7 month old now on AG large breed adult, but loosing fat?

I've now got my 7 month old onto Arden Grange large breed adult, following advice here. Since changing over though, rather than filling out more he's gone thinner! I'm a bit worried about him as his spine feels very sharp, his head feels bony and his flanks seem sunken. He is lively and happy in himself, but I'm worried about his weight. He was weighed 2 weeks ago and was 37kg. This week he is 40.5kg. I can't find growth charts anywhere which are reliable, but from what others say he seems a bit underweight to me. He's not a particularly small saint, just thin.

I only got him about 3 weeks ago now from his previous owners and he did seem very slim then, but he was on Iams large breed puppy. He seems to be doing even worse on this food though. I'm actually feeding over twice the recommended amount for his weight and still he seems to be thinning down.

Does anyone have any experience of anything like this? Does anyone have any recommendations of what I can give him in addition to the AG to fatten him up a bit? He seems absolutely ravenous all the time and eats his food like a starved stray since going on to AG. He wasnt this bad on the Iams, ate much slower. Should I be feeding even more AG? Should I add something else in there? Help?!

Reading back, his first weigh in was when I first got him, so more like 3 weeks ago, not 2

It could be that he is having a growth spurt, 3 kg weight gain in just a couple of weeks doesn't sound so bad?
I have an 8 month old here who is the same, he eats twice what everyone else does but has shot up & is all legs & looks really uggerly!!!
I would only be concerned if there was no weight gain or he wasn't seeming himself
Heather

I have always been a bit obsessed over the weight of my dogs. For the first year of their life, I weigh them weekly. I was told the same thing for Saints, Newfs, Wolfhounds and Danes, they should gain 3-5 lbs/week (1.3-2.3 kg/week) from 0-6 months of age, then 1-3 lbs/week (0.5-1.3 kg/week) from 6-12 months of age. I use a three week moving average, and it has worked well for me having raised seven giant breed puppies.

I'm not sure if it would be of any help, but I have a weight chart for Norm at:
http://www.bytheriver.ca/our_dogs/norm_growth.html (imperial)
http://www.bytheriver.ca/our_dogs/norm_growth_metric.html (metric)

Personally, I prefer a very lean dog with ribs that are easy to find. I think this is healthier for the dog, though most people find my dogs "too skinny". I try not to get hung up on numbers, instead I use two methods to determine my dog's ideal weight.

Standing Rib Test
To do the standing rib test, from behind you place your hands (with your thumbs touching across the back) on either side of the dog's ribs near their front. Your fingers are extended down over the ribs. Then you slowly pull back feeling the ribs with your fingers. Using the knuckle/palm analogy below you can then interpret what you feel.

Good guideline to assess weight:
Hold out your hand flat, palm down. Feel your knuckles with your other hand. They should be easy to feel. This is a healthy dog's ribs. Now, flip your hand over and feel your knuckles through your palm. You can still find them, but you have to press and prod. This is a fat dog's ribs. Make a fist and feel them now. This is a thin dog's ribs.

This is just a guideline that I use. I do not mean to offend anyone who prefers a dog with more meat on their frame. As I said, I prefer a lean dog.

Have you had your boy tested for parasites? They are often the culprit when a dog is eating well, but not gaining/maintaining weight. Just a thought.

Best of luck with your boy. He is adorable.

Shel

Thanks Shell and Heather, that's a great help, especially the weight chart! I've searched everywhere for one of those and that is brilliant

I think on the rib scale, he is in the middle, so that's good. His spine just seems to be very very sharp, maybe it's just his build at the moment. I'm sure he has grown in height an inch or 2 this last week so that could be why he's thinned out even more. I think I'll up his cups of food a bit more until he starts to feel a bit chunkier. I don't want him fat at all, like you say it's not good for their bones, but I don't want him not growing upwards because he's not getting enough food.

It's so hard to get the amount right, the measurements on the bag seem totally off and nowhere near enough for him. According to the bag he should be having 2 cups a day! I'm giving him 4....

Sorry forgot to say, I'm going to worm him tomorrow just to be on the safe side