small pup? - Page 1

I have a female pup < czech/ddr lines> she is 5 months old and only weighs 35 lbs. I'm thinking small for that age. vet checked her out clean bill of health. sire 90 lbs dam 80 lbs. I'm feeding her iams large breed puppy.Now should she have higher protein diet? At first found me comparing her to my male he is 6 months and is 65 lbs. i know there is a diffrence in weight from male to female but that much? When i got her about a month ago she weighed 32 lbs. Or is there nothing i can do she is just gonna be a small shepherd? thank you

My guess is she will be small,but you could also ad 10cc of oil to her diet every day. I would be giving her all she wants to eat as long as it was not making her fat. She still needs to grow slow. I would be inclined to feed a better quality food but not in excess. Growing fast is not a good thing. She has gained 3 lbs in 1 month,that is alot for a pup. If you are on a budget and feel strongly about Iams products,Eukanuba is better. There are many better foods out there but weight gain is slower with quality,much like a diet of Doritos vs a diet well balanced.

went with iams because the breeder was feeding her that and figured flight here enough stress so kept with the iams was feeding my male pup chicken soup for puppy the breeder raved on how all her dogs on it good food so switched male over to that.And i have heard good things and bad about it.

my breeder uses royal canin. my 10 mo male is the opposite - he's very big - 85 lbs. he has been on rc large breed puppy and now he's on a mix of rc lg breed pup and german shepherd. the better quality is supposed to slow the growth a bit, although w/mine, i think just breathing makes him grow big. i've had to put him on anti-inflamatories a few times cuz of his fast growth. i agree w/gsdlvr2 in that a good diet is better for long term growth.

You cannot make a dog bigger than it is genetically programed to be simply by feeding it more calories. If she follows the normal growth pattern fo a large breed female, she should weigh in around 60 - 62 lbs at maturity assuming she's in good weight.

BTW steroids given during the growth stage can make a dog grow taller (as can neutering).

zigzag, Hope all goes well with your little girl! I know it's no fun worrying about them. First, 80 lbs. is too much for an adult female, but your point that she does not appear to be following her genetics is well made. I have to respectfully disagree though that 3 lbs. in a month is alot for a pup. She should be gaining faster then that if my memory serves me right. I would start by switching food to something that you need to go to a grange feed store for. There are many good foods out there. I use Royal Canin, but there are many quality foods. Don't go with supermarket foods. There is a web site that has an accurate scale for a bitch and dogs wieght througout it's growing stage. I will do my best to find it for you if no one comes up with it. Also, how does she eat? Is she a finicky eater? If so then you will need to do some research on this as there are things you can do to help.If she is a good eater then I would be inclined to up the times you feed her daily, and feed at the top of the range on the package. Personally I would supplement her diet with raw hamberger. Is she active, like puppies should be? How is her stool? Should be good and firm.How is her size? Does she look too small. Talk to her breeder. You are on a good start by posting here, you should get lots of info. P.S. If she is a finicky eater feed her with your male, create a little competition for the food. Good luck.

zigzag, Found the chart. Do a google search of " weight and height chart for the german shepherd dog". This is the most reasonable chart that I am personally aware of. After talking with your breeder, assuming they are good breeders, you might want to get a second Vets opinion. Let us know how it goes!

She isn't a finicky eater.She'll eat hers then go for the males food.She is big boned.Active? lol bounces off the wall. My 6 month old male keeps her going she isn't thin or too fat.Stools are firm.Thinking of putting them both back on chicken soup for puppies.Now this food 28% protien to much?

The chart olskool refers to is here: http://www.nwk9.com/weight_height.htm The chart does give a good general indication of average weights and weight gains, but every dog is different and they don't all grow at exactly the same rate. My year-old guy was about 3-4 pounds behind at 4-5 months, caught up to the chart at 6 months, then fell behind by around 5 or 6 pounds from 8-11 months and his frame seemed a little small. But in the last month or so he has added some height and length along with some muscle, and he is now within 3 pounds of the chart weight and is starting to look more like an adult. I put him on adult food at 6 months with no transition problems. He has always had a great appetite with good stools and hasn't ever puked or even had diarrhea. He just seems to grow in spurts rather than steadily. As for your girl, olskool's idea to add hamburger is a good one. I'd also think about gradually switching her over to an adult food between 24 and 26% protein, but with a similar fat content to the puppy food if she's very active.