Under Weight

Question
Our 1 1/2 year old shepherd is underweight; our trainer suggested mixing wet food with his typical dry food. What is your suggestion from a diet standpoint to add weight to a german shepherd?

Answer
My first suggestion is to maybe leave well enough alone.  How underweight is underweight?  Many Shepherds insist on keeping themselves thin, perhaps even the ribs actually showing a little.  If he won't eat enough that his ribs plainly show, you need to be talking to the vet, not a trainer.  I am skeptical of the hype about dog food, but if you are feeding a grain based food, at least move up to something such as Iams or Pro Plan.  Many dogs will do just fine on the low end chows, but light eating ones need to more concentrated ones.  

At least wet food is still a complete and balanced diet.  It would be much better to try some of it than some of the high fat concoctions the ignorant suggest.  

Much of what I know about dogs, I have learned from a dog guide school.  What do they say about putting weight on Shepherds?  ''Note: German Shepherd puppies typically will look very thin throughout puppyhood.''