Underweight Puppy

[taydeedee@earthlink.net]

I have an 8 week old GSD puppy. I took her for her first vet visit on Friday and she only weight 8.5 lbs. That seems so small. According to most of the charts I have googled, she should weigh twice that much. Her fecal exam came back that she has the giardia parasite. She takes her last dose of worm medicine tomorrow. Are those charts right?? Should I worry, the vet didn't seem to concerned? Regardless of her weight, she is an absolute doll. Any info would be appreciated. I am a first time GSD owner. Thanks.

[Cassidy's Mom]

The charts are averages, not absolutes. And twice her weight - 17 pounds, would be quite a big 8 week old puppy.

Dena and Keefer (half siblings about a year apart in age) were in the 18/19 pound range at 9 weeks old, and they were both very big boned and large for their age. We got Halo at 10 weeks old and I don't know what she weighed at 8 weeks old, but I got a copy of her 9 week vet checkup and she was only 11-1/2 pounds. I think she was 14 pounds the day we got her a week later, so 8-1/2 pounds at 8 weeks old might be a little smaller than average, but nothing to worry about. At 3 years old she's about 60 pounds, right in the middle of the standard for a female.

Puppies don't all grow at the same rate either, Keefer weighed 7 pounds less than Dena did at 6 months old. But at maturity he's 80 pounds vs her adult weight of 70-72 pounds. Once the giardia is cleared up and her stools improve, she should gain weight at a normal rate. Keefer had giardia too, and some other digestive issues as a puppy and I believe that had something to do with his slower growth weight when young.

[BlackthornGSD]

An 8 pound 8 week old female is small but not tiny. Her size now is not necessarily predictive of her final size.

If she has had giardia she probably had had diarrhea and been a little bit dehydrated at the time of her vet appointment. Keep her well fed, but not over fed, up to 4 times a day and make sure she stays hydrated and I suspect you'll see her grow a lot before her next vet visit.

[Kaz]

You have done the right thing by going to a vet. Rest assured once the parasites go away, your pup will grow.

Also check for the size of the parents or older siblings, not all GSD's grow to the same size.

Manfred was 24 to 26 lbs at 10 weeks, and is now 55lbs at 20 weeks.

[JPF]

Originally Posted by taydeedee@earthlink.net

I have an 8 week old GSD puppy. I took her for her first vet visit on Friday and she only weight 8.5 lbs. That seems so small. According to most of the charts I have googled, she should weigh twice that much. Her fecal exam came back that she has the giardia parasite. She takes her last dose of worm medicine tomorrow. Are those charts right?? Should I worry, the vet didn't seem to concerned? Regardless of her weight, she is an absolute doll. Any info would be appreciated. I am a first time GSD owner. Thanks.

our puppy was just under 10 pounds when we got him at 8 weeks. He is now a lean 70 pounds at 1 year. He also had parasites but they cleared up quickly and he was fine. So for a female that is not really far off. I worried to when I saw people saying their puppies weighed 20 pounds at 8 weeks.

[taydeedee@earthlink.net]

Thank you all for the information. I feel better talking to "real people" with GSD's. The Internet will scare you to death sometimes. Again, your comments are appreciated.