# Worried about puppys weight



## Isabelle (Mar 5, 2010)

Ive got a puppy who is 16wks old and ive just weighed him on the wii fit and hes only 6kgs, i knew he was really tiny for his age but 6kgs sounds worrying. Hes booked in to the vets tomorrow but just wanted to hear your opinions. Hes very active and seems healthy in every way just small. His breeder says her dogs start off small but grow for longer and that he will end up being a very large dog. We saw mum and dad and they were pretty big, strong looking dogs. He was one of a litter or 10 and ive seen one of his brothers and two sisters and they were all the same size. He has a pretty good pedigree from what i can tell. Is this something to worry about? The breeder really doesnt seem worried and just says hes will shoot up soon enough. What do you think?


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

If he's otherwise healthy and eating I wouldn't worry about it. A litter of 10 is a lot of puppies!


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## Isabelle (Mar 5, 2010)

Really? Ive been so worried he looks so small but his breeder has been great and everything seems to have been done right as in- breeding restrictions only to be lifted if proof of good results from health testing (not that i am considering breeding), his parents have excellent hip scores and she said she wants to hear any worries i have etc etc so i really have no reason to believe her....just that ive never seen a 4 month old gsd pup sooooo small!!


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

At a conversion rate of 1 kg to 2.2 lbs, that puts your pup at around 13 lbs which is WAY small for that age. I would be worried too.

Akira, who is a 75 lb female, was 11 lbs at 7 wks.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

What is your vet saying? What are you feeding your pup? Slow steady growth is best, but a 16 week old male pup that is only 13# does sound very odd.
Are the leg/joints normal looking? I wonder if your pup was pushed out of the way and the breeder didn't give him any alone time to nurse.


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

That does sound a bit light. I would ask the vet for a full check out and then if everything is fine try changing food or adding supplements. He may not have had the full benefit of mom's milk if there were that many pups and if the breeder did not supplement or make sure he had alone time with the mother then he could have missed out on important nutrition.


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## Isabelle (Mar 5, 2010)

He looks healthy to me, his legs are ok and hes playing with my labrador lots and is toiletting well. He eats like a pig and i have already changed him onto the food i use for my lab which is Arden Grange. You can see a couple of ribs but only just but i wouldnt say he looks real skinny if you see what i mean, he looks in proportion because hes short too. He just doesnt look his age- he doesnt look like a really skinny 16 week old if you get what i mean. As i said he hasnt been to the vets yet as i only picked him up Tues- hes booked in tomorrow. Im feeding him 4 times a day at the moment.


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## Isabelle (Mar 5, 2010)

Oh and the other 3 pups i saw from the same litter were all the same size- in fact they were all long haired and when i put my hands on them they felt a bit boneyer than him and i dont think my boy wouldve been the one to have been puched out as he is very outgoing and pushy, the others were quieter when i saw them. Its puzzling!!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Make sure they check for worms and not sure what you have to vaccinate for where you live, but vaccinations are very hard on a puppy's system, watch for any symptoms afterwards(they can show up even after a couple of weeks)
Did you just get him from the breeder? And were there any vet records?


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## Isabelle (Mar 5, 2010)

Yes we got him from a breeder and she wormed him that morning. I wouldnt really say hes that skinny just small overall. I havent seen any records of him being to a vet but i have 7 days to take him to the vet and if the vet says something wrong i can take him back and get my money back. This is what i mean though she seems to be genuine and has given me a contract that we have both signed to say that she will take him back within 7 days if we are worried about anything. She doesnt seem worried at all, just says her lines start off very small and grow very slowly but will reach a good size.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

A 16 week old should have had a couple rounds of vaccinations(though not sure what is recommended where you live) and been wormed a few times. If you notice your pup throwing up undigested kibble, there may be a genetic problem PRAA or MegaE, many pups that have this grow slower than their littermates.


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## Isabelle (Mar 5, 2010)

Here he is so you can see......


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## Isabelle (Mar 5, 2010)

He hasnt been being sick (only when in car!) and no runny bums!! Just literally smaller size!!


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Isabelle said:


> Yes we got him from a breeder and she wormed him that morning. I wouldnt really say hes that skinny just small overall. I havent seen any records of him being to a vet but i have 7 days to take him to the vet and if the vet says something wrong i can take him back and get my money back. This is what i mean though she seems to be genuine and has given me a contract that we have both signed to say that she will take him back within 7 days if we are worried about anything. She doesnt seem worried at all, just says her lines start off very small and grow very slowly but will reach a good size.


I had a small one once that was the runt of the litter. He grew to 32" and well over 100 pounds of solid muscle.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

He just doesn't look 16 wks to me. More like..10. How odd.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

His puppy coat will have been changing to an adult one at 16 weeks, can't tell from the pics~ he is adorable


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

I was going to say, are you sure he is 16 weeks?


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## Isabelle (Mar 5, 2010)

Yea he does look much younger doesnt he? When i first enquired about him i was told they were coming up to 12 wks old so when i went to pick him i thought he was 12wks but when i got home and saw his papers his dob makes him 16wks so i asked her if it was a misprint but she said no and that hes about 14wks. But i worked it out as 16wks on my calandar and then she said oh yes you are right i worked it out off the top of my head he is 16wks. I said hes very small for that age and she said hes just slight and that he will grow to be a big dog eventually. I dont know, theres no reason to lie that hes older is there especially as hes looking smaller. Like i said everything else is good. I dont care about anything other than him being ok and healthy. Hes a lovely personality and very loving. Could it just be that she wasnt feeding them enough food? They all were like him.


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## Isabelle (Mar 5, 2010)

Oh and his coat although very tight still feels quite woolly so i guess thats still his puppy coat. Would bad nutrition hold that back aswell as his size though? I dont know its confusing but i looooove him!!!!


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

How are his stools? Nice and solid?

And yes, sounds and looks like his puppy coat still.


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## Isabelle (Mar 5, 2010)

Yes his stools are solid and that even after me changing him straight over to the new food (only did that because the food he was on really wasnt very good)


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## zuma (Dec 31, 2010)

Your pup looks healthy in the pictures. My previous GSD, Wilt, was 14 weeks old when we got him and weighed in at 15 lbs at his first vet visit. Wilt was the last pup from his litter and looked terribly scrawny when we got him. The breeder had 9 week old pups from a different litter that were bigger than he was and had much nicer looking coats.We picked Wilt because I wanted a male and Wilt had alot of attitude and abounce to his step that belied the shagginess. Wilt was much scruffier than your pup but he became a lean and fit 90 lbs at adulthood.
My current GSD, Opie, is 15 weeks old and probably 35 pounds or so. He looks much leaner than your dog but he's a lot longer legged. If your pup checks out at the vet, he'll probably be fine.

Mike

Opie at 15 weeks


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## Isabelle (Mar 5, 2010)

Oh Opie is GORGEOUS :wub::wub::wub:


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## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

Diabla is a small, but within standard, female now at 24,5 kg. She was 6 kgs at 2 months old and by 16 weeks she was 13 kg. Your pup looks small. but 6 kgs seem a bit too light, even for him. Are you sure it is the correct weight?

My male at 16 weeks was 18 kg.

If I had seen a picture of your pup, with no further information, I'd have said 10 weeks too, but it also looks like the black is going up on her legs just like in Diabla pictures at 16 w/o


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