I have a female pit bull who is very lean and somewhat muscular. Anything healthy to feed her specifically with plenty of exercise to build muscle? sort of like, natural supplements?
TwoSocksDances
I know of people that have actually gone to dog chiros, who assess the body, and can recommend exercise to make the body more proportionate/muscled etc. So they may know what to do.
Requires A LOT of research: BARF diet.
Swimming will build muscle, agility (provided she's over 18 months), hiking (so long as she's 12-18 months or its not too long).
I believe the best exercise is lots of free play, running around. Theres less pressure on the joints. Some 'road work' is good, but must be managed carefully as the repetitive movement isn't too good.
There are weight pull clubs around, and you have to start them off proper, and use special harnesses (so its not something you can do in the backyard alone without instruction).
Glucosamine WITH chondroitin would be a good idea to protect those joints ;)
She's from a AKC breeder then, contact them. They show dogs and can tell you.
Has a judge said she's not muscled enough? Have you checked the breed standard to see how muscly she should be. B itches just aren't as muscly.
a la Rimbaud
Lean muscle is healthier (supports bones/joints rather than putting pressure on them - all the mass showing outward is also going inward, against the bone), and unless you plan to have her working, best to stay at that.
If you plan to have her working (hauling stuff, carrying stuff, etc...) then start small. There are weighted backpacks you can buy (and gradually increase the weight), as well as harnesses to attach objects to have her pull. Both will build bulk/mass. However, this shouldn't be started until she's fully grown/bones are fully developed (you didn't state her age, but generally it's not advisable to start until the dog is 18-24 months old, and generally a good idea to get hip/other joint X-rays, and have them examined/given a grade, before doing so at all, regardless of age).
Anonymous
Muscle mass is determined foremost by genetics, if the females parents weren't well muscled, she won't be either. Females in particular don't get as much muscle mass as males. If you wanted a bigger, much more muscular animal you should have opted for a male, or found a female with much larger, more "well muscled parents.
If you want the dog lean, and well muscled then simply exercise the dog, exercising burns fat and carves muscle. Also, a good diet of protein and meat should help her gain more weight.
In the end you can exercise, feed and give her as much as you want, if it's not in her genes, she'll never get as *big* as you expect. Pit's aren't supposed to look like "roid hungry body builders anyway".
Anonymous
Lean is good, but if she is skinny you just need to give her a bit more food. Get her decent quality dog food that has anything she needs.
As far as exercise goes, plenty of walks helps. There are also exercises you can do which build more specific muscles like "beg" or "sit pretty" is an exercise for the hind legs.
http://www.doggiebuddy.com/topics/tricks/sitpretty.html
You might also want to think about agility if you think it would be fun for you and your dog.
nosaj
As said,genetics are the key.Nothing can be done to change the dogs genetic potential.Next,you need to have an understanding of what the breed should be.Lean,athletic,with smooth defined muscle.Not massive and bulky.
A high quality feed and regular exercise are what's needed.There is no magic potion or formula.Long walks,runs,biking,swimming,spring pole,flirt pole.weight pull are all options.
This is a female APBT in good pet condition:
http://www.adbadog.com/uploads/Color%20Chart/black.jpg
This is a male in competition ready condition:
http://www.apbt.online-pedigrees.com/pictures/176780.jpg