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One year old weight

3K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  dcg9381 
#1 · (Edited)
Why does my dog weigh so much? Dexter weighs 97lbs :crazy:. I limit his feeding, he exercises. He's not big boned. He will be a year this week. After reading fat comments here and dogs that are over 100 lbs, im worrying. He looks fine to me, but this is my first GSD. He's 30" .



 
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#4 ·
I try to keep him thin, but I just took him to the vet for a adequan shot, he has HD, and vet just called me and told me to have him lose weight. He just saw his weight in the chart. He didnt see him personally.
 
#3 ·
He does not look fat or overweight to me....ours is 15 months at the end of January. He was weighed today and is 71lbs. He is a DDR/Czech so I think he is not suppose to grow past 80lbs...yours looks taller and longer than our male. Ours seem to be shorter in the shoulders, wider and stockier.
What does your vet say?


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#5 ·
Sorry.....sent before finished. Our vet was a little concerned today because miles had a huge growth spurt. He went from 62lbs to 71lbs in a matter of 5 1/2 weeks...no food increase just a major growth spurt!

He is a pretty dog...when did you start letting him run beside the bike? How did that go? I am afraid they will get tangled in the bike...:-/


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#7 ·
He is very tall and long, he does not look overweight, his weight looks great to me. The average 1yo GSD male is around the 75pound range, however looking at yours, he is not average due to his height and length.

Guidelines are good to go by in terms of knowing average weights, if your GSD is way under or over then if makes you question whether there is something wrong or not. In my case Harry, my 3yo GSD male, was way under the average weight for his age, so this sort of woke me up and I questioned the vet why - turns out there is a medical reason and he is being treated for it now.

With yours, average guidelines are making you and your Vet question why he is heavy - which is great. So you and your Vet need to consider why - is it a medical issue (I doubt it), his high weight is clearly due to larger height and length.

Some Vets are familiar with good weights for GSDs, some are not, this is a great opportunity to point out to your Vet that yes he is way above average weight for his age, however his height and length are above average too.

This dog is a perfect example of using your eyes and hands to determine a healthy weight. Look at him from above - does he have a nice trim weight. Look at his sides - can you clearly see his ribs (you shouldn't be able to). Feel his sides - can you feel his ribs through a thin layer of fat? Due to his larger body proportions, I would use this technique for him rather than weight guidelines.
 
#8 ·
Hes neuterd and has gained about 7 pounds in the past 2 months. I keep checking by doing exactly what reading this forum has taught me. I see him everyday so its hard for me to tell if he gotten taller. Im pretty sure my vet is looking at a chart. I was concerned since ive read other heights also 30" but they weigh less. I thought he should have lost weight this month since weve been exercising him more, but he gained 2 pounds. I can feel all ribs when I rub him with my hands , the last one more.
 
#16 ·
He could have gained muscle weight from the exercise, or, from the pictures, it looks like he still has some filling out to do (broadening shoulders and such). If he has a waist and you can feel his ribs, he's fine. The vet is probably used to overweight dogs and extra weight is really hard on hips, so she probably just saw the number and assumed he needed to loose. Personally I wouldn't worry about it since he looks good, but if you want to pursue it you could have the vet actually look at your dog and see what she thinks.


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#11 ·
Maybe Dex is going through the same thing as Miles. Dexter looks alot less than what he weighs. I dont know where hes carrying it. Its as if the vet wants him under 90 pounds.
 
#12 ·
I don't know miles height and length...I can measure that on Tuesday....but I can see from your pics that Dexter is much taller and longer than miles. You have a tall and long boy. I am not sure under 90lbs would look very healthy on him but I am not a vet or breeder...your dexter looked nice in the pics...loosing 5-7lbs could be a lot for his frame.
But I am sure others on here would be able to tell you better than me! I am just going by his ribs and what we were told.
90lbs would look a lot different on your dexter than our miles. Where yours looks nice the size he is, Miles would look chunky.


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#17 ·
I was going to make a vet appt next week and talk to my vet, but after all the comments here that seem to agree hes not overweight, Im feeling better. I think im going to wait until his shot next month and then have him look at him then and ask him why he wants me to have him at a particular weight? Im sure it does have to do with his hips, he wants him thin. But I dont want him unhealthy, and too thin.
 
#19 ·
30" is extremely tall for a shepherd, since males should top out around 25" or so. And at only a year he will likely put on more weight, I would guess he'll be close to 110 easy. Is he oversized? Yes, but overweight? No

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#20 ·
With hd you want a lean dog. And by lean, I mean I like to see mild rib outline while the dog is in motion. It is healthier for a dog to be underweight than overweight. Also, low impact exercise to build muscle while being easy on the joints. Swimming is great.

My boy is 28" and 85 lbs at a year old exactly. I hope he'll top out at about 95 lbs lean but I'm still realistic in expecting that even he may hit the 100+ weight

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#21 ·
With hd you want a lean dog. And by lean, I mean I like to see mild rib outline while the dog is in motion. It is healthier for a dog to be underweight than overweight. Also, low impact exercise to build muscle while being easy on the joints. Swimming is great.

My boy is 28" and 85 lbs at a year old exactly. I hope he'll top out at about 95 lbs lean but I'm still realistic in expecting that even he may hit the 100+ weight

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So I should still expect my dog to gain more weight in the upcoming future? I thought I had read they are usually done growing by the one year mark? :D
 
#22 ·
They fill out and will add weight. 97 lbs is a very large 1 year old. With your dogs frame, he's lean at 97. He's tall and kinda lanky, like most at that age...

Your vet needs to see him before making that "lose weight" call. 97 is a big dog for a one year old shepherd, which is why the vet thinks he can make that call over the phone. GSDs have been getting progressively larger - especially in the American version. They're not at all the same breed of 50 years ago.

The weight needs to match the frame. You don't need to hit a specific weigh, but light is better.

We had one with HD also - he wasn't as tall as yours and probably 80 lbs at one year. We kept him lean, not through reducing food, but by making sure he was active.

There are varying degrees of HD. A good x-ray which requires positioning that your dog probably won't stand if he's conscious, will show you that ball and socket joint. If you know he has HD, it might be worth a visit for an orthopedic evaluation.
 
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