Hi , i have an young male husky (14 months)and he is fed on James wellbeloved and chicken and lamb bones (raw )He gets apples and carrots and all the veg from the sunday dinner .But just lately he is looking very thin and i can see his ribs and feel his hip bones . He is exercised well , with plenty of free running .(enclosed area ).I have been told that some of his ancestors were very lean dogs that were hard to put weight on.. Is this true ? Lines can determin whether a dog gains weight or is there something that he might be lacking in his diet ?Thanks

Tripe........no I am not being rude! A couple of friends of mine had similar problems with not being able to get weight on their dogs and they started feeding tripe with amazing results.
Have a look on-line for stockists in your area.

> Is this true ? Lines can determine whether a dog gains weight or is there something that he might be lacking in his diet ?Thanks

Most definitely, and the is the right age for going through this lean period.  Your consolation is once he does fill out he will be a Laster and look really well into old age.

If he is eating as much as he wants of god food he will fill out in his own good time.

My 12 year old Kizi was just like that in her youth, won lots of second prizes at championship shows with the judge saying more body and coat.

She went on to start winning Limit classes at 5, but sadly her own daughter was winning really well by then so she never got further than a RCC.

Her half brother was the same, and eh is still getting complimentary critiques on how fit he is at almost 11 and holding his own in Open, he has 2CC's and a RCC so just missed out on his title, again didn't start winning until he was fully mature.

In your breed this is especially true with some of the top winning sibes doing really well as Veterans in the showring and working until advanced ages.

As for food I put Kizi on Arden Grange Prestige (30^ protein) as she could just about eat enough of that to hold some weight. So if he isn't a great eater you want him on concentrated nutrition.  The veg is fine as an additive for it's vitamins but is normally used to bulk out a diet for dogs that are the opposite of yours, like mine once they get older and have to have their food cut down .  Tripe is enjoyed by most dogs and has fat in it so may help put on weight, but lean is good, though I can understand he has taken that to super model levels.

I have a male that weighed 32kg at 14 months. He is now coming up 2 at the end of this month and he weighs 39kg. I havnt increased his food or anything, thats just how long its took for him to mature.....nice and slowly. I agree with Brainless as long as he is getting quality food he should be fine.

agreed tripe is very fatten and a good thing to feed to put weight on

also goats milk is good for weight gain too aswell as being good in other ways

at 14 months he is probably still yet to fill out to a mature adult size

its better to keep a large dog lean then to be fat as this will make more pressure on their bones

as long as he is eat ok and not really skinny then i dont think you have anything to worry about

I'd love to know how a low-fat, low-calorie foodstuff like tripe can encourage weight gain.

> I'd love to know how a low-fat, low-calorie foodstuff like tripe can encourage weight gain.

Anything fed in addition to the normal food will up the calorie intake. It also does wonders for a poor appetite, so maybe that is why it is so often used.

agreed with mastifflover

Thanks , to every one . Might try a little tripe , but don't want him too bulky (a bulldog breeder told me to feed him this , but i was wary ),so will take it easy .He does eat what i give him and people always say he looks like at dog in peak condition , but i feel he is looking too lean .But i don't want to fall into the trap of over feeding and have a right lumpy husky who can not pull me never mind the rig . Might try A G food as i know a lot of husky folk feed this ..
Thanks again ...

Just a guess but could it be the enzymes in tripe that make rest of the food stuff digest better? you know healthy bacteria and like...
I'm sure I've been told this by somebody but can't remember who and whether it was somebody who I would trust to know what they are talking about

Tripe on its own, will not help weight gain, it is very low in calories, but fed as an addition to complete or with a mixer, it can help with nourishment..

Naturally occurring gastric juices are present in tripe , also amino acids and other digestive enzymes that are not found in other pet food. These gastric juices and enzymes aid  digestion to help pull the maximum amount of nutrients from their diet. Amino acids are necessary for muscular development and the gastric juices are excellent cleaners for teeth. More of the 'main' food is utilized as fuel, rather than waste.. which may aid weight gain..