Ideal rate of growth--Discussion - Page 1

From : Growth Abnormalities: The Role of Nutrition by Prof. Dr. med. vet. J. Zentek: 

For large and giant dogs it is recommended as a rule of thumb, that puppy weights should not exceed 1/3 of adult weight after the 4th month, 60 % after the 6th month and 80 % after 12 months (Gesellschaft fürrnährungsphysiologie 1989; Meyer and Zentek 2001).

Do you agree? I think this rate of growth is certainly too slow for male GSD's.

For females, I think it is far too slow. A six month old girl should have attained 80% of adult weight, IMO. It seems to me that a girl at the end of the sixth month should have attained almost full height (say within half an inch of adult). A bitch that matures at 70 pounds should be about 56 pounds at the end of sixth month.

I am all for moderate growth but the suggested schedule by Zentek sounds like stunted growth to me.

What is your opinion? Would you care to suggest a better schedule?

This is the chart that I use although my dogs tend to be a bit under the weights listed.  I'm a big believer in slow growth for proper skeletal development.  I do feed raw which tends to slow growth somewhat.

Judy

Age	Weight Male	% of	Weight Female
(mo)	Kg.	lb.	Total	Kg.	lb.

1	4.2    	 9.2	12.10	3.3	7.2 

2	9.0	19.9	26.18	7.5	16.6 

3	14.2	31.3	41.18	12.1	26.7

4	19.0	41.8	55	16.4	36.2

5	22.9  	50.6	66.57	20.0	44.0

6	26.1  	57.4	75.52	22.7	50.1

7	28.4  	62.6	82.36	24.7	54.4

8	30.1  	66.4	87.36	26.1	57.5

9	31.5  	69.4	91.31	27.1	59.7

10	32.7  	72.0	94.73	27.9	61.5

11	33.7  	74.3	97.76	28.6	63.1

12	34.5   	76.0	100	29.1	64.2
 

Your chart is way different from the article, much faster.

How can the article be correct?

My girl was 60 pounds when just 6.5 months old; should weigh 70-72 as adult at 24.5 inches.

60% at 6 month is way too slow, stunting I'd think. I want to be sure.

The chart I use is the top limit for what I would use.  I give that to my puppy buyers to emphasize that those numbers are the upper limit of what I consider normal growth rates just to make sure that they understand the gravity of keeping young dogs slim and not overweight.  Like I said, my own dogs are well under those numbers but not significantly.  I think the article probably has the message that less is better.  There is some vet in Alaska (name escapes me) who is doing a study on canine weight and has found that something like 10-20% less weight than the standard calls for is resulting in greater longevity, something astounding like dogs living into their high teens or early twenties.  I'll try to find the source.

I am 5 lb under JudyK chart :) I like my pups lean and mean :) I read somehwere that it will not effect in negative way the dogs size at maturity :), but it will put less stress on the sceleton. :) It is personal choice 60-65% is my goal for 6 months old female so far it looks like I will miss it by few punds but she is a big girl. Let your eyes be the judge :).

The chart that I use is also 2 kgs lower than Judy's.

At 3 months males10 - 14kgs and females 8 - 12kgs - 40% of adult weight

At 6 months males 22 - 26kgs and females 20 - 22kgs - 70% of adult weight

At 9 months males 29 - 32kgs and females 25 - 27kgs - 90% of adult weight

At 12 months males 32 - 34kgs and females 27 - 29kgs - 95% of adult weight

100% weight only at 24 - 36 months

I believe with puppy buyers you really need to give them a chart that is lower because they almost always feed their puppy more than you tell them and if they are a little heavier then no harm is done.

Those estimates look really close to what I figured in this diagram.

My 2 cents....

also that weight should be in muscle and bone, not flab.  A well muscled 3 month old pup of 25-30 lbs is a lot different than a flabby puppy of  the same weight.  I'd rather see a muscled pup of 25 lbs who is active  than a flabby one who is 30 lbs of the same liltter.  But the mentality in the US at least seems to be a belief that if you keep your dog fat and happy you love them, but if they're Lean and active you're neglecting them.  Bigger don't mean better.  When I was breeding I recomended that buyers keep their pup/dog at the lower side of the normal range rather than overfeeding especially thru the first 16 months of growth. Exercise recommended was swimming and running in a field, but limiting the jumping leaping of advanced obedience and such til their bones were thru their growing stages.

Hi Snaiper69

You are pinching my saying, Lean and Mean. But you are right, and that is the way my new Pup when she comes around Christmas to the end December will be bought up.

By the way it may be bad Luck to pick a name as she is not yet Born but her name will be  'HEIDI' and i will have the first  pick of any females in the litter

Very useful Charts to keep and helpful, but the eyes will tell all

Steve

The difficulty here is deciding at what point they have reached their adult weight.

I was surprised when I took the hound to the vets last week for his yearly jabs & check up as from the age of 2 to 4 (yrs) his weight had gone up from 77 to 86 lbs. Which is around a 10% increase... and he is by no means overweight.

Same as a couple of others I also like to keep 'em just a little bit peckish with perhaps a once a week blow out on the green tripe after an actiive weekend. As the saying goes, always leave the table before you are full.

AandA