Over Weight GSD? - Page 2

Well he lives in a fence, but it never stopped him from digging, jumping or running out every chance he got. It is hard and not to mention expensive to re-fence the 5 acres of 22 that he lives in. I did what I thought was best for him, I could never forgive myself if he got lost, hit or accidently brought a unwanted litter in this world. Maybe I did neuter him sooner than I ever planned but I did it with the best intentions. He is not stud worthy anyways ( I love him to death but its the truth ) But since his neutering we have not had one incident with him running off, either it be by coincidence or by the neutering.

I am going to cut back on his kibble and start walking, playing more often and going swimming as much as possible, without wearing him to death.

Jenni, Do you know a good place to buy Symplex F?

To all that were wondering, Shiro stands at 31 Inches (78 Centimeters) tall at his withers.

WOW 😲! That's a BIG boy!!

Great that he's neutered, but he's underweight.

He is a very big boy, largest German Shepherd that I have seen. (not proud of that, just stating a fact) I can feel his ribs pretty easily, and It may be cause he is white that his ribs are hard to see but in person, I can see his ribs, and by ribs I mean I can see his last two ribs when he is walking, running, etc. When I look down at his body he has curves. I'm confused to why out vet would think he is overweight when he has been going there regularly and his weight has never been a conversed issue before now. I guess his size throws some people off cause he is so large, it may seem he is overweight.

Well he is certainly too big for a GSD, at that height, or at least one that conforms to the Breed Standard. (And purebred pedigree dogs should conform to their Standard.) I'm inclined to dispute Swarn's assertion that he is now UNDER weight, given that height; that is, if you managed to get an accurate measure. Its certainly not impossible, I knew an otherwise very well bred all black dog which used to compete here in Ob TriaIs, that was a similar height. And body size. I'm happy to agree with you, based on what I said earlier: that he didn't look excessively fat, because what you describe - and no one can tell as well as the person with their hands on the live dog - sounds fine.

I don't know why your vet has suddenly raised the issue where s/he did not before; perhaps they looked up the Breed Standard in the meantime, and realised the dog they just operated on weighed in heavier than a GSD 'should' be; perhaps they want to sell you a low fat brand of food they are pushing, or get you to (pay to) join a weight reduction class there ? I respect the medical knowledge of vets, but they are mostly not dog experts in the purebreds sense and can thus be taken with a pinch of salt sometimes.

Hundmutter, at 82lb this dog is NOT heavier than what a GSD should be, but at 78 cm, he is as tall as an average English Mastiff.

The photographs certainly doesn't show an underweight dog, and it doesn't seem overweight either, but if OP has measured him correctly, I'd stick to my earlier opinion that the dog is underweight.

Hundmutter, I was under the same assumption that I was being urged to buy a "special food" as well but I wanted others opinions from people that know German Shepherds extensively. If he is underweight, is increasing his raw diet going to help him or should I try a higher protein kibble? I am still going to continue with his regular exercise of walking and occasionally swimming.

He is for sure not in the German Shepherd breed standards size wise. I understand that he is not "high quality" but I don't hold that against him and I still want him to live a happy long life.

The measurement that I got this morning was as accurate as I could get, I used a tool especially for measuring heights of dogs from our neighbor, she was also shocked when she saw how tall he was. My husband has grown up with German Shepherds and was even surprised. He said his previous GSDs have always been females and have been around 22-23 inches.

Here is a picture of Shiro with my brother in laws, German Shepherd, female (pink Collar) and his German Shepherd Malinos Mix (red collar) and our friends two Dobermans, male (right) Female (left). He towers over them and even at the dog park he gets so many "oohs" and "awes" because of his size.

 

Great photo !
I would not be worrying about any extra feeding...not yet, if ever. He is still just 15 months, and therefore will almost certainly bulk out a bit on his normal diet as he matures. Also as he is now neutered he will no longer be burning calories through reproductive energy, and you'd risk making him predisposed to unnecessary weight gain.

I go by this....