# Weight for puppy



## Mani

My GSD male puppy is 7 weeks and weighs 3.5 kgs. Is that the ideal weight??
I feed him 6 times in a day with the royal canin starter food(approx 40g mixed in milk). He is always hungry and literally jumps onto the food when i give him food. Is the food sufficient or should i feed him more. Is it normal that puppies are all the time hungry and ready to eat anything they see?


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## qbchottu

You do not need to feed him 6 times a day. Many GSD pups have high food drive - meaning they will eat as much as you give them. Go by how the pup looks rather than if he behaves hungry. 

Stop mixing his food with milk. Dogs cannot metabolize cow's milk and pups do not need milk at 7 weeks.They are weaned by then to solid food and can exist just fine on solid food only. If you insist on giving him milk, give him goat's milk - but again, it is not necessary for a pup of this age. 

Give him 1/2 cup to 1 cup of food three times a day. After 8 weeks, give him 1cup of food twice a day. Mix it with water, let it soak for 15minutes and feed him. If you want to add any extras, you can add a raw egg for one meal, a spoon or two of salmon oil, or add some ground meat with no bone to one meal. 

Large breed puppies need slow sustained growth for optimal health. Do not overfeed your puppy. There is no "ideal" weight for a puppy because each puppy is different. 

Make sure your puppy is wormed and free of parasites. Parasitic infections and worms can cause excess hunger or thirst. Good luck to you.


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## Harry and Lola

Mani said:


> My GSD male puppy is 7 weeks and weighs 3.5 kgs. Is that the ideal weight??
> I feed him 6 times in a day with the royal canin starter food(approx 40g mixed in milk). He is always hungry and literally jumps onto the food when i give him food. Is the food sufficient or should i feed him more. Is it normal that puppies are all the time hungry and ready to eat anything they see?


3.5kgs for 7 weeks is a little underweight, however don't worry, it is best to grow your puppy slowly and steady, as long as you are feeding the required amount of food needed and he is healthy and slowly gaining weight. 

Agree 6 times a day is too much, if it were me I would reduce feeds down to 4 and then to 3, going to 2 or 1 as an adult. My previous dogs were raised on Royal Canin puppy, I switched them to adult at around 4 months. It is not necessary to give milk, however I am a firm believer in soaking the kibble in water for 20 to 30 minutes (helps with digestion) If you want to add extras like milk then choose goats milk. You can also start to introduce other foods.

If you are feeding 6 x 40g a day, that equals 240g. I have checked the Royal Canin website for feeding guides, and assuming your boy will be an average 38kg as an adult, then you should be feeding 293g a day for an 8 week old and then 378g for 3 month old, so definitely increase the food but reduce the times you are giving it, maybe give 4 x 73g.

GSD puppies and adults do come in varying sizes, however unless you are experienced in knowing whether your GSD is too thin or too chunky, it helps to have a guideline of good weights. I am experienced with GSD appropriate weights just by looking and feeling them, however, I missed my males slow weight decrease (due to EPI).

Here is a *guideline* we use in Australia, the following weights are in kilos, to convert to pounds multiply by 2.2, eg 21kilo x 2.2 = 46pounds

*German Shepherd Weight for Age Growth Chart* 
1 month – male range 2.5-4, average 3.5 - female range 2- 3.5, average 3
2 month – male range 6- 9, average 7 – female range 5- 7.5, average 6.5
3 month - male range 10-14, average 12 – female range 8- 12, average 10
4 month – male range 16-18, average 17 – female range 13-16, average 15
5 month – male range 18-22, average 21 – female range 16-20, average 18
6 month – male range 22-26, average 24 – female range 20-22, average 21
7 month – male range 26-28, average 27 – female range 22-24, average 23
8 month – male range 28-30, average 29 – female range 24-26, average 25
9 month – male range 29-32, average 31 – female range 25-27, average 26
10 month – male range 30-33, average 32 – female range 26-28, average 27
11 month – male range 30-34, average 33 – female range 27-29, average 28
12 month – male range 32-34, average 34 – female range 27-29, average 28
18 month – male range 32-36, average 36 – female range 27-30, average 28
24 month – male range 32-38, average 37 – female range 28-30, average 29
36 month – male range 36-40, average 38 – female range 28-32, average 30

Once you increase your daily amount according to age, and he is still not putting on weight, let us know or talk to your vet.


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## MaggieRoseLee

Harry_And_Lola gave a good rundown and reminder that all that you see will be GUIDELINES cause each pup is different. Another good site to look at is --> http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/development-socialization/85894-pup-growth-log-chart.html

Welcome to the forum!


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## Sp00ks

I have a question pertaining to the OP question. 

If a pup isn't getting the nutrients he/she requires, could this manifest itself in the behavior the OP is seeing? ex. Maybe needing more protein or even less protein. 

I'm not familiar with Royal Canin, I do know it's rather expensive if memory serves and I am not trying to start a food debate


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## qbchottu

OP is from India and high quality kibble options are limited in India. RC is one of the better dry food you find in India. 
In the grand scheme of things, it is not a _great_ food, but one must make do with what he has!

I would rather feed raw in this case, but RC is fine


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## boomrang77

My male GSD puppy is 45 days old. He weighs 2.35 Kgs. I am feeding him on Royal Canin Mini Starter about 4-5 times a day( 50 gms each) However after deworming he has a stomach upset and refuses to eat the dog food. Its been almost 3 days now, he eats only curd, cottage cheese and some rice. He also passes loose stool in between. Another strange behavior observed since last 2 days is that he tries to lick his poo. Is this normal, how many days till he recovers his appetite. The vet has not prescribed any medications. She also insists that the first vaccination will be done only after he starts eating normally. Pls advice on this.


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