20 month old bitches SO SMALL

Hello.
If this has been posted else where i appologise but i am new to the forum ;-)
Id appreciate any help or advice given though.

i have two bitches from the same litter that are 20 months old. My first one is called Crumble and the second, Bella. Crumble has unique colours with a gingery brindle body and a white head, chest and tips whilst bella is black/brindle with a little white on her chest.

i have had crumble since she was 8 weeks old and she was fed on Waggs puppy food and bella came to live with us when she was 9 months old after rehoming her from a "friend". She was skin and bone and a nervous wreck that literally shook at your feet and laid down in the corner 24/7! It was HEARTBREAKING! Its safe to say now, she haa blossomed and found her personality and feels loved safe and secure in our home. The typical staff :-)

they was both fed on Waggs puppy food until the age of 1 and moved onto Waggs. They have treats regularly with raw meat bones weekly from the butchers and marrow bones and different biscuits plus scraps of food.

THEY NEVER PUT WEIGHT ON!!
People say "aww look at them puppies theyre so cuye." And actually theyre nearly two. When i tell people this they must think i abuse my dogs and starve them!

Crumble weighs 14kg and Bells weighs 12kg. Ive been feeding them rice and gravy mixed with biscuits to no avail.

They have no typical staffy size to them and their heads are tiny. I have seen the mother as she is my sister in laws dog and she is perfect, a massive head and good stockyness and proportions but unfortumately i never saw the father.

I love my girls no matter what they look like and im not expecting two huge dogs but ive got major concerns about them. Our vet checked them both and said they are a hwalthy weight and its nothing to worry about. Still i cant help but worry!
 

i can email photos to whoever wants to see as im not sure how to post them om here.

any replies will be greatly appreciated.

a very worries staffy owner....

Sounds to me they are not getting the nutrients they need. I may be wrong?  Rice and gravy with biscults alone is not enough in my book.  I dont know about others.  My Pixee only weighted 10kg when we had her and she was over 1 year, since she has been with us, she is now 19kg and is fed on wainwrights trays.  But due to the hot weather, I cant leave that food out for long, I am feeding her cooked plain chicken/liver and rice in between.  And she has plenty of scraps from us too.  Have you looked at the food threads on here?   Heres the link,
https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/f29-staffordshire-bull-terrier-diet-nutrition.  They dont sound underweight really to me, although Pixee was on the thin side, but she is a long leggy staffie.  

And how to post photos, heres the link
https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t12017-how-to-post-a-photos-onto-the-forum

Good luck.  And hello and welcome.

Edited to say, I am wrong, as they are eating raw meat and bones, thats good. Sorry. Perhaps you need to upper the dose? Lets see what others have to say. It could just be how they are going to be.

Hi and welcome to the forum from Rocky and me.

If I were you I would get them both off the Wagg food if you can, list of receommended foods below. To that I would also add James Wellbeloved which is a reasonably priced food that is easily available.

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/dry_food

If you do decided to change foods do so gradually over the course of a week to avoid any upset tummys. Just add a little of the new food to the old gradually increasing the amount of new food to old each day.

looking forward to seeing some pictures of your fur babies.

Hi from Darcy and me, definitley get them of wagg as soon as possible, it's really rubbish, look forward to seeing pics of your girls
Why not come say hi:- https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/f7-new-member-introductions

Thanks for the replies!

Alot of people have reccomended Wainwrights food to me so i am thinking of changing to this. Thoughts on this brand please?

Also do you think it would be a good idea to slowly introduce tinned meat back into their meals once they have settled with a new kibble? I know 80% is water but just to give them the extra bulk they need?
Heres some photos of my babies! They are so spoilt anyone would think they was human babies rather than fur. Lol!

Wow your girls are beauties wainwrights is a good kibble some of our members feed it

this is clearer pics from the sides.
they seem so..... leggy? You can see their ribs at the back and they have a thin layer or fat over them. They are always so happy and energetic etc.. i have no concerns there but its just their build and how they dont gain weight. Ill upload a photo of bella when we first got her to her now and you can see a slight sifference. She was living with 2 other dogs and she was the one who never got any food as she used to sit behind my girl and wait to see what was left over which was of course none, or a few mouthfuls id she was lucky. Even when she had her own bowl! I began feeding them seperate to ensure they both get the correct amount.
I feed twice a day in the morning and evening. Would anyone reccomend otherwise? They hardly eat in the morning and then beg all night long as they havent eaten enough.

