Question on weight- Too thin err just right? - Page 2

LOL........
Indy would not let the vet shove anything up his ass either...  I had to provide a stool sample later.
Maybe if the lights had been down low and the vets hands were warmer, maybe some soft music...LOL

It's a little hard to tell for sure from the pictures, because the coat can be misleading, but best I can tell your girl looks fine in the pictures; however, 45 pounds seems a little light for a 7 month old. That doesn't necessarily mean she's too thin, could be she's smaller than average or she's developing and growing more slowly than average. But it's better to be lean than fat--as long as they are getting the proper amount of nutrition. Puppies at that age will look skinny unless they are too fat because the larger muscle development comes later. I don't remember who posted the best description I've heard on a previous thread (so sorry to whomever posted): until they are adults, growing GSDs look a little like gangly coyotes. If they don't, they're too fat (paraphrased).

Scales have nothing to do with it.   Too many variables.    Look and feel is the best way to tell.

This is a loaded question around here, but here's my two cents.

Long term studies of longevity show that thinness is positively correlated with length of life...BUT...this does not reflect quality of life.  See the Capuchin monkey studies, publicized in many media in recent years.

Further, many diseases ARE CATABOLIC which means the disease process degrades musculature and burns fat.  Without a margin of fat and muscle, a dog IS more vulnerable.

If you are competing heavily and your dog is most effective at a thin weight (say 70 lbs) then keep him at that thin weight during the season, but that does NOT mean he should be kept at 70 pounds in the OFF SEASON.  This is something every competitive athlete knows (PERIODIZATION).  You MUST cycle your weight if you compete in a weight-senstive sport (like distance running or wrestling) -- so the low weight during competition is probably 5 lbs lower than the healthiest weight off season.

As for your 7 month bitch at 45 pounds -- she may in fact be slightly underweight for perfect health, but that's not obvious.  If she is 45 lbs because you exercise her 1-2 hours a day, great!  If she is that thin from lack of caloric intake, shame on you.

My own bottom line is this: when a heavy person shows me his thin dog with pride, I get suspicious.  When a fit athlete brags about hours of hiking and training and running with his fit dog, I beam with him.  Thin due to conditioning is very different than thin due to inadequate nutrition.  The whole biological product is very different (but let's skip the science here, as I suspect I will be scolded by the skinny-dog-fanatics and I need to save some ammunition for my defense!)

None of this should be interpreted to suggest that a fat dog is healthy!
 

 

45lbs at 7mos is not so bad. My little female, who fits the STANDARD at 1 year, weighed about that at 7mos, if I remember correctly. Maybe 50lbs...but she has super-heavy bone. She weighs about 55-60lbs now, at 22.5-23" at the shoulder.

I think she's just right too!  Though where I work they do ask me about the weights on GSD's....

I work at a vet and my boss drives me crazy with the dogs she calls "thin."   Meanwhile she's a toothpick herself!  We had a client bring in a GSD that was a titled import and one of her comments was "thin" though not to the owner, just in her report.  

The younger vets are better and actually like how I keep my dogs.   However she does know better to say that she thinks they are too thin. 

Meanwhile, she's a got a young Rottie with not very good joints due to being hit by a car as a young dog, that I would be keeping way thinner than she is.   

My "little female" according to some is 58 pounds.     However the Koermeister actually called her "large" in the critique, she's 59 CM.   Go figure! 

".......dogs, they only bite when you touch their private parts.........." ROTFLMAO!!! .......quote from an Adam Sandler movie, LOLOL! Said nothing about touching with thermometers, but honey, I'd growl too! jh 

My girl is on the "smaller" side of what most consider the GSD ideal (60lbs), as she's Am. bred, but the trainer we're currently working with says she is just right, and is of the same mindset as we are:  GSD's don't have to be huge, but they have to be healthy.  He owns several GSD's from German working lines, and he also does protection and Sch training.  If your dog is genetically predisposed to be small, trying to put weight on it isn't going to help one bit  The less extra weight a dog is carting around means fewer chances of health problems down the future.  She runs a bit on the lean side as she's got a high metabolism and she's on Natural Balance LID Venison and Sweet Pot. diet (1 large can and 12-16 oz of dry mixed together, fed once a day, with dry food available in the evening if she gets the munchies).  We've actually noticed a small increase in weight, plus a healthier-looking and smoother-feeling coat, fewer skin problems and nice, healthy dumps, sometimes twice a day.  At a year old, we don't think she'll get much bigger, she might get up to 70 lbs when  she's mature, but we're happy with the rate she's progressing.   Too much too soon = not good for puppy.  She's a very happy and healthy girl.

She doesn't look too thin from these pictures, it is difficult to tell without a hands on.  Her age and weight are sounding pretty good.  My mature females range from 62 to 65 (2 or them) and from 68 to 70 pounds (one of them).  The one is a big girl .