recommendations for putting on weight - Page 1

anyone got any proven methods to getting weight on a very active dog?  I have a 6 yr old male gsd who runs constantly, chasing squirrels ect.  dog has over an acre of yard to run, I do not believe in kennels,  so besides keeping him in a crate indoors (which I DON'T want to do, he was kenneled the first 5 years of his life in a crate before I got him),  how can I get weight on him?
his is eating dry kibble for hi energy sporting dogs (I had a bad experience with raw diet and lost a young adult about 6 months ago), its 24 % protein and 20% fat.  recommended daily ration is 3.5-4 cups for a 80-100 lb dog,  he's been getting over 6 cups a day for over 2 months,  and still won't put on weight.  my girls have gained weight on this food, everyone has been recently wormed, ect.

Take him off the high pro.
Feed wet.
Add some fat to his diet.
Throw the measuring cup away, give him all he will eat in twenty minutes, then remove any left over food.
See how much he thinks he needs.
Are you sure he needs to gain weight?

I have a female just like that and the only way I can keep weight on her is to feed twice a day.

he was on nutro most of his life,  but was also mainly in a crate.

He's not too thin, at least by some list member standards,  and I keep my guys on the lean side anyway.  he just looks like he needs an extra 5 lbs.  I am probably just worrying too much.  I do generally add meat juice (I use a george forman grill and all the fat run off goes into the dogs food) and warm water to the kibble when I feed.  I guess I'll follow moons advise and just see how much he wants to eat.

here's a couple pics of him ,  not the best  but you can probably see his weight pretty well.  Pics were taken March 11th,  after looking at them,  he doesn't look very thin,  but its gotten pretty hot and humid down here and he has lost a few pounds since the pics were taken.

The dog does not look like its hurting.

A little bit of cottage cheese can help. It worked on my Rotweiller who is pretty active. Just a thought.

Doesn't look to me like he needs any weight.  He looks healthy!

I agree, there's nothing wring with that dog's weight at all.  That aside, care to share the details of your experience with feeding raw? 

I have a 6 yo that I cant get to gain weight either. Ive tried everything. Raw didnt work for him. He even eats enzymes and was still having problems. What I did experience is that if I soak his food for 30 min, he can absorb it easier and is now finally starting to gain a small amount of weight. I also changed foods. Both foods were holistic. Just like people, he may need a different food from the other dogs. Its hard to have to feed one something different from the rest but necessary sometimes.

You can feed satin balls. They work well. You can cook them if you dont want to feed them raw. I think your dog looks fine in the pics but sometimes its hard to tell by pics alone.

Id be interested in knowing why your gal passed from the raw. Sorry that you lost her btw. Ive been feeding raw since 98 and havent had problems with raw except once when I left the food out too long to thaw. That was my fault.  And Ive found that buying meat at Walmart seems to be a hit and miss. I dont think the dates they put on their meat is right.