Thanks Darcy-may! :-)

Remember that they're still growing but they look fine to me I feed Darcy twice a day, I give her a smaller meal in the morning and more in the evening. Poor bella at least she's with you now

Thanks, im going to try them on wainwrights and slowly add tinned meat in along with their usual raw bones and treats.
Any other adivce on what other things can help them along and to gain some extra weight?
Im so glad i got Bella when i did! It was awful seeing her shake like i had beaten her. Honestly broke my heart. Now shes so energectic ans hyper and not afraid. Love and encouragement and kindness does wonders   

Hi Taryn , personally I would stick to the dry and orget about the wet , it won't help them to "bulk up" it is just a bit more appealling than the dry food or them but the high water content really lets it down.
My 2 both are on Wainwrights, do extrememly well on it and have been since they were both pups with the exception of a 3-4 month break when we tried Fish 4 Dogs due to boredom

If you do want a good wet food, try nature diet or natures menu.

They look fine to me though, so dogs are just going to be leaner than others.

Thanks for the replies. Im keeping my options open at the moment and will slowly change them over to wainwrights once i have purchased them a bag
I think it seems i am being a over protective owner but i feel very judged whilst walking them etc. Especially because of my age! People assume i want two fighting dogs and for them to be massive which is 100% NOT the case! I love my dogs more than most human beings  and thats no joke!

Sounds like you care a lot about your girls and have their best interests at heart! It's nice to see!

Nothing makes me happier knowing they are well treated, fed ans watered and excersized every day. They keep me fit thats for sure

 

just to put your mind at ease, my Lola is three in a few weeks, weighs somewhere between 13.5 to 15 kg (always bouncing between) and she's still mistaken for a puppy. its a small concern i've always had, after meeting both parents who were big staffs, and seeing pictures of other members of the litter being bigger than Lola, but the vets are always happy with her, and she's happy and healthy, and possibly a little spoiled on the treats front. they both look great, healthy and happy

They both look a healthy weight to me anyway (what little I know). Someone asked me this morning if Rocky is a puppy, I think he just has a puppy face though.

Looking at your pics, they both look a perfect weight! At 20 months they still have a little growing to do, but probably not too much; it's a shame you didn't see the father, as I suspect that he was either not a pure stafford or was a lighter weight boy & they take after him.

I wouldn't try to bulk them up, other than switching their food over (you might find that they'll be a bit calmer on Wainwrights as there are less fillers in it) as all you'll do is add fat & they really do look quite perfect for their age! 

Well done, by the way, on rescuing Bella & making her happy again. Some people should never have a dog. 

Hiya from me and Daisy  

If you are wanting to add something to the dry food to make it more appealing try adding some tinned sardines in tomato or oil or a raw egg which are both good for them.

Also, I got Daisy last September from a rescue, she was estimated at 1-2 in age but I have really noticed that she has filled out over the last few months so your girls may naturally fill out a bit more. Although looking at your pictures they look gorgeous anyway  

They look as we say in Lancashire in great fettle, they look lean and fit to me, keep the pics coming .

They look great, I don't see that they need to be any bigger! Most staffords seem to be over the standard size so when we see small ones we think there is something wrong but it is actually within the standard!

Hi.  I wouldn't worry either.  They are all so different.  My boy is 6 months this week and weighed in this morning at 12kg but he still looks quite small and has a lot of growing to do yet.  I feed him millies wolfheart dry kibble but I also add tripe and sweet potato which is good for them.  I think your two look fine as they are

To me those dogs look perfect, remember how heavy their bone is and height etc will have a standing on their weight. Also how much muscle they carry. A 14inch 20month old staff bitch is not going to weigh as much as a 20month old 16inch staff dog. Build contributes too. I wouldn't worry, though wainwrights is a good food and will be better for them than Wagg. Your dogs look in great condition.

crumbagram wrote:Thanks for the replies. Im keeping my options open at the moment and will slowly change them over to wainwrights once i have purchased them a bag
I think it seems i am being a over protective owner but i feel very judged whilst walking them etc. Especially because of my age! People assume i want two fighting dogs and for them to be massive which is 100% NOT the case! I love my dogs more than most human beings  and thats no joke!

Your dogs look in great shape and nothing to be concerned about , good move over to Wainwrights , I feed this and my 2 do very well on it , always getting compliments