# German Shepherd fill out



## Hemi348 (Oct 9, 2008)

Hey ya'll, im new to these forums and have been reading around alittle bit and now I have a question for you guys.

I have a beautiful female german shepherd of 9 months, she is my first and will not be my last I am sure. I fell in love with this breed!

Anyways I have been looking at some growth and weight charts from these forums and I am now curious. From what I have been told the breed tends to not fill out in width untill two years of age. Which has got me wondering why the max weight is listed twelve months of age?


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

i'm not sure, but could it be that "filling out" means the chest dropping and the ribs expanding, not necessarily accompanied by weight gain? just a thought not sure if it's accurate.

forgot to say welcome to the board!


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: Hemi348Which has got me wondering why the max weight is listed twelve months of age?


i don't understand what this means, but to answer your question in a very general sense - with german shepherds it depends alot on the lines, then sex, spaying/neutering, then things like diet & activities (but seriously, its as broad as asking when a human teenager fills out - everyone is different)

as the person above me said "filling out" may or may not be directly connected to the dogs actual weight - i'm guessing it could be an issue of redistribution









in my past experience females tend to fill out quite a while sooner than males... however my girl was very "leggy" until nearly 3 when her chest and head finally broadened. my male is almost 2 and in my opinion isnt even close to being filled out. his height is at the lower end for a male, but his weight is mid range for an adult female (25" 65lbs)... his chest has not yet dropped and his overall appearance doesnt look masculine to me.

gia was spayed around 6 or 7 months. tilden was neutered just under 10 months.

the majority of dogs are filled out by two tho. with minimal weight gain (5lbs maybe) after that.


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## mkennels (Feb 12, 2008)

I have a male that will be 2 in dec and he is no where close to filling out, he is good size, tall and leggy but his chest and rest of body hasn't caught up, my other male will be 4 on the 15th and he finally filled out, he isn't no heavier but just broader


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## momtoduke (Sep 29, 2008)

i dont have any good advise for you on this matter, but i just wanted to wish you luck with it! by what i read on my posts and others food has alot to do with a number of things. 

Maybe try switching there food.

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## DSudd (Sep 22, 2006)

Rocky will be 3 at the end of the month. We are thinking he has finally filled out. Weight wise he hasnt changed much in the past 2 years. He weighs in between 85 and 90 lbs. 

His appearance has changed though. I will have to see if I can find pictures. Either way we are hoping he is finally finished growing/filling out. To us he just looks huge, so I can even imagine what strangers think LOL


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Kacie is three and her neck/chest area is finally filled out. She is long coat and heavy boned, but not fat. She was weighed last weekend and was 78# and about 25".


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## littledmc17 (Apr 9, 2008)

Brady didn't fully fill out until he was about 3.
Height wise he was done around a year.


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## Foo Lyn Roo (May 16, 2007)

Echo stopped growing at 28.5 inches right around 1 year old.
His weight has fluctuated a bit he always tended to be a little chubs but since getting him a sissy to play with he's lean and mean.
He definitely is getting wider at the chest. he's only about a year and half.
I dont know one minute i look at him and he looks huge the next he looks long legged and skinny. I think they aren't out of their growing etc until at least 2.5 years. but height after a year.

Oh he's about 93lbs now, vet and trainer said great weight for him. at one point he had been up to as heavy as 103


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## VectorSketcher (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree with Camerafodder, depends on different variables. But my 3 yr old male filled out around 2 years, meaning his chest broadened, and he got a bit bulkier, when he was almost a year he still looked very teenager like and only weighed around 90 lbs if that, when he hit two he filled out and now weighs in at 125 lbs, he is very active though so he has a lot of muscle built on.


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

My female didn't fill out until she was about 4 1/2- she's a strange case. Morgan was long, leggy and very thin - thin to the point that people used to ask me 'what's wrong with her?'. 

I do think part of it is activity level. WE had a male who died when she was 4, they were always running, wrestling and playing tag. After he was gone, she got a bit fat for a few years. Now that we have a puppy, she's thin again but still looks mature with her chest depth.


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## Hemi348 (Oct 9, 2008)

Oh ok, the chest dropping and broadening makes complete sense now that I have thought about it. I always heard that they were big chested dogs but had no idea that the chest actually went into its own little growth spurt.

Thank you so much for your fast and friendly responses!


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## momtoduke (Sep 29, 2008)

I guess that explains alot for me considering duke is the same as most has posted here. his chest is big, but around the back where it sinks in, hes skinny looking from the back to the middle of the stomach. i am in the process of changing foods, and i hope that will help him with this problem. He is a year now so if this is true then he still may have a couple years before he fills out completly!


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