# Skinny Puppy!



## savingsymmetry (Apr 23, 2009)

We have had our new puppy for exactly a week now. Today she is nine weeks old and we're starting to worry about her weight. The first few days she was with us she had very little interest in food, she would only eat a few pieces of kibble at a time. We picked up a few packages of wet puppy food to mix in with her kibble in hopes it would interest her more. Just a tablespoon at a time has done the trick - she's even excited at feeding time now.

However, she is still really skinny! She has a fat little belly, but we can feel each of her ribs and her hips and spine. We're currently feeding her Professional Large Breed Puppy food. She's eating and drinking well now (something we're quite relieved about!).

My question is - is this normal for a GSD of her age? Is it something we should be more concerned about?


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Fat belly + skinny puppy usually means worms. I would take her and a FRESH stool sample to the vet today.


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

ditto what she said


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## savingsymmetry (Apr 23, 2009)

That was our first worry, but she's been dewormed and was at the vet the day we got her.

Could she still have worms?


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

yes or cocci. Normally you deworm about every 10 days to 2 weeks.


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## savingsymmetry (Apr 23, 2009)

Good to know! Calling the vet now, thanks!


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## GranvilleGSD (Mar 28, 2007)

Different worms usually require different dewormers. There are some worms that also don't always show up in the sample as well. You may need to have the vet give her a broad spectrum dewormer. I'd definately have the vet take a look at her too, as pups with heavy worm loads can become anemic, dehydrated, and can quickly get too sick to save.


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## savingsymmetry (Apr 23, 2009)

Hm. According to the vet, her records show that she was treated with Pyrantel Pamoate at 3 weeks, 5 weeks, and 7 weeks, and she saw no reason to administer it until the 9 week mark.

We're going to watch her carefully over the next few days. The vet doesn't think she's abnormally thin, so maybe we're just overreacting. I have the sneaking suspicion that the breeder may have pampered her with "people food" -- she seems to know exactly what it is, and she's already made herself a nuisance trying to get to it. Sigh . . . she's more interested in pizza than dog food.

As the other half, I have a slightly different perception of the situation: she was on the skinny side when we picked her up, and the combination of being stressed from travel/the new environment and switching puppy food* probably contributed to her not eating much for the first two days. 

* She came from SD, and when we got home we were surprised to find that none of the stores here carry the brand the breeder was feeding! In fact, we could only find one brand of large breed puppy food. Frustrating.


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## Doc (Jan 13, 2009)

How much does she weigh? How much are you feeding her? What are you feeding her? How often are you feeding her? If you worm again, be sure to use a different wormer. What was she eating at the breeders?


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## savingsymmetry (Apr 23, 2009)

She weighs a little over 7lbs, we're feeding her as much as she wants (last night was 3 cups, this morning was 2) but not free-feeding, and we feed her 3 times a day. Her breeder was feeding Pedigree Healthy Start for Puppies, we're feeding Professional Large Breed Puppy. We were mixing small amounts of Pedigree moist puppy food (I don't have a packet handy to write the exact name, it comes in a yellow squeeze packet), but now she's fine with eating her food dry.

We took her to my mom's house and she treated her with Safe-Guard today. Not because we don't trust the vet, but because we're a little confused as to why the vet wanted to wait another week when her papers and shot records indicate that she reached 9 weeks on Monday. I've never dewormed at home before; we usually just have it taken care of when our dogs go in for shots.

Again, I'm not too worried right now, if only because she's already started to feel a little more solid.


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

9 weeks old and 7lbs??!!!! My pups are 12-16lbs at 8 weeks!!! Glad you dewormed her!!


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## savingsymmetry (Apr 23, 2009)

I'm a little skeptical about her age, honestly. On the paperwork that has her shots listed and the labels stuck on, the DOB is scratched off and rewritten. When we brought her home she still had "puppy legs" -- I don't know how else to describe it, but she was clumsy at walking for the first week, very much like what I'd expect from a younger dog. 

The breeder hasn't gotten back to us, but since she's passed exams from two different vets, I'm not panicking. Either she's younger than we think or she's going to be a small dog. If she was 5+ lbs underweight, she'd be so thin we'd be terrified. I'll have to take a few pictures of her standing to show what I mean -- she doesn't look thin at all, she just doesn't feel "solid" to me.

The other thing that makes me suspicious is that she needs to go outside 2-3 times per night, and the first two nights she needed 4+ trips. Definitely not what I expected and completely exhausting. At 9 weeks, I thought she'd only wake us once or twice a night. It's not the end of the world, and if this is the worst problem she gives us I'll be blissfully happy.









In fact, I'm just happy that (now that she's started gulping down food like crazy) she's starting to gain weight.


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## JerzeyGSD (Jun 26, 2008)

I got Jerzey at 6 weeks, which we all know is still too young, and she woke me up once, maybe twice, during the night that first week or two when I brought her home. I guess every puppy is different but 3-4x just seems like a lot but I am not as experienced as many other board members. On the other hand, it's GREAT that she's letting you know that she has to go out for potty!


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