So my parents adopted an 8 year old Brittany Spaniel last summer. I don't remember what food she was on before but my parents switched her to grain free, Nature's Domain, to hopefully help with her skin allergies, which it has. The problem is this girl cannot keep any weight on her. She's so tiny, she only weighed 32# when they went to the vet over the weekend, she's almost as tall as Bode, who weighs just under 50. She's very leggy. The vet suggested a high protein diet for her to keep some weight on, which I'm not sure about. I suggested satin balls to my mom as well.

If a high protein diet is indeed what she needs, what percentage is considered "high" and any suggestions on type? I think she should stick to grain free and something that has a less irritating protein source. She didn't do well on chicken. She's on the Turkey and sweet potato right now.

I don't have any good body pics of her, but here are some just for fun.
Bode snuggling on her in the car on vacation and Lucy not enjoying it. lol
0613141142 by sara.white.2012, on Flickr

The three amigos. The guy on the far left is their Brittany they've had since a pup. He's certainly had no issues keeping weight on...
0613140831a by sara.white.2012, on Flickr

Breed standard for the Brittany Spanial:

"Height--17½ to 20½ inches, measured from the ground to the highest point of the shoulders.

Weight--Should weigh between 30 and 40 pounds.

Proportion--So leggy is he that his height at the shoulders is the same as the length of his body."

Based on that, it sounds like your parents' spaniel is well within standard. For putting on weight I would not necessarily look for something high in protein because that is very misleading. Something could be high in protein but consist of poor quality proteins that the dog cannot utilize and therefore is useless. Likewise, another food might have a lower overall protein percentage yet be made of high quality protein that is readily available for use by the body and would male a much better candidate. This is why I don't put too much stock in numbers. Instead I find it more useful to focus on ingredients. Some foods can be heavy in peas and corn which will boost it's protein percentage but contain very little meat. Another food might have more meat but have a lower protein percentage. Which food is better, the one with more meat/lower protein % or the one with less meat/higher protein %? I food that is more species appropriate, and subsequently digestible, would probably give you better results.

Thanks for the info Val. It definitely gives me a better idea of what kind of food I can suggest my mom take a look at.

Technically she is within the weight range standard, but looking at her she definitely could use a couple extra pounds, especially being on the tall side. Her bones stick out everywhere.

How much money per bag is your Mom willing to pay? I had my dogs on Orijen, which I consider the best overall, grain-free, high end kibble. We've also liked Wellness CORE, Innova EVO, and Acana. All are probably considered "high protein" with EVO and Orijen having the most protein out of what worked best for our dogs. All 4 are grain free, but all are also rather pricey, anywhere between $60-90 a bag. I'm willing to spend the extra money in quality food to save vet costs later down the road, but that's just me. Our dogs have been on a raw diet for 4 years now, and that's pretty much pure protein. Haha! Good luck, and I hope that helps.

Yeah, I don't know how much she's willing to spend, probably not that. Especially since the other dog probably doesn't need such a high protein food, she'll be buying two different kinds. This rescue has been quite the handful for them, more than they were expecting I think. She's had so many little health issues and she's kind of crazy/neurotic, which is absolutely the opposite of what their other Brittanies have been. As a breed, they are more high energy, but the ones my family has had have always been pretty mellow.