My German Shepherd is lean and weak. How can I improve her health?

She may need something labeled for "active" dogs to help her gain a little weight. I feed all of my dogs Purina ProPlan. This is a great food to try: Purina Pro Plan Sport All Life Stages Performance 30/20 Salmon

As a breed, German Shepherd‘s tend to be thin dogs and some lines are more thin than others. Continue feeding him a high-quality, high protein diet. I recommend the brand Royal Canin. Be careful with exercise and make sure to follow your veterinarian’s recommendations. Lastly, Colt is not done growing yet. The first year of life is devoted to upward growth and the second year of life is when pets fill out so he is still developing. I hope this helps. You may speak with your veterinarian about sending off a blood sample for analysis to find out if the platelet count is truly abnormal or if any blood parasites or seen. Best of luck.

There are a couple things that could be happening. The diet you are feeding my not be balanced. Diets that are not balanced can create thin pets. Just so you know, balancing diets is not easy. I recommend to feed a commercial diet like Royal Canin German Shepherd Puppy. It will have the correct amount of protein, vitamins and minerals. He could have parasites stealing nutrients. He could be a naturally thin dogs who is not receiving enough exercise to build muscle (or doesn't have the proper nutrients to build muscle). I recommend to start by having Rocky examined by the veterinarian. Know exactly what you are feeding him and discuss this with your veterinarian. If you want to continue making his diet, depending on your vet's education and interests, they may be able to help you balance a diet or they may refer you to a veterinary nutritionist (which is generally the best option). I hope this helps.

OK, yeah, early arthritis is likely just an educated guess, but a good one for German Shepherds, because they do tend to get arthritis more commonly. It could be a soft tissue injury or something else causing the limp. A 2/9 BCS is rather surprising. Usually a shelter would not adopt them out at that low of condition. It's best to have a vet confirm the BCS, because we do this all the time. I've known many German Shepherds that are naturally around a 3-4 and do great. The scientific evidence shows u that skinny dogs live longer and are healthier, so if she is otherwise healthy and getting good nutrition, then I would not worry too much. She should have food that is labeled for adult maintenance at this time. If you want to get some muscle on her, then it's going to get her exercise everyday. Start by walking her for 30 minutes a day. If she does that OK (not limping or sluggish afterwards) over a week's time, then start to do a 1 hour walk. If she's handling that well over a week or two, then you can start slowly adding in running and agility. For agility, you will need to find a course and probably a trainer. For running, you can either run with her or find a way to make her run - like chasing a ball or playing at the dog park. Again, start slow - like 15 minutes, then work your way up to 1-3 hours a day. It all really depends on how much time you have. However, these dogs were born to work/exercise, so the more you do, the better it is for her physically and mentally (bored German Shepherds tend to cause a lot of trouble). If you find that she is not gaining muscle with the exercise and is still very thin, then you can try getting a dog food labeled for athletes. This has a considerable amount more calories and is usually only given to working dogs (military, police, sled dogs).

Dogs are carnivores and therefore should eat non-veg food, preferably commercial complete puppy food for large dogs or specifically for German Shepherd dogs. Try a proper dog food. If he still does not eat you need to schedule an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam as he may be getting ill.

There are many different reasons a dog can lose weight and many digestion issues can cause poor coat quality and colour due to reduced absorption of many nutrients. Try feeding a high quality skin diet balanced for optimal supplement for healthy skin and monitor improvement over 4-6 weeks. Royal canin skin care or German shepherd diet would be preferred options. A blood test and assessment for pancreatic function may also need to be considered

German Shepherds are lanky dogs, especially when they are puppies. Make sure you are feeding him enough and that he is dewormed regularly. If Boe is still abnormaly thin as an adult, then I would worry about something else going on. I would recommend to feed the Royal Canin German Shepherd Puppy Formula. This is a nice diet with the right calories for a growing puppy. Please post again if you have any further questions!