibble. And the poops are WAY smaller! As in hardly exisitant!  I'm not saying that its for everyone, but that is what has finally helped us! Plus all the weight he's putting on is rock hard muscle!

Has anyone looked at or tried Barking at the Moon by Solid Gold?  It's their new high performance, high protein, no grain dry food?  Pofi has always been very wiry and Mia was very underweight when we got her.  And they are so active together, that Pofi has actually lost some weight.  So I have been giving each of them a mix of Cal Natural Lamb and Rice and Barking at the Moon for about a week - moving them (or at least Pofi) over to Barking at the Moon gradually.  I was only thinking of this as a food to help put some weight on them and give them the energy they want for play.  They aren't working dogs, but are very active.
 
I could stick with the Cal Natural and add canned food, too, I suppose.

I think you should have your dog checked by the vet just to make sure there is no medical reason why he isn't gaining weight.  The vet will probably want you to take a stool sample with you so be prepared for that little nicety.

i got Bailey from the shelter at 2.5-3 mos and she was already done... her wounds all healed up and everything so God knows how early they did it.

Max isn't underweight - at least I don't think he is.  He's around 65 lbs, but he's supposedly a lab/shepherd X and he's nowhere near the size of other full grown labs or shepherds. He has the deep chest of a lab and the slim hips of a shepherd. And I've discovered that he really doesn't eat as much as I thought he did  I put 1 1/2 cups in his bowl in the a.m. and he munches and grazes as he chooses.  If he finishes it by the afternoon or early evening, I give him another cup which he might or might not finish.  If he still has some in there I don't give him any more. So some days he eats 2 cups and other days he just eats 1-1/2 or a little less.  That doesn't sound like a lot like a lot for a dog that size, but it seems to be working OK for him.

To put weight on i would try EVO,innova or timberwolf organics with raw green tripe added daily.

As for the  neutering thing,i think a scary amount of faith is put into spaying/neutering to "cure" agressiveness and behavioural problems,neutering is NOT a magic bullet as many people like to think.
Besides changing coat texture,which really only affects the long haired breeds, and affecting their growth,early neutering/spaying also relegates dogs to being puppies forever,spaying a female before her first heat is akin to giving a hysterectomy(sp?) to a little girl,you are effectively taking their hormones out and how they are at that age is pretty much how they will stay forever.
I know there is nothing anyone can do about the rescue centres protocols,i'm talking about dogs people get as pups.Vets are alot to blame in this aswell,alot of them push clients to get their dogs done asap,not sure why?????

IMO the best time to get a female spayed is inbetween her first and second season,and for males probably between 18mths and 2 years,waiting until they are fully mature is the thing.Early neutering will not prevent unwanted or aggressive behaviour,proper socialisation and training might tho []

Well, like I said, that's what I elected to do on the possibility that it may help with issues he may or may not have. Not putting faith into anything, just taking the advantages (and yes.. along with extensive training and socialization) where I can get them.

Behavioral advantages of neutering

Decreased Aggression: One of the most important behavioral advantages of castration is that as adults, these dogs will tend to be less aggressive both toward other male dogs and also people. The androgen (male) hormones, of which testosterone is the most important, are responsible for the development of many behavioral patterns. When young puppies are sexually mounting their 7 and 8-week old litter mates this is because of androgen surges in their bodies. The same is true with aggressive behavior. Some medications that have androgenic hormonal activity often cause increased aggression (an example would be the birth control medication, Cheque Drops, which contains one of these androgen-type chemicals). The degree castration has on suppressing aggression varies between animals and the age at which it is done. Its effect is greatest if it is done before one year of age.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1625&articleid=911

What about aggression? Top
The effects of neutering on aggression are a little variable as there are many different types of aggression. It reduces dominance-based aggression but has little effect if the aggression is fear based. If your dog is aggressive in any manner, neutering it is always a good idea. Even if it doesn#%92t help with the aggression, at least he will not pass his aggressive genes to any pups he may sire.

http://www.petalia.com.au/Templates/StoryTemplate_Process.cfm?specie=Dogs&story_no=293#ct-5

After castrating a male, you can expect to see a less aggressive position taken toward other male dogs. The male will be less inclined to exert his dominance over you and will be less predisposed to mount other dogs or people. Mounting is not just a sexual behavior but an assertion of dominance.

http://www.metrokc.gov/lars/animal/Educate/cassidy/dog/dog37.htm

I could go on and on, but I'm sure your Google works just as well as mine.

I've heard very good things about dogs who built muscle on Canidae. Personally, I thought mine lost too much weight on Timberwolf, no matter how much I fed they seemed to look lean. They bulked right up back on Canidae.

Personally I would not stress about your Vizslas weight.... they are a thin, athletic, very energetic breed and tend to look "skinny".  I only tend to worry when their hip bones stick out too much LOL!  My boy Tru can be a bit difficult when it comes to eating.... plus he does not eat when we are competing or hunting since he gets too excited. 

I do agree though with switching to a better food.  With my guys I do feed raw, but switch to EVO when they are on the road.  If you do decide to switch over to raw, Emily is right, these sporting breed boys needs to eat a lot to stay in condition.  Tru eats around 4.5% of his body weight just to stay at around 50lbs.  He hit his final growth spurt right after he turned two when his chest dropped and he finally filled out.

ORIGINAL: papillon806

I don't think that Authority would be very good at gaining weight b/c it doesn't have a very high fat % or quality digestible ingredients (some ingredients in their food, such as corn gluten meal, is harder to digest for dogs, and doesn't supply readily available amino acids that help gain lean muscles).  I would recommend switching to a puppy food, or an adult food w/ comparable fat & protein content as a puppy food.
 -this is all assuming there are no worms

 
corn gluten meal is not an ingredient in authority dog food, at least not in the regular adult formula i have.  it says on the bag that it contains canola and corn oils to provide omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (dont know how good that is but thats what it says).  here is a list of the ingredients:
 
lamb meal, brewers rice, ground wheat, wheat germ meal, lamb, brown rice, rice bran, animal fat preserved with vitamin E (mixed tocopherols), natural flavors, canola oil, dried egg product, corn oil, potassium chloride, choline chloride, taurine, zinc sulfate, ferrous sultafe, vitamin E supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), copper sulfate, vitamin A supplement, riboflavin, calcium iodate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamin mononitrate, folic acid, sodium selenite, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement.
 
 

oh and it says crude fat not less than 12% but i dont know if thats low or high

That's interesting...because when I went to Petsmart, I looked at the chicken formula and it had corn gluten meal in it....but if it says it has corn oils to help skin and coat, that's a load of bull.