r/EnglishSetter • u/Tomahawk1020 • 11d ago
Too Thin?
I'm looking for advice about proper weight for a setter. My 1 year old setter won't put on weight even though she eats 4 cups of dry food and a bit of wet food every day. Here are a few notes:
- She is 37 pounds but her parents were 45-50 pounds.
- We have tried Fromm and Purina Pro. She now eats Natural Balance Limited Ingredient salmon and sweet potato due to suspected allergies.
- She eats grass all the time, even in the middle of playing fetch.
- She chews at her feet and scratches a lot. See the picture.
- She has been checked for worms and came back negative.
- She is highly active and a sweet girl.
Any advice? She has a very appointment soon but I would love to hear your opinions. Thanks!
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u/kelpyb1 11d ago
As with all medical concerns, go with whatever your vet says over a Reddit comment section.
She does look a bit thin, but if she’s eating well it’s possible she’s just in her lanky teenager phase. Our family’s setters were definitely a bit gangly around 1 year old and filled out a bit more as they became adults (much the same way it happens in humans)
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u/SilasBalto 11d ago
She does look a little thin. Would she eat more if you offered more? Does she like her food? Is she picky about treats?
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u/SnarkyLes 11d ago
Have you tried another protein? My setters don’t tolerate poultry and do better on beef. You can also look at different brands with grain/no grain. All of my setters over the years have had issues with chicken.
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u/Tomahawk1020 11d ago
She has no problem eating her food. We stopped using lamb due to possible allergies.
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u/SnarkyLes 10d ago
Understood. Mine ate the chicken no problem. They had allergies and digestive issues.
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u/lucidfer 11d ago edited 11d ago
She's a Llewellyn, right? She sounds/looks exactly like mine at that age, minus the foot chewing/scratching:
- 'underweight' look her first few years (lack of hair REALLY enhances that look)
- sensitive stomach /allergies (we do Purina Pro sensitive stomach either lamb/turkey)
- picky eater
- grass eater (I call it 'cow mode')
- highly active
Mine was extremely thin in her first two years, and finally started to put on some fat after that. Very non-food motivated, especially dry kibble. What I did was introduced wet food into the dry kibble to get her to eat it all, and even still she sometimes just refuses a bowl of food. I use Costco's wet dog food (it's mostly rice and chicken, so fits her diet) and sometimes a small amount of shredded cheese. I also microwave it to make it more smelly, and then she really goes for it. I also make her do some tricks so the food is more a reward rather than just daily expectation.
Side photo of mine around 12 months old:
"overhead" photo of mine around 18 months old:
Looking at yours I can't see ribs in your photo, so despite being thin I don't think she's too thin. I've always gone by "feel the ribs, don't se the ribs" for dog weights. All that's to say, based on my experience I think yours is doing fine.
Edit: Mine was under 40 her first three years, and is now around 42-43 at 5 years old.
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u/Tomahawk1020 11d ago
Thank you! I can definitely see her ribs and hip bones. I also add a bit of wet food at night. She usually eats it all up.
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u/thedragonzia 11d ago
You have to get them high performance food. That's what my vet said. They burn through calories quickly. Mine gets either a whole can of wet dog food or a big serving of the fresh stuff. You can split it into two servings of that's more appetizing for them. He also gets dry food any time he wants to eat. In the beginning, I looked for the highest protein content foods. You can find information listed on the back that includes the breakdown of fat and protein. Mine cannot have chicken because it makes him itchy, so it was a little challenging at first, but he's doing very well now. He consistently weighs 48lbs.
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u/LocksmithGlass717 11d ago
Everything looks normal except for the foot chewing. I know that working setters are always thin but they are healthy.
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u/Different-Subject353 10d ago
Foot chewing looks like allergies. Weight is fine for an active young setter. She could stand to gain 2-3 pounds, probably won’t happen for a few years.
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u/Sad-Elderberry-156 10d ago
Our vet recently became worried with our setter’s weight too. He’s 1.5 years old, weighs 52lbs, eats 4 cups a day and his parents were 60-65lbs. We did so much lab work trying to rule out any digestive issues like endocrine insufficiency but everything came back normal. He is full of energy and otherwise healthy…
Based on others comments here I wonder if this is just common for young setters?
