[masonkpowell2019]

Hello everyone. I am new here so apologize if this is in the wrong location. I have a 7 month old male GSD. He weighs just over 80lbs. Despite how big he is and how much he’s growing, I can’t seem to keep weight on him. I feed him over 3x the recommended daily amount based on the food chart on his food (I give him about 8 cups a day), and I’ve switched his food 3 times to see if that was the issue (costco puppy food -> blue buffalo wilderness large breed puppy food -> zignature protein blend all age food). He still looks extremely thin and he whines at his food bowl all day long. I’ve recently started adding in various meats to his food in hopes that will help, but he still acts hungry all day. The vet has checked him and said he looks healthy, just a bit thin, but no worms or anything. Is this normal for this breed? I’ve never had a dog that had so much trouble staying full or keeping weight on...but I’ve never had a shepherd before either. Thank you for the help!

 

[Frisco19]

Hey, welcome! How much exercise does he get daily? It is pretty normal for them to thin out between 5-9 months. They get long and lean. My 5-month old is going through the same thing. If he is eating and he is healthy, he is fine. He will thicken up.

 

[Shane'sDad]

Geez that's heavy sounding and then some for a 7 month old...yet you say he looks thin and the vet said the same....is he purebred ? or maybe Shiloh or King shepherd ? (they are larger)....what did your vet say the "fix" for thin was just feed more?...what's his poop look like--firm-loose-runny ?....I read he was checked for worms but if his poop is loose I'd check again....did the vet do blood work and check pancreas & thyroid ?...I'll say this he's at the age where bones are really growing but he's not filled out yet so normal is thin-ish and gangly looking at 7 months....but 80+ pounds for a standard GSD at that age is heavy IMO....

 

[tim_s_adams]

My dog is big for a female, 28" at the withers. Between 6 and 9 months she was also eating 8 or 9 cups of food per day and was always skin and bones! At 9 months she reached her full height and started to fill out, in my opinion too fast, so I tapered the food back to around 3 1/2 to 4 cups a day by the time she was 12 months.

She weighed 71 lbs at 7 months, 75 at 9 months, and topped out at 80 lbs at nearly 3 yrs.

OP, is your dog tall? My guess is that he's fine, just over-standard in height. I know mine was always a ravenous eater until she reached her full height.

 

[Nscullin]

My dog is big for a female, 28" at the withers. Between 6 and 9 months she was also eating 8 or 9 cups of food per day and was always skin and bones! At 9 months she reached her full height and started to fill out, in my opinion too fast, so I tapered the food back to around 3 1/2 to 4 cups a day by the time she was 12 months.



She weighed 71 lbs at 7 months, 75 at 9 months, and topped out at 80 lbs at nearly 3 yrs.



OP, is your dog tall? My guess is that he's fine, just over-standard in height. I know mine was always a ravenous eater until she reached her full height.

Wow. Big pup.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MineAreWorkingline]

German Shepherds are notorious for being hard gainers. Vets tend to like to wait until they are two to see if they gain weight. How many calories are in a cup of food you are feeding? If your dog is thin, and seems to be hungry, why not up his food?

 

[tc68]

Hello everyone. I am new here so apologize if this is in the wrong location. I have a 7 month old male GSD. He weighs just over 80lbs. Despite how big he is and how much he’s growing, I can’t seem to keep weight on him. I feed him over 3x the recommended daily amount based on the food chart on his food (I give him about 8 cups a day), and I’ve switched his food 3 times to see if that was the issue (costco puppy food -> blue buffalo wilderness large breed puppy food -> zignature protein blend all age food). He still looks extremely thin and he whines at his food bowl all day long. I’ve recently started adding in various meats to his food in hopes that will help, but he still acts hungry all day. The vet has checked him and said he looks healthy, just a bit thin, but no worms or anything. Is this normal for this breed? I’ve never had a dog that had so much trouble staying full or keeping weight on...but I’ve never had a shepherd before either. Thank you for the help!

2 questions: 1) Is he losing weight? 2) Is his poop like cow patties...soft and formless and sometimes yellowish in color?

If the answer to the questions is "yes" then he may have EPI. You might want your vet to check for EPI. My previous dog had EPI and it was around the same age as yours when he was diagnosed with it. I was feeding him 9 cups a day and he was always hungry and looked thin. His poop was like cow patties. He was 80 lbs and started dropping weight to 55lbs before we finally figured out what it was and then he was on lifetime medication for EPI. It's a somewhat common disease that shows up in GSDs. Eventually we got him to a thin 98lbs and he lived until almost 12 years old.

If I were you, I would ask your vet if it could be EPI. If he/she says "I don't know," then I'd suggest you keep track of his weight and his poop. Or take him in to be tested for that. If he's keeping his weight and his poop is fine/normal then most likely it's not EPI.