# My 1 year old GSD weighs 53lbs. Is this normal?



## DL.GSD (Oct 22, 2013)

My husband and I (who are both first-time dog parents) rescued our 1 y.o. GSD about 5 weeks ago. We took him to the vet a few days later and had him weighed and he weighed 52 lbs. I haven't taken him to the vet recently, but he doesn't look like he has gained much weight. Based on that graph floating around, he should weigh closer to 75 lbs.

We feed him almost double the recommended amount, but all it seems to do is just increase his number of poops per day. It also seems that he hasn't seemed to "grow into his paws" yet as many many people have commented on how big he is going to be based on his paws.

Should I be concerned at all?


----------



## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

All GSD's are different, the chart is just a general guideline. My 15 month old male is only 65lbs, it does take them two to three years to reach their final weight sometimes. Do you have any photos and are you sure he's purebred? He is slightly on the small side but if he's not underweight then I really wouldn't worry too much about it. On a positive note this is a great size if you ever want to try agility or flyball.  The whole paw thing is pretty much a myth, what food is he eating?


----------



## DL.GSD (Oct 22, 2013)

We feed him food from The Honest Kitchen. Seems to be doing great on it...at least according to his poops. I am looking into supplementing his food with Salmon Oil and also a supplement for joint health since they are prone to hip dysplasia.

This is the only full body I have of him sitting up.


----------



## DL.GSD (Oct 22, 2013)

And yes, he is a purebred. He was owner surrendered and the rescue gave me his papers.


----------



## brembo (Jun 30, 2009)

He looks dandy to me, pretty broad chest for a 1 year old too. His nails HAVE to be murder on that snazzy floor.


----------



## DL.GSD (Oct 22, 2013)

brembo said:


> He looks dandy to me, pretty broad chest for a 1 year old too. His nails HAVE to be murder on that snazzy floor.


brembo - We keep his nails short. And we've come to terms with saying goodbye to our pristine hardwood. Had we known we were eventually getting a dog, we would've opted for a different material!


----------



## aurybq (Jul 29, 2013)

Its kind of hard to tell because he's sitting down but by the size of his head and chest it looks like he should be a big dog. in the photo his lower half looks a bit too small. But again its hard to tell with him sitting.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## DL.GSD (Oct 22, 2013)

aurybq said:


> Its kind of hard to tell because he's sitting down but by the size of his head and chest it looks like he should be a big dog. in the photo his lower half looks a bit too small. But again its hard to tell with him sitting.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


aurybq - You're right. His lower half is super small. His butt is very bony.

Just took this photo of him napping right now. His dog bed measures 36" as a point of reference


----------



## BellaLuna (Jan 27, 2013)

To be honest of he was mine I wouldn't worry too much he looks good, all gsd vary in size he looks to be a decent size..

Very handsome boy congratulations..

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy


----------



## aurybq (Jul 29, 2013)

Well he looks very cute, but remember german shepherds have a naturally thin waist. And like someone else said, every dog is different when it comes to growing and filling out.As long as he's happy and doesn't show any signs of being sick, I wouldnt worry about it too much for now because your obviously not starving him. just keep tracking his weight to see if he improves even a little and if nothing changes talk to your vet about EPI

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Harry and Lola (Oct 26, 2013)

DL.GSD said:


> he weighed 52 lbs. We feed him almost double the recommended amount, but all it seems to do is just increase his number of poops per day.


What a handsome boy you have there. Interesting that he was owner surrendered, I suppose you don't know the reason?

I am interested because you mention you feed him double the recommended amount of food and his poops are excessive. I have a 2 and 1/2 year old GSD male who has been diagnosed with EPI. EPI dogs mean their pancreas doesn't work so they eat and eat and eat and poop a lot and can not digest food - they basically starve to death at the same time. I was at one stage feeding him 3 x the recommended amount of food and he pooped like a cow, looked like a 12 month old and I could clearly feel his ribs. I finally came to the conclusion that something is not right and mentioned the above to my vet, we weighed him and he was 34kilos (74pounds), about 4kilos (9pounds) under weight . She immediately did a blood test and it came back positive with EPI. 

Within 4 weeks of treating him with 'Creon' capsule before each meal he gained 4kilos and I was only feeding him slightly more than recommended dose.

Here is a link with lots of information on EPI (and SIBO - he might have this as they usually do) which will help you decide whether he might be positive. EPI in Snapshots - EPI * Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

Please talk to your vet about the possibility of him having EPI and if you feel he may then ask your vet to take bloods for a test - they just take a syringe of blood and send to a lab for testing, we got the results back by 5 days.

It is easy to treat EPI dogs, there are lots of different replacement enzymes to use, I have had great success with Creon. 

Also, according to the GSD weight guideline we used in Australia, a 12 month GSD male ranges from 70 to 75 with the average being around 74/75, so based on this he is underweight.

Good luck and let us know how you go.