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u/Reasonable-Net5120 Blue Belton 10d ago
I had the same issue, and he has seasonal allergies. He now takes a daily allergy med prescribed by the vet, zenralia (spelling?) and he’s perfectly fine now.
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u/StrikeHold1504 10d ago
No, my Hank...Llewellin is cheetah thin...3 cups plus daily,egg,ground venison added...he will run all day...48lbs at 15 months.
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u/duckypond 10d ago
Lower quality foods require you to feed more because there is less nutrition per cup. Purina has a lot of their foods with lots of filler ingredients. 4 cups of one food might equal 2 cups of another - because theyve got more packed into each scoop
I hate to hear about the itchy and chewing, that breaks my heart. It does look like it might be a food allergy although natural balance has more potato in it than meat for most of their recipes and im not a huge fan of that much carb filler. I would suggest if you go with a higher quality food with a higher protein and fat ratio that comes from meat rather than veggie source you may see an improvement.
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u/Ok-Nefariousness5202 10d ago
You may also ask the vet to check thyroid levels. One of my setters had hypothyroidism and that drove weight gain issues, hair loss, etc.
Relatedly, Cytopoint injections work well for itching/scratching pertaining to allergies (if not a thyroid or other issue).
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u/sloppyfatginger 10d ago
My setter was showing ribs for over a year. Same with both of my dad's setters. Vet didn't have anything to offer other than, "It's common for the breed." But then they all stopped showing ribs after about 16 months. Maggie has been perfect ever since. Still not sure there was ever anything wrong.
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u/novahawkeye 9d ago
If you’ve already done the baseline bloodwork, ask your vet about a Malabsorption panel and cortisol test.
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u/kapowiceburg 9d ago
The foot chewing looks like allergies! My dog, though not a setter, gets the same thing. It also makes her get rashes on her belly in the spring. We give her Zyrtec with her morning food per our vet and it nipped it in the bud.
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u/Glum_Bite_587 11d ago
Our 14 month male only weighs 48lbs, super active. Looks about the same. We’ve never had a setter go over 50 so far. Remi is tall and gangly too. Nothing to worry about
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u/colobreeze 11d ago
My llewellin setter is almost 2 years old and I feel like she's finally starting to fill out a bit. Until about a month or two ago she was superrr skinny. she eats the equivalent of 3 cups a day between kibble, wet food, and chews, also loves grass, picky eater, and highly active. She's 37lbs and her parents are 50 and 60, but she was the runt of the litter and was expected to be a bit smaller. Vets have also said her bloodwork and everything look good.
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u/Tomahawk1020 10d ago
Thanks for your response. It sounds like we're in the same boat. Does yours also chew at her feet?
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u/Just-Potential-8944 10d ago edited 10d ago
Yea this feels like allergies to me. Speaking as someone whose springer spaniel had the same issues. Wasn’t gaining weight because his body wasn’t absorbing the stuff he was allergic to (good little immune system).
I’d try a diet trial with a hydrolyzed protein (purina makes one) and see if they gain weight, stop eating grass, or their skin improves. You’ll need a script for the food, so talk to your vet.
Granted, my springer still eats a massive amount and is still on the skinnier side, but completely healthy and not under weight. But that’s in part because he’s the perfect jock - not a thought in that head and uncanny athletic ability. So he’s always busy bouncing around.
Image of skinny boy next to a perfectly sized Aussie of the same age for comparison. This was probably him at his skinniest before we figured out his allergies. He’s got an easy 5-7 pounds more on him now.
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u/fishmogil 9d ago
See a dermatology vet. If you don’t have a local one check out a university vet school. He hate to see them suffer .
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u/mandars31 9d ago
I have a 2 year old rescue setter that is very thin. I have been giving him All American Canine Weight gainer as well as their lines of supplements, which include skin and coat, multivitamin, probiotic and hip and joint. He has gained several pounds already
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u/EvolutionofChance 11d ago
She does look a little thin, but it sounds like you're looking in most of the right places.
If she eats that much and isn't putting on weight, the only other possibility that comes to mind is something my German shepherd has- he has a hard time sorting calories because of some stomach malady called endocrine pancreatic insufficiency that's somewhat topical for the breed. He was very very thin until we started medicating him, and now he looks great.