Can you BULK them UP???

[Guest Anonymous]

I have an American Staffordshire Terrier. He's only 14 weeks old and his parents were really bulky. I was wondering if,and if so, what and when could I have my dog become extra muscular? Are there any canine weight gainers or is there a way to train my dogs muscles?

[Guest Anonymous]

Chances are if both of the parents are muscular, the pups will be too. 14 weeks is far too young to be concerned with "muscling up" a dog. Most dogs do not completely finish growing until close to a year and then you have another year at least, if not longer of filling in. Some dogs develop differently than their siblings, it depends on health and genetics.

It is not healthy nor good for dogs joints to be heavily exercised either, they should be at least 13 months old before doing things like mountain biking or any other heavy duty exercise.

Over muscling a dog is not correct in looks and could interfer with locomotion. Staffs are naturally muscular. I would avoid using "miracle" products or any high protein diets as this would be a short term "look" likely with long term problems.

Regular exercise without over doing it and a healthy diet will be more than sufficent for the development of a beautiful dog. Give even amount of exercise and be sure to alternate some days off. Remember you will have this dog for perhaps 12 years, maybe longer so you will want think about long term consquences!


RR

[Guest Anonymous]

don't over feed; keep him on a healthy diet. i wouldn't worry about muscles until the pup is at least 1 yr. you could also talk to the dog's parents' owner.

[Guest Anonymous]

Hi
Let your puppy be a puppy for goodness sake!
How old were his parents when you saw them - and wait until he is mature - the age of his parents - and by then - without any inteference from you or other influence - you will find nature will give him the build of his parents - PROVIDED you care for him correctly! in the first case.

[Guest Anonymous]

A friend of mine has two Staffordshire Bull Terrier males, and they are massive! To make them big he fed them a lot of chicken including the skin. He also has a car tyre hanging from a tree using a rope in his back garden which all bull terriers love to grab and hold, this keeps them strong.

[Guest Anonymous]

Play alot and walk alot. Build him a spring pole. Adding a little rice to his diet can help. If you feed chicken be sure to boil it long enough for the bones to soften.

[Shannon_C]

Start to think about tightening your dogs muscles when he is a year and a half, this is when the dogs joints are fully developed and then on, they can take as much exercise as you wish to give, but in the mean time just train your puppy to go to the toilet, basic training like sit, stay, wait, down etc and feed him the right diet, not letting him get obese....you must be able to feel the rib without seeing it. Only take him for short walks (when he as had all his innoculations first), upto 6 months then a little longer, playing with him in the garden. Wait an hour after his food and drink before exercising him. He must also be wormed regular, and also fleaded when he is older. You can get these from your vet.

[Guest Anonymous]

to EYE,
I think you are a bit sad and probably should not have that dog in the first place!
it does not need "bulking up" it needs love ,attention,good food,exercise and responsible training!!

[Guest Anonymous]

and to GAMELADY raw chicken is best as all cooked bones run the risk of splintering and when you cook the meat you lose akll the good stuff for dogs read up on BARF diet

[Guest Anonymous]

On 2002-04-23 06:05, Anonymous wrote:
and to GAMELADY raw chicken is best as all cooked bones run the risk of splintering and when you cook the meat you lose akll the good stuff for dogs read up on BARF diet

If you boil chicken long enough the bones will be soft enough they will not splinter. Also, cook the rice in the water you boil the chicken in and it soaks most of the nutrients back up. (Also add raw beef after the stew is done)
Ive been feeding boiled chicken to several dogs for several years and have NEVER had one die from a bone splintering.

[Guest Anonymous]

On 2002-04-23 06:02, Anonymous wrote:
to EYE,
I think you are a bit sad and probably should not have that dog in the first place!

I am not the one who made the post but i just want to know if you are some kind of psychologist? To analyze him and say he is sad.

[Guest Anonymous]

any person who is looking to crash weight gain a dog to make it bulky or "macho" is obviously lacking something in his own life
a dog is a dog and should not be used as a fashion accessory and bulking up a dog could lead to serious problems and even NO dog at all

[Guest Anonymous]

HI, I did not realise I would get flamed straight away for my views.....I do think that wanting to alter a dog to suit yourself is wrong... and according to all 16 dog books I have cooked bones are not the best BUT having said this I DO respect others opinions and if GameLady is good at making this dogfood and her dogs are healthy on it good for her and keep it up! a healthy dog is a happy dog! and if the guy with the AmStaff wants a big, healthy,muscular dog I merely suggest in my own way that he should listen to the other posts and do it the right, healthy food,good excercise regime way

[Guest Anonymous]

Hate to change the original topic but ANY cooking of food kills off nutrients and especially overcooking, there is no way rice "soaks up" all the nutrients, most are lost with heat. Commercial foods have to add back the nutrients they destroy in order to balance back the food. It is the same with home cooking, and while perhaps their dogs are ok with this diet, in order to utilize all nutrients they are better off eating raw IMO, save all that time cooking also.

