Wanting muscle mass/weight gain for my bitch.

[pontbeck]

Weight gain -- feed more
Muscle gain -- exercise moreYou already know that from your weight training.
Bill

That is not quite accurate.

Don't leave it there, I'm always happy to be corrected, so go ahead

Bill

[Judy]

What is she being fed at the moment? Dogs need good protein for muscle and fat for energy, if the diet is indigestible proteins from soya and other vegetable matter then change that first before anything else.
Too much food, particularly the wrong type will go straight through with sloppy faeces. You can't build muscle without proteins, dogs do better on meat proteins than vegetable proteins. If the dog is not doing well on the food you are giving her then change it.
Also when is the last time you wormed the dogs? They can pick up a worm burden very quickly after worming so I would look at that too.

[BLM]

So if i read this correctly you take supplements to build up your body mass and you want to do the same with your dog , as far as i know dogs do not have an ego

[Qest12]

Weight gain -- feed more
Muscle gain -- exercise moreYou already know that from your weight training.
Bill

That is not quite accurate.

Don't leave it there, I'm always happy to be corrected, so go ahead

Bill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxwh2IIg_Z0

[DJS]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxwh2IIg_Z0

So heavy muslcle mass = short intense exercise, maybe with a car or 4 x 4 tire tied to the dog?

[Joe1961]

Food, exercise and rest= key factors. The way you exercise the dog will play a big part in putting on muscle. Genetics will play a bigger part in muscle growth taking place and the speed of that how that muscle grows.

Endurance training, strength training, sprinting, can all be done with dogs we need to put the time in that's al.

[whistlehappy]

Weight gain -- feed more
Muscle gain -- exercise moreYou already know that from your weight training.
Bill

That is not quite accurate.

Don't leave it there, I'm always happy to be corrected, so go ahead

Bill

Some of the skinniest people in the world excercise harder & longer than the most muscled. Only correct management of food v's correct excercise's, depending on the areas of the body you want to gain muscle will achieve the right results. In some cases, if the food intake is correct, excercising less can actually help with muscle gain. I knew what you meant though Bill & for general health & fitness then yes, eat well and plenty of excercise.

[Judy]

One way of building up the dogs before the Shooting Season. Of course you do have to have a keen retriever and access to water with a long shallow lead in to swimming depth.

[Gazza.H]

Thanks for replies all, and no BLM it doesn't suggest that at all in my post. Wish people would read things better.

[Judy]

I think Joe1961 hit the nail on the head when he mentioned genetics, a while ago a friend of mine had two GSPs which were hugely muscled up, my two Flatcoat bitches appeared to have very little in comparison and yet they all had similar amounts of exercise and similar amounts of work during the season. Some breeds muscle up more than others, I also think dogs carry more muscle than bitches.
Sometimes poor conformation (as in structure not beauty for the show ring) can lead to more muscle because the dog has to work harder to get around, certainly dogs with hugely muscled forequarters aren't necessarily correct, the front should carry the weight and the rear produce the drive hence muscular thighs and normal shoulders in a correctly put together dog. I likes a nice muscular thigh.