# Super skinny puppy?



## milkmoney11 (Feb 11, 2010)

Cash is 14 weeks old and every time I take him for a walk, every person says "Wow! He's so skinny!! You need to feed him more!" 

I thought the same thing so I asked my vet at my last visit and she said to maybe feed him about a 1/2 cup more than suggested on the back of the food bag, but no more. She felt he was thin, but he weighed about right for his breed, and that he would fill out eventually. 

He's 35 pounds at 14 weeks, which is right about where he should be. He's a large puppy in terms of structure, he's just really thin. 

I don't have any pics from above but you know the chart they have in all vet's offices about what is overweight/underweight? He looks like the "severely underweight" one. Ha...

He's got a good appetite but not one where he is overly hungry. Sometimes he eats all his food in one sitting ( I feed twice a day) and sometimes it will take an hour before all the food is gone. 

All his stool exams were perfect and he is in great health. Anyone have any idea why he still looks so skinny? Should I be feeding him more?

I'd take pics and send them but I'm off work for 2 weeks because I had my tonsils removed and my camera is in my classroom at school. Thanks!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

What are you feeding?
I would up his food if you feel all the ribs, spine and hips. He may be going thru a big growth spurt(this age they seem to) and need a bit more. Add in a raw egg, alternate some yogurt every meal. If he starts feeling plump, back off. I wouldn't go by amounts so much, but how the pup actually feels as they are constantly growing and may need more during the spurts.


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

It's healthier for them to be lean. Around 3-4 months, puppies seem to go through some pretty awkward phases. If he's not hungry then his body isn't telling him that he needs more. Our girl wasn't really into eating as a puppy and was pretty skinny, but she grew out of it and is a perfectly healthy weight as an adult. 

I think often people just want to see roly poly puppies because that's how puppies look in their heads.


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## milkmoney11 (Feb 11, 2010)

onyx'girl said:


> What are you feeding?


Wellness Super5 Large Breed Puppy. So with the egg or yogurt I'm just adding some extra protein?


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## cshepherd9 (Feb 11, 2010)

My pup has always been real thin. I also asked my vet but he was not concerned and said some Shepherds tend to be on the slim side when they are young. Willow is 8 months old and JUST topped the 50 lb plateau. I read a lot on here about pups months younger than her that weigh more than her now and wonder, but she is just naturally slim. Her ribs don't show but I can feel them. I don't want to overfeed her and make her overweight. So I feed a good quality food and feed the quantity listed on the bag. She is fine with that.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Better lean than fat. And since like 75% of dogs in the USA are FAT, people don't tend to know what a healthy and fit dog/puppy is supposed to look like.

That said, a picture is worth a thousand words! One from the top looking down (so like you are standing straddled over him. The other photo from the side, shoulders to base of tail. Put them up here so we can see.


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## mrezkill (Apr 9, 2010)

ok this isn't my post, but I would like an opinion as to whether Tater is too skinny. He's 5 months, 32lbs and I feel like he might be too thin as well:

















I feed him 3 cups a day (1.5 cups twice a day) of Innova LB puppy.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Tater looks like a normal gangly pup! His ribs aren't showing in the pics, so no, not thin. If he seems to feel too thin during a growing stage up the food a bit.


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## mrezkill (Apr 9, 2010)

onyx'girl said:


> Tater looks like a normal gangly pup! His ribs aren't showing in the pics, so no, not thin. If he seems to feel too thin during a growing stage up the food a bit.


I'll try, but he gets soft stools if we up it even a little. The thing is, he always seems to be SO hungry lol.


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## Holmeshx2 (Apr 25, 2010)

lol tater looks fine to me Jane put it perfect gangly pup. GSDs are so funny to watch grow because almost instantly they turn into all legs and just look like these starvin african dogs you see in wildlife shows but it's all how they grow lol. 

Sounds like you are feeding him a decent amount most recommend between 3 and 4 cups but if he doesn't do well on more I wouldn't force it. Quite honestly I have yet to meet a pup that doesn't act like you are starving him even if he is roley poley lol. Maybe if you feel like you need to up it substitute with some good protein sources like give him some chicken or things like that to give some extra nutrients durin growth spurts and shouldnt be too much on his belly either.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

I also think he looks ok BUT he's still growing and I wouldn't want him any thinner.... 

You may want to think of increasing his food to 4 cups a day (2 in the am and 2 in the pm) for awhile and see how his growing body take that. You can always cut back in a month or so.


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## DUL958 (Mar 10, 2010)

Looks fine to me too. He's beautiful!!


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## valreegrl (Nov 11, 2009)

In my experience, this is normal. Pups normally thin out as they grow tall then fill out. 
Timber looked just like your pup at that age. Thin/all legs/big ears  And at 11 months he looks like that again. At each growth spurt he thins out. I increase his food slightly during these times at which point he fills out. 
I will post a pic later today of him now. Overhead he is built just like your pup at the moment.


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## kensbuns1 (May 19, 2010)

Tater reminds me of how Chewey looked at that age!! Boy they grow fast. At 2 chewey weighted in at a whopping 91 pounds. Tater looks fine to me!! Beautiful too!


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## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

Everyone told me before Zeva was too thin. She was very skinny. Last week she started to fill out, this week I had to loosen her collar. I"m gonna take her to get weighed today. She was 53 lbs about a week and a half ago... I'm excited to see what she is now. She's not eating anymore than before, but I think it's just not going to growing UP anymore.. she's growing out. 

It's to the point, that if her bone's don't grow anymore, I wouldn't want to to put any more on for now, or she'll start to get heavy. 

She's 7 1/2 mos old and I'm not sure if it's the age or because we had her spayed almost a month ago. Maybe both. I swear, I NEVER thought she'd fill out.. she was so thin!


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## mrezkill (Apr 9, 2010)

MaggieRoseLee said:


> I also think he looks ok BUT he's still growing and I wouldn't want him any thinner....
> 
> You may want to think of increasing his food to 4 cups a day (2 in the am and 2 in the pm) for awhile and see how his growing body take that. You can always cut back in a month or so.


Would you recommend I just give him the 2 cups each feeding or slowly increase it?


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## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

Zeva gets about 2 cups a feed 2 x a day. Sometimes she eats it all... sometimes she doesn't. She's now 55lbs. She put on 2lbs in a week and a half. Hasn't done that since she was a very young pup


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## JudynRich (Apr 16, 2010)

I agree he is OK. Lean is much better. Our Bella was severely under weight when we found her on the freeway offramp. She was 19 pounds @ about 4 months. We have her up to 45 pounds at 8 months. She looks very lean, and we feed her 3 cups of Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy PLUS 1 cup of homemade dog food. She eats TWICE what our 70 pound Mia eats! Someone commented yesterday on our walk on how thin she is...she just has a hollow leg!


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

mrezkill said:


> Would you recommend I just give him the 2 cups each feeding or slowly increase it?


I'd just up it right away and see how he does, it's just 1/2 cup more at each meal (make sure to feed him twice a day). 

The pups grow in spurts and they sometimes need more and sometimes less. I also use TONS of treats when training pups so I need to keep mental track of that during the week. All my GSD pups have had times they were up to 4 cups of food a day...


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## ruger (May 25, 2010)

Hello!
Not meaning to butt in being new to the forum and all.
This is my first post here, I recently started fostering a German Shepherd mix pup so am trying to do some research on sizes etc. I came across your pic of Tater and IMO he looks like a Belgian Malinois more so than a GSD. 















http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ngP-98DmL...AkY/tpCH5w3MPm4/s400/belgian_malinois_h03.jpg

The Malinois is a smaller boned dog than that GSD so could be that he looks thinner when comparing to a GSD. Sweet looking dog btw. 
I have had a Malinois for the past 10 years and he's been the best dog I could ask for.


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## bianca (Mar 28, 2010)

FuryanGoddess said:


> Everyone told me before Zeva was too thin. She was very skinny. Last week she started to fill out, this week I had to loosen her collar. I"m gonna take her to get weighed today. She was 53 lbs about a week and a half ago... I'm excited to see what she is now. She's not eating anymore than before, but I think it's just not going to growing UP anymore.. she's growing out.
> 
> It's to the point, that if her bone's don't grow anymore, I wouldn't want to to put any more on for now, or she'll start to get heavy.
> 
> She's 7 1/2 mos old and I'm not sure if it's the age or because we had her spayed almost a month ago. Maybe both. I swear, I NEVER thought she'd fill out.. she was so thin!


This is exactly what has happened to Molly since I got her spayed....she was a little too lean before and in the last month since spaying she has gone the other way  I had not increased her food and her exercise is about the same so am putting it down to that too. Now I am cutting back her food a little bit.


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## mrezkill (Apr 9, 2010)

ruger said:


> Hello!
> Not meaning to butt in being new to the forum and all.
> This is my first post here, I recently started fostering a German Shepherd mix pup so am trying to do some research on sizes etc. I came across your pic of Tater and IMO he looks like a Belgian Malinois more so than a GSD.
> 
> ...


He's mixed with a border collie as well, but I might look into this Malinois breed too. Thanks!


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