Normal or Too Small? - Page 3

I agree with sockpuppet.

I would feed the lighter food for her evening meal, and the heavier kibble in the morning.

as for her body weight, all of mine go thru a skin and bones stage between 7-12 months old.  its extremely hard keeping weight on during that age.  My male pup is about 9 months old now, and he has shot up almost 2 inches in height the past few months, and between running ( on his own when he wants) and the growth spurts he's going thru, I can't get any weight on him.

She looks fine to me, you're just used to fat dogs.

Spaying her at 10 - 12 months may encourage her to grow tall & lanky.The growth plates in the long bones stay open & growing longer in pups spayed early, according to a couple of studies that I read. 
And thanks for the metabolic counter! That's a wonderful tool! jackie harris

My male was 58# at nine months.  He is a slim 80# now.

RFS

sorry i think she looks very skinny.
my dogs eat 3 times a day until the day they die. about 1 1/2 cups each time. no fat here. especially on males that are 90 lbs!!
why do people want there shepherds to look like they have anorexia?
 i want to see my dogs LAST rib. other then that. i think they look horrible

I prefer to keep my dogs on the thinner side - especially when they're young. It's easier on the hips/elbows....my dogs are highly active and the extra "tubbiness" would only hinder their athleticism and possibly contribute to HD in the future. To each their own, personally I'm sick of seeing overweight GSD, it breaks my heart.

you are so right. i hate seeing 90% of the family pet obese. but i look at some of the dogs on here and actually feel sorry for them. a male could wiegh 85-90 lbs and still move like a rocket,females 60-65 is perfect.
i also make sure to tell people keep them thin while growing, but as long as they are active and have nice muscle tone they should be able to eat and not look like they get 3 cups a day.

I would wait with the spaying until a little later, like 18 months or 24 months, if you can, but it will be hard with her heat when you have other males around. Other than that, I don't do routine de-worming. You can just do a fecal check at the vet (my vet takes $30 for that) if you suspect worms, and only de-worm when needed.

Give her a good meat meal  in the morning,  and a good meat meal at night, she is lean but their is nothing wrong with that too many fat pups around these days , Spaying is of no use at this age, the dog needs to be both physicaly and mentaly mature befor spaying is thought about ,unless it is for medical reasons.
If she has been wormed, and is healthy then don't  fuss about her weight .

Thanks..i have upped her feeding to 3 times, she eats 7 am, 5 pm and 8 pm..i also started her  on puppy formula, i had her on lamb and rice for adults,  same formula as my other dogs..I am hoping this will help.

She is not lacking energy by any means, we went to Kings Mountain state park NC over the weekend hiking from 9 am - 5 pm. i was exhausted yet she didn't lay down once (most dogs at the top of the mountain were doing a spread eagle on the rocks, to cool down and relax), she sat when i made her sit and wait other then that she was up and about the whole time..she also went swimming and ball retrieving before going home...

so, physically she is in a good shape, I didn't like when people look at the dog and then give me the "poor dog" look...while I was resting on the trail one guy kept running his hand on her side saying.."hmm..she must have worms, she must be malnourished, she could have cancer"....i just bit my toung and walked off....

I usually don't care what people think, however i don't need anyone comming to my house because someone reported "malnurished/abused" dog...i will try to take a picture when she is barking, she sucks her belly in and you can see all her ribs..
in any case thanks for advice and support.