# Is my puppy having weak hips.. or is it just thin



## Shridhar (Jul 4, 2018)

Winter is 50 days old male and weighs 6 kg . But I feel his waist and hips are too thin and weak.what is your opinion. Another thing I am curious is about his coat colour. His sibling is light Sable. I wanted to know if winter will also be Sable or some other colour. I bought it from some backyard breeder. Not professional one so I don't know his pedigree.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

He does seem a bit skinny for such a young pup. I think I am seeing his hip bones? 

How much is he eating? 3 times a day? What are you feeding him?

He won't be a sable and maybe even will have a long coat? Bi-color or black and tan? They can change alot the first year with the black moving up the legs and more tan showing up (or not...).

What did his parents look like?


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## Katsugsd (Jul 7, 2018)

Definitely won't be sable. He looks like he'll be a black and tan. 


Those do look like hip bones. I would give him a bit more to eat - echoing MaggieRoseLee on asking how much does he eat now?


I don't think he has weak hips, but he may be wobbly for a while...he's a baby so I expect him to be a little uncoordinated.


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## BlitzTheGSD (Aug 30, 2018)

He looks black and tan but can possibly grow into a liver color it looks like, or that may just be the lighting. I feed my 13 week old Victor Nutra Pro 3 times a day (2.5 cups) and he is also pretty skinny so I keep upping the daily amount (just upped to 3 cups yesterday). At this point I think i would rather overfeed a little then underfeed. I do feed him all his meals by hand during training sessions so hes always working for something and keeps the food drive up. 



Yours is under 2 months old so maybe wasnt weened properly? But he actually doesnt look too skinny. cant see the ribs in any pics, just doesnt have that puppy fat. 



What kind of food do you feed and how much per day?


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## Shridhar (Jul 4, 2018)

MaggieRoseLee said:


> He does seem a bit skinny for such a young pup. I think I am seeing his hip bones?
> 
> How much is he eating? 3 times a day? What are you feeding him?
> 
> ...


He is eating Royal Canin Puppy Starter 180gm every day. I feed him 3 times a day. I also feed him little rice with yoghurt (100gm).
One of his parent is Sable and I don't know about other. His sibling is growing fast and a Sable. In sunlight I can see lot of red shade in his coat hairs.


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## Findlay (Jan 8, 2015)

He’s a great looking dog. 
His legs look thick and sturdy. 

What did the vet have to say about his size/weight?


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## Shridhar (Jul 4, 2018)

Findlay said:


> He’s a great looking dog.
> His legs look thick and sturdy.
> 
> What did the vet have to say about his size/weight?


I haven't consulted vet yet. Today winter's height at withers was 37.5 cm and weighed 7.2 kg at early morning before having his food.


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## WIBackpacker (Jan 9, 2014)

An extra meal or increased portion would probably be good. 

He is going to have a beautiful mask pattern on his face.  

If you can let Winter run (off leash, free playing, at his own pace) on some big dirt piles or other soft surfaces with inclines, and swim if he enjoys it, that will help his paws, pasterns and legs develop and strengthen as he grows.


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## Shridhar (Jul 4, 2018)

WIBackpacker said:


> An extra meal or increased portion would probably be good.
> 
> He is going to have a beautiful mask pattern on his face. /forum/images/smilies/smile.gif
> 
> If you can let Winter run (off leash, free playing, at his own pace) on some big dirt piles or other soft surfaces with inclines, and swim if he enjoys it, that will help his paws, pasterns and legs develop and strengthen as he grows.


Thanks for the suggestion. This is his latest pic. I feel he is having healthy legs but weak hips. Sometimes he slips and wobbles while attempting to stand up, especