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Black M GSD only 15lbs at 11wk

2K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  voodoolamb 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I saw some growth charts out there, and while I know they are not absolutes I am a little concerned about his weight. He was at 10lb when we got him at 9wk and has gained about 2-2.5lb a week which ive been told is the norm. Breeder fed him royal canin for small breeds because she said he liked the kibble size. I tried eukanuba large breed but he did not like it, so now have recently transitioned to Blue buffalo puppy kibble which he seems to like. He typically eats a bit less than the bag recommends but isnt skinny at all. Im wondering if hes just gonna be a small dog, or if he'll have a growth spurt. Opinions appreciated.
 
#2 ·
Since he is gaining and growing, no need to worry. There has been many members on the board that had very small puppies like yours, and they caught up to average size by the time they were a year old or so, or just a bit under average weight. I'd just continue on with a good quality kibble, feed more during growth spurts.

I had to shake my head a bit at the breeder feeding small breed kibble because they liked the kibble size better. The Large Breed puppy foods are designed to encourage slow and steady growth, as too fast growth in large breeds can cause musculoskeletal development issues. If you have him back on a large-breed puppy food he should be fine. You can also get him on a regular adult food.

Slow, steady growth is best - though you can expect some growth spurts here and there, and that is normal.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the reply. Yea, her reasoning was that he liked the kibble size, which makes no sense because there are plenty of appropriate foods for the dog with smaller kibbles. His food now isn't breed or size specific, but I trust that blue buffalo life protection puppy dry food is a decent brand to feed. Otherwise he is very active, not underweight at all and is a pleasant pain in the neck as expected from a puppy. Hoping for a growth spurt as his mom is 90lbs and dad is 140lbs. Those paws seem big to me and I hope he fills them :) Dog breed Dog Canidae Sporting Group Carnivore


Dog Mammal Vertebrate Dog breed Canidae


Dog Canidae Dog breed Pink Carnivore
 
#4 ·
Did the breeder tell you that was what the father and mother weighed? Those weights are seriously high. I pulled a male GSD from a shelter that was 31" at his withers and he was only 102#. I would not go by those weights to figure out what size your puppy might be as an adult. 140# is almost the size of a Mastiff!
 
#6 ·
140 is a bit heavy.. he must have been overweight if that was an accurate weight

your puppy should be fine.. his weight is not far off from mine... my female puppy was 12.7 lbs on her vet check up at 8 weeks 4 days... next check up is monday 11 weeks 4 days so I'll see where she is then
 
#13 ·
I'm going to add my bit to this, because I was in the same boat early in the year. The growth chart can be deceiving, because it obviously keeps averages into account, and some pups grow faster or slower than listed. When I got my first GSD pup, he weighed 14lbs at 8 weeks after coming from a litter of 11. He was one of the biggest in it, but he was still about 5 pounds under the average reported. So I moved over to the best food I could afford and documented his weight weekly. I weighed him two days ago, as he turned 8 months, and he came in at 73lbs 4oz. The chart said he should have weighed about 67lbs. Basically, don't worry too much about it all, as long as your pup is energetic and is eating normally, he'll catch up eventually. I'm uploading my pup's growth graph to show you the progression of his weight. He's current'y 26.5" at the withers and is very lean. Red line is the average, whereas the black is his progression.
 

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#14 ·
Cute pup.

My male was 5.2lbs at 8 weeks. Super tiny.

He's a year now and when it's all said and done he will be within breed standard for males 24-26 inches at the withers and 66 - 88 lbs. He's 24 1/2 and in the upper 60s low 70s. He may put on up to another inch and will definitely be putting on more muscle weight as he fills out.

GSDS were never meant to be huge dogs in the triple digits. They are utilitarian working animals. The standard size is perfect - large enough to take care of threats while small enough to keep speed and agility.

If you want a big dog, this is probably not the right breed for you.

Personally I'd be more concerned about other possible genetic issues then the dog's size. The "breeder" sounds really sketch. Breeding dogs so grossly out of standard, feeding a food with really bad calcium and phosphorus ratios... what health testing was done on the parents of this litter?

Might be a good idea to keep this pup on the leaner side as he grows and watch out for hip dysplasia.

But anywho. I have a soft spot for the all blacks. Little trouble makers lol
 
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