----------



## brembo (Jun 30, 2009)

Yeah, he's gonna be a big fella for sure. Slow growth is GOOD. Hammer away with the joint supplements, feed the best food the budget allows. Invest in a good bed or sleeping pallet for him. Bigger dogs can develop calluses where they tend to rest their bodies. Memory foam or tensioned canvas cots come to mind.

He sorta looks rotten. You spoling him?


----------



## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

Oh yup definitely purebred and very handsome! Are you sure he's a year? He kind of looks like a 7 or 8 month old to me but again hard to tell with pics sometimes. Like the other person said might have him checked for EPI but otherwise he looks normal and healthy.


----------



## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

His poops are excessive because he's being fed double the amount he needs and it has to go somewhere. That doesn't necessarily mean he has EPI.


----------



## DL.GSD (Oct 22, 2013)

Thanks for all your feedback. I really appreciate getting some insight into his development. I'm not too worried that he has EPI because he seems very happy, energetic and healthy but I will keep it in the back of my mind. Thanks again!


----------



## Harry and Lola (Oct 26, 2013)

DL.GSD said:


> Thanks for all your feedback. I really appreciate getting some insight into his development. I'm not too worried that he has EPI because he seems very happy, energetic and healthy but I will keep it in the back of my mind. Thanks again!


Yep, definitely keep the fact that he may have EPI in the back of your mind. I wish someone had of suggested to me to test my boy for EPI over a year ago (would of saved a lot of worry and fear on my GSDs part).


----------



## AngVi (Dec 22, 2012)

First I have to say he is a very handsome boy! He's lucky to have you, why anyone would give him up I don't understand. I think people come in all sizes -and shapes, so do pups.
He looks healthy and happy, nice coat on him. I wouldn't worry. I have two. My girl is 18 months and only weighs 56 pds, my boy is 13 months and weighs 90. Both are very active . I would like my girl to put on a few pds, I think she looks very thin- but my vet said she's perfect.
Enjoy your new Pup! He seems to have found a great home....




Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Oisin's Aoire (Jun 17, 2013)

He looks great to me..IMO he looks like he still has growing to do.

All my dogs are rescues and I will say this..the dog's age is a guestimate for the most part. When I adopted my boxer/hound mix they told me he was 10 months old and nearly full grown. He was 23" at the shoulder and 45 pounds and muscular ( not underweight) . He is now , 4 years later , 26 inches at the shoulder and 85 pounds . I ..eh..think they were wrong about his age , probably was more like 6 or 7 months old.

Then my Mastiff , they said she was 5 or 6 years old. If that was true she is the only 12 year old Mastiff I know that can still jump 3 feet in the air to catch sparrows. She is super agile and shows no signs of advanced age yet ( 12 would be pretty old for an English Mastiff) .

My GSD , they put him at 5 months old . I took him to my regular vet who said no way , not a day older than 3 months. He still had every one of his baby teeth and puppy breath. I felt the same , that he was younger than they projected. Now he is 8 1/2 months and has the exact build of your dog. His head , shoulders are doing the growing right now ..the rest will catch up. Your dog looks young to me too , like he has a bunch of filling out do do 

Way to go on a beautiful rescue! Many happy years with him


----------



## Oisin's Aoire (Jun 17, 2013)

Also wanted to add that on top of age maybe being off , sometimes the stress of rehoming/going foster to foster/kennel life can slow thriving and growth. I know plenty of people that had definite adult dogs that really blossomed , put on size and weight , once they were happy and secure with their place in the family .


----------



## DL.GSD (Oct 22, 2013)

I've never bought a dog from a breeder, but the rescue showed me some papers about his lineage so I am assuming his previous owner got him from a breeder. I need to dig them up, but I could have sworn that his birthdate was listed as 11/10/12. 

Is that something they normally list on their papers?


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Can you share his pedigree? Don't worry about his size, as long as he isn't skin and bones and has some muscle mass, he is fine. Muscle tone is important. His rear is thin due to a lack of muscle?


----------



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

DL.GSD said:


> I've never bought a dog from a breeder, but the rescue showed me some papers about his lineage so I am assuming his previous owner got him from a breeder. I need to dig them up, but I could have sworn that his birthdate was listed as 11/10/12.
> 
> Is that something they normally list on their papers?


Yes, his birthdate should be on his papers. There are usually other dates on the papers as well, the certificate date will be on there. The dates the sire and dam first hit the stud book should be on there as well if the pup is registered. So, it is probably a good idea to pull out the papers and see what they are are actually saying. 

He may be younger, he may have some sort of digestive issue like EPI. He may be growing and full of energy and just consuming way more food. If the stool is loose, then he may be passing through the calories without gaining as much from them. 

If you are feeling butt bones, then it may be a good idea to get him checked out at the vet and have a conversation about his weight and muscle tone in the back end. You might want to adjust or change his food, and you might want to build up his muscles in the back end through some sort of exercise. Also, you probably want to make sure you are not fighting something like EPI, because all the food changes and adjustments and exercise will not work if he needs enzymes.


----------