[Guest Anonymous]

Just because people have not had a dog die or become sick from eating bones does not mean that they wont, it simply means that they have beaten the odds. When you work in a place where you see 20-30 different dogs each day, you would be suprised at the mortality rate for dogs that eat bones. The statistics are skewed when only one person cites what has worked for them-it si not a good survey of the situation. The reason most vets say dont feed bones to your dogs is because we see a great many more dogs than the average person on a given day and that means we have a bigger picture. The argument that wild canids eat bones and are healthy--sure, they eat them, but unless you do a scientific survey how do you know which ones died from a punctured gut and which ones survived? Just some thoughts from a different prespective!

[Guest Anonymous]

On 2002-04-26 13:23, Anonymous wrote:
When you work in a place where you see 20-30 different dogs each day, you would be suprised at the mortality rate for dogs that eat bones. The statistics are skewed when only one person cites what has worked for them-it si not a good survey of the situation. The reason most vets say dont feed bones to your dogs is because we see a great many more dogs than the average person on a given day and that means we have a bigger picture. The argument that wild canids eat bones and are healthy--sure, they eat them, but unless you do a scientific survey how do you know which ones died from a punctured gut and which ones survived?

Well I am not sure if you are saying don't let dogs eat cooked bones or raw bones or ANY bones, but IMO - and I am allowed to have an opinion, raw bones are safer than cooked, and yes I will continue to feed raw bones because it has worked for me and the other 982 people on one of my raw diet groups and it has worked for another 464 people on my BARF group. That's proof enough for me. I do not however, give dogs cooked bones. And I've yet to see a scientific study that PROVES feeding raw is bad and damaging to my dogs long term health.

Veterinarians see MORE dogs who choke and die from eating/swallowing other objects, than they do bones. At least bones are soft when raw. Dogs have died from inhaling kibble the wrong way and have choked to death. The reason most vets do not recommend feeding raw is because they spend very little time in school studying canine diets - especially BARF so how could they recommend something they have very little knowledge of. PLUS they make money selling kibble in their offices!!!! There is hope though, and thankfully more and more Vets are becoming educated about BARF, and it can not be all that bad if many of these vets are practicing and supporting it BARF if is so dangerous??

For those worried about dogs getting sick from raw meats, they don't because dogs have different digestive systems than humans and their stomachs are more acidic which is why they can go through garbage or find a decomposing rabbit in the woods, eat and not get sick. Dr. Billinghurst has some great books on Raw, and he is a vet surgeon and animal diet specialist.

For those who prefer kibble that's their prerogative, I don't judge people for that and I think people should properly educate themselves before making a judgment about BARF or Home prepared.

This is a controversial topic and will remain so but at least I know exactly what my dogs are eating, where as exact kibble ingredients will always remain a mystery to me.

[Guest Anonymous]

On 2002-04-26 13:23, Anonymous wrote:
Just because people have not had a dog die or become sick from eating bones does not mean that they wont, it simply means that they have beaten the odds. When you work in a place where you see 20-30 different dogs each day, you would be suprised at the mortality rate for dogs that eat bones.

We have way more than 30 dogs, which means I work in a place that feeds WELL over 30 dogs, every day, bones. Again, I repeat, we have NEVER had a dog loose its life from a bone splintrting.
Nutrients are lost in the water not the steam. So if you cook the rice in the same water the chicken and veggies were cooked in most of the nutrient are soaked in the rice.

[Horsefeathers!]

The statement that dogs don't get salmonella and such is false. They can and do. Perhaps not with the frequency as people might, but it's not at all uncommon.

[Aroura]

Bones should NEVER be fed cooked, no matter what the method of cooking is. They are both healthier and safer raw. Ask any vet, there are too many risks involved in cooking bones, even if you have never personally had a problem with any of your dogs many other people have. Bones are also more benificial for teeth raw and more easily digested.