based on the pic can you critique my dog. - Page 1

his name is Sultan and he was born on Nov. 17, 2007. can you guys tell me what you think about my puppy! do you think he's under weight or he's fine?

thanks!

to me he looks fine, he looks to be going through that puppy gangly stage, mine did that twice he is almost 2 now he was all legs and skinny for a while but he is finally starting to put weight on, he is a slow to mature boy which is good. to me your boy looks to be just fine at this age.

I think he looks fine and not under wieght. love his face

Let me preface this by saying I am a great believer in keeping my dogs on the thin side, from puppy through senior years.  To me, your 7 month old pup looks a little too thin.  I base my opinion on him looking like he is lacking musculature or is under developed in his hip and back end areas, plus his coat looks very dull to me.  

Of course, it could just be the film exposure and the angles of the pictures that's making his coat  and back end look wrong to me, and the gawky puppy thing.  God knows they all go through that!

If he doesn't have any medical issues I'm curious what you are feeding him? 

I agree with Sue - I keep my dogs lean but expect them to have plenty of muscle mass, and a shiny healthy coat.  Your pup seems thin, with lack of muscle mass in  his hind legs (thighs) and shoulders - his coat looks really dull (though maybe he is just blowing coat).  I would put a few pounds on him, make sure he is getting enough protein and calories for his age (puppy food would help him gain weight) and make sure the food is good quality if it isn't already. 

As for the pup himself, he has a gorgeous head.  Absolutely beautiful.

molly

thank you guys for your opinions;

sue,

so far he has no medical issues (thank GOd). and the food we're feeding him is called, Canidae all life stages (4 cups a day) along with 1 cup of ground beef (no fat) and nupro joint support supplement. we try feeding him pure protein (referring to the ground beef).

thanks once again and please keep commenting!!!

I'm sorry, I forgot to say I think he has a gorgeous head, and great pigmentation.  I really dislike people who only talk about what they dislike.   I was just thinking about the weight & neglected to point out that he is indeed a striking and handsome youngster.     As far as the food, I have heard Canidae is a good food, but I don't feed kibble, so I have no personal experience with it.  With my dogs, I usually feed twice a day from the time they are around 7 months old for the rest of their lives, so are you feeding him the 4 cups twice a day or is that the total amount of food for one day?  Also what does his skin look like and if this is his normal coat, how does it feel?

alex,

He looks like my Maddy in color and marking's, I agree he looks a little light but not bad, the picture's are light.

Increase your feed and see if more feed will make a difference, add an egg to his feed every couple of day's.

Feed well and give him plenty of excercise, work first, rest, feed, rest.   I'm feeding in the evening because of the heat.

He's got plenty of growing yet to do.

Brent.

 thank you for the complements, am pretty open minded with both positive and negative opinions about my GSD.

about the food Sue, we feed him 4 cups a day, Two in the morning along with 1/2 a cup of ground beef and at night the same thing, 2 cups and 1/2 of ground beef.

when we got him, he was around 8 weeks so from there til a little while ago, he was staying with us inside the house. so you could imagine with the A.C. sleeping with us in our bedroom, he was used to the a.c. , he barely went out only for walks around the neighborhood. he was pretty basically "SPOILED". He's coat was shiny until we recently made him a kennel out side the house. so i guess the change of living , the weather here down in FLorida is pretty humid/hot and i believe that has made his skin a bit sensitive along with his coat. and it breaks my heart because he was sooo taken care of when he was inside but now he's outside and we have no control over that. but he's getting used to it day by day.  I hope!! 

gilma 

Brent,

thank you for your advise!!! about the egg, he's a pretty picky eater and am afraid that he might reject the food. I'm giving him a cup of pure ground beef a day (1/2 in the a.m. and 1/2 at nite). Should I increase the food intake?

thanks

alex.