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Vet said to add pounds to my pup.

2K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  jafo220 
#1 · (Edited)
I just took my pup for his 5 months check up. He is 23 " and 54lbs. The vet said he could afford to add about 3 lbs. But Id rather get some advice from the experts and members here (because all the dogs i see at his office are a little on the meaty side) before upping his food. Does this sound too thin. I am really trying to not let him grow too fast and would rather him grow slower , but I dont want to make him ill either. really need some advise. If I do need to add fat to him. How do I do it?

Also hes not hungry after eating and sometimes even leaves food in his bowl.
 
#3 ·
Thanks. I will add some today when i get home, until then I have some pics in my album. even though a few of those where 2 weeks ago hes still as gangly with long thin legs.
 
#4 ·
Personally, I wouldn't worry about a dog that's 3 pounds underweight. (What does your vet base this on, BTW?) If he's not always eating all of his food now, feeding him more is probably not going to work anyway!
 
#5 ·
Heres a side view picture. Its not at a straight angle, though. The vet is not the regular vet we see. She said 3-5 pounds, but i was thinking i could at least add 3 if hes too thin. I dont want to overdo the thin and lean. I could give him canned food, he likes that alot.

 
#8 ·
I got the same advice from a vet, and a week later my regular vet said she was perfect weight. I think your dog looks fine.

I like to just barely see ribs on a GSD puppy, not jutting out, but not totally hidden either. I think vets are used to seeing roly poly Lab puppies.

They don't get very much schooling in nutrition so take it with a grain of salt.
 
#9 ·
Thanks everyone for the reassurance. This is the second time I have felt apprehensive about his weight. First time almost 7 weeks ago when people kept asking if he's part coyote because he's so skinny. People here said he was fine, but now with a vet saying it, I rethink myself. He's definitely active and ready to go when ever we are. As you can see he was wagging his tail and ready to get the ball just after coming back from 2 hours at the park. He eats about 4 cups kirkland a day , treats and 1-2 kirkland dog biscuits before bed sometimes a little less. I can feel his ribs a little of the 2nd and 3rd and he has skinny legs. This new vet ran her hands all over his body. Measured his height and reweighed him and said he can afford to be 3-5 lbs heavier than what he is for his size. Then she left, I thought she was coming back but she had an asst give him his rabies vaccine. Then we left to the front where dexter got loves and treats from the front staff, both him and my son eating it up. I swear my son only comes with me for the front staff and Dex is as bad as he is. There both hams.:wub:
 
#11 ·
I just took my pup for his 5 months check up. He is 23 " and 54lbs. The vet said he could afford to add about 3 lbs. But Id rather get some advice from the experts and members here (because all the dogs i see at his office are a little on the meaty side) before upping his food. Does this sound too thin. I am really trying to not let him grow too fast and would rather him grow slower , but I dont want to make him ill either. really need some advise. If I do need to add fat to him. How do I do it?

Also hes not hungry after eating and sometimes even leaves food in his bowl.

The comment of wanting him to grow at a slower rate concerns me alittle here. Not trying to be critical but unless there are other things going on that alert you to a possible problem, I would feed the recommended amount of food or around that amount and let mother nature take care of the rest. There is such a thing as "good" weight and "bad" weight. Just make sure it's good weight growing on him and not bad. He needs plenty of physical activities as well as mental. I'd feed the recommended amount and go from there and let nature take it's course. It's vital you don't underfeed him. I'd rather have alittle extra weight on my dog than not enough because there is more developing than just muscle here. Bone and joint structure are as equaly important. So I don't worry about a few extra pounds he may put on and decide to cut his food down to diet him. Take the extra pounds off running him. That to me is a better option than reducing food to a puppy thats developing.

Yes I can see where vets may get tuned into heavier dogs that are fed a richer diet and pack on a few more pounds than they should. Could be over feeding or just not enough excercise. I think most vets are in tune with the breed. I mean unless you live in Po Dunk Nowhere, I'm sure they see other examples of the breed. My vet is always on me about feeding him over rather than under but I feed him alittle over the recommended amount. Like I said in first paragragh, there are other things developing besides muscle during there puppy growth. Those things concern me more than just muscle mass. Without the a foundation there is no house. It all fits together if you feed the recommended amounts and adjust his feeding accordingly. I watch my dogs poo for over feeding. Right now he's around 4 1/2 cups a day at 6 1/2 months. He poos fine unless I have a heavy training day and treats alot then it gets alittle soft. Most stools are good though and he's growing fast. I have had a couple instances where he's has some real runny stools but again I've traced it back to heavy treating. I have to be careful.
 
#12 ·
I took Dexter for his 6 month check up and he weighs 68 lbs and is 24.5 inches at withers. I still feed him 4 cups. But will be changing his food soon as the vet said he has dry allergy skin. I didnt want him to grow to fast because of pano and the fact he was still bunny hopping. Yesterday I found out he has some subluxation in his hips, not good. :)
 
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