# Put Tubby Puppy on a Diet?



## Kahrg4 (Dec 19, 2012)

Efa had her first vet visit since joining our family 2 days ago. She is 13 weeks old and weighed in at a whopping 32 pounds at the vet. Vet says sometimes puppies are just fat. I'm disinclined to agree. 

When she lays down there's a definitive roll that pouches out from under her tummy and curls up her side. I know puppies grow in strange ways so a tuck might not always be the best way to tell health but she is a saggy belly from stem to stern. No tuck whatsoever, or waist when viewed from above. She's got a good 2" to push through on either side to find ribs. It is also all soft, not hard like wormy puppy. Vet did clear her stool sample of worms and parasites.

All that to ask, what is the best way to help bring her back to a healthy weight to protect those young joints? Would you just let her grow into the weight? Up activity her level? I'm hesitant to decrease food because she is still very young. Right now I have her on 1/2 cup per meal. 

I've just never had a puppy this tubby before. :crazy: :help:


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

WOW!! Yes, get her on a diet! That is terrible for her growing joints. You should be able to feel her ribs. How about you post some pictures of her?

How many meals are you feeding? What are you feeding?


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## Kahrg4 (Dec 19, 2012)

I have her on adult kibble (same as I used with Cafall during his puppy days) with frozen raw beef femur bones but in 2-3" cross sections to gnaw on. She's getting two feedings a day of 1/2cup of kibble. There are of course training treats happening for name recognition and successful outdoor potty trips. 

I took both dogs out to a field today and they spent about an hour just running around silly. I let her set her own pace and she only took a few breaks for a couple minutes. It's about a 10 min walk to the field so we did some leash training on the way. I am worried about over exercising young joints, but especially with all the weight she's carry on them too. Am I being paranoid or is it really that fine of a line to tread?

Let me scroll through some pics I took today and see if I got any good full body shots. An all black dog is a new photography challenge.


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## Kahrg4 (Dec 19, 2012)

It's a bit hard to tell since she is laying on a black mat but you can see where her top line in her fur is and the roll starting to squish out behind her. 









Most of the shots I have of her from today are her crashing through tall grass and don't really show her body. I'll try to get a pic of her stacked tomorrow.


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## Zeusthegsd143 (Nov 24, 2014)

Your vet is dumb for saying that. Put your pup on a diet or you may have to deal with other issues later. ?


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## nezzz (Jan 20, 2013)

Some breeders tend to hand over their pups to new owners a little on the tubby side. Skinny puppies tend to worry new owners that the pups aren't eating well.

For me judging from the pic, I think she is still ok, just continue feeding her and monitor her condition. Might be a little on the fat side but as she gets older, she will lose her puppy fat.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Kahrg4 said:


> I have her on adult kibble (same as I used with Cafall during his puppy days) with frozen raw beef femur bones but in 2-3" cross sections to gnaw on. She's getting two feedings a day of 1/2cup of kibble. There are of course training treats happening for name recognition and successful outdoor potty trips.


You can start by using her meals as training treats. If you are using kibble then it's easy. that will cut out some extra calories.

Letting her run freely is not going to hurt her. She can self regulate and it's not a constant zoomie


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## Kahrg4 (Dec 19, 2012)

Thanks guys! She really is just the sweetest thing and I'd hate to do anything that would harm her, but also want to help her get well too.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

What was the breeder feeding? Were the sire and dam and siblings fat also? 
Could be that whatever she was feeding had too much carbohydrate in it.
Corn is loaded with sugar, that is why it is used to fatten pigs.

Where were they held, what sort of exercise were they getting?

I don't think it is healthy to reduce food for such a young pup.

What I would do is switch to a raw diet and increase activity level.


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

I would not decrease food either. That's less than I fed my dogs at that age. 

The roll on her back, that's not fat, that's extra skin. None am not being funny. It actually is xtra skin. She has to grow in to it. I can see the delineation of her ribs in that picture. 

Maybe increase activity. And wait fir the growth spurt. 

But 1 cup of kibble a day and a marrow bone? Don't cut back.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

gsdsar said:


> I would not decrease food either. That's less than I fed my dogs at that age.
> 
> 1 cup of kibble a day and a marrow bone? Don't cut back.



I hope it's not one cup a day!  
The pup is growing at an extraordinary rate, food is needed right now.

At that age, I was told to feed 3/4 cup four times a day.
Hans came to me eating Fromm adult.


Eta: I just read the post below.

Definitely fed more. 1 cup a day is not adequate for a GSD.


Kahrg4 said:


> I have her on adult kibble (same as I used with Cafall during his puppy days) with frozen raw beef femur bones but in 2-3" cross sections to gnaw on. She's getting two feedings a day of 1/2cup of kibble. There are of course training treats happening for name recognition and successful outdoor potty trips..


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## Kahrg4 (Dec 19, 2012)

I have no idea what the breeder was feeding. I didn't get her from the breeder. I got her from the woman who adopted her and then didn't want her. At that house they had a GIANT bowl of food set out for her to free feed off of. Frankly I don't think she was getting any exercise. They had her trapped in the kitchen with a piece of plywood and hadn't bothered to clean up her eliminations. 

While I would love to switch to a raw diet I don't have the freezer space to make it economical for daily meals. I have had Cafall on raw on the weekends though and that's what I plan to do with her. I'm sure she'd love it every day though. She thinks the marrow bones are the best thing ever. Then again they probably are the best she's had yet. 

I will definitely up her food. Thanks for the heads up there! I took her for a .8 mile walk this morning. She did great, just bopped along next to me. She came back and started a play session with Cafall so I'm inclined to think I didn't overdo it with her. Would you guys consider that too far to walk a 13 week old?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

how long have you had her? It sounds like she might be heavy from the previous person and not what you are feeding?

You could do a commercial raw. It didn't cost me that much to feed Bravo Balance Chicken. I would buy the 5# chubs. I think it lasted about a week so roughly $50/mth.


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## Kahrg4 (Dec 19, 2012)

I've only just gotten her. I adopted her Thursday evening.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Feed her the amount a growing puppy should have then. She was probably overfed and under exercised at her previous home. She'll grow out of it with the proper amounts of food and exercise. No reason to put her on a "diet".


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Jax08 said:


> Feed her the amount a growing puppy should have then. She was probably overfed and under exercised at her previous home. She'll grow out of it with the proper amounts of food and exercise. No reason to put her on a "diet".


:thumbup: Feeding her the amount she should be eating for a puppy her age basically _is_ putting her on a diet compared to how much she was probably getting at her former home, so I agree that there's no need to cut back any further.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Exactly what I was thinking, Deb.


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## Kahrg4 (Dec 19, 2012)

Awesome! Thanks guys. Efa will be happy to have bigger portions I'm sure.


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