my puppy walks funny - Page 2

Yes -don't look at the puppy food bag for the guideline of how much to feed him. Also the weight chart should be used as a general guideline, but every dog/puppy is an individual with his own rate of metabolism - they get different amounts of exercise, some get training treats added, some don't - so you have to go by what your puppy needs. Here's what you do. Keep feeding him the amount you've been feeding him. Every day, look at his weight - he should have a tucked-up waist/belly, from the top you should see his waist tuck in behind his rib cage. If it doesn't, he either just ate or drank a lot, or he's too fat. You should not see every rib just looking at him, and you should not see his spine or hips. But, when he's moving around, you should see the outline/hint of his ribs moving just under his skin. Put your hands on him, palm flat and fingers flat against his sides, with thumbs over his spine. Don't press down, just lay your hands there. You should be able to feel his ribs easily just under the skin. If you have to press in to feel the ribs, he's too fat. You should also easily feel the spine under the skin, but not see it sticking up. So, you adjust his food intake depending on his weight. If he's carrying too much weight or is gaining weight, cut his food back. If he's losing weight or is too thin, increase the amount. As for adult vs puppy food - I can only give you my own opinion, there will be others and more than one correct way. I like to feed growing puppies puppy food. As long as they are lean, and not gaining weight rapidly, I keep them on puppy food. If they are holding weight or gaining it and not looking lean or having trouble maintaining their weight, then it's fine to switch to adult food (less protein and calories) at any age. And if at some point the pup goes through a growth spurt, loses weight, even if he's older - putting him back on puppy food or partial-puppy food will help, because it is more calories/protein that he might need during growth "spurts". molly

thanks again Molly, I will do all what you recommend. I checked him like you told me to and he is right where he is suppose to be. He gets treats when we go to training and during the week he gets one in the evening. He also gets a puppy treat when we come home from shopping and he was a good boy. The treats are from Solid Gold as well, then I give him once a week a rawhide bone and he also gets some tartar chewies. Is it okay to give him cooked ham bones? I gave him one and he just loved it, but now I'm not sure if it was a good thing. He doesn't get any people food at all, I don't believe in that. His mom was a big dog but his dad was not as big, so we are hoping he will be in the 80 + range. He is 22 inches at his shoulders and generally a big dog. I have tried to find his dad in the data base here, but apparently they never entered him or his mom. I can go back to his grandpa on dad's side but only to the next generation great-grandpa,on mom's side. I think he will look like his grandpa, sable. thanks again Molly, Tucker's mom