# 16 weeks & 28 lb Male - Concerned?



## bluesasha (Jan 4, 2017)

Hi all,

I have a 16 week old male GSD, and he was weighed last Friday and he is 28.6 lbs. I am a bit concerned considering that he seems small for his age and sex, and the fact that he is 14 lbs less than what my female GSD was at his age. At first he was growing at a normal rate, but then seemed to stop growing as quickly at around the 3 month mark. The vet didn't seem too concerned, but he did ask how often he was eating in a day.

His parents are both 80 lbs & 100 lbs, so him being this small at this age worries me. He was not the runt, and was actually the second largest in his litter. 

I am currently feeding him Victor at 2 1/2 cups a day, with extra supplemental foods (pumpkin puree, salmon oil, rice, small amounts of raw meat/eggs). I am now wondering if I made the mistake of not giving him puppy food as I did with my female (she was switched out at 4 1/2 months to Victor), so I am going to switch him to Fromm's large breed puppy food (but I'm wondering also if I am 'too late' now by doing this).

He recently overcame a case of Giardia, so I am wondering if that played a part in it.

What do you guys think? Should I be worried?


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## bluesasha (Jan 4, 2017)

Here is a picture for reference.


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## IronhideKennels (Jul 20, 2016)

I would not be worried unless he was otherwise low weight, lethargic etc. In the picture, he looks to be a good weight.

As long as he is maintaining a slow, steady growth, he is growing at his own pace. Having large parents does not necessarily dictate his size. I have a female who is 58 lbs and male who is 75/80 lbs - the male I kept back from their litter is 97 lbs working weight. It goes both ways, larger parents will still throw dogs in the mid-range or lower end of the standard.

He may just be taking his time growing and may reach a large adult size later on. The male mentioned above was 75/80 lbs at 12 months old - he didn't reach his adult weight until almost 3 years old. Keep him lean and keep him on a good diet. I would nix the pumpkin and the rice unless you are using them to control loose stools (possibly still recovering from Giardia??). But they are empty calories, so I don't use them unless I have to  I usually use slippery elm for loose stools, if he is still experiencing this it is something you can try.


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## Armistice (Oct 12, 2017)

I'm glad this thread is around so I don't have to make my own

My female pup is 13wks and is 19#... 10# under the target weight. Her parents are on the higher side of the standard for both weight and height 65 f/ 75 m and 25" f/ 26" m. I assume she should be close in size to the mom

Same as OP, but we are still battling Giardia. Took in a stool sample yesterday and call this morning said she still has it. She also had Coccidia, which I won't know about for another 1-2wks when I take her back for reassessment

Otherwise, we are feeding her 2ce a day. She has kibble out to free range on. Kibble is Alpha (about 1 cup) and we do 1/3 can of Pedigree puppy. We also give her 1 vitamin wafer NuVet Plus in her dinner every night (per the directions)

Her weight and body proportions look fine, so maybe she's just a slow grower and will get some big growth spurts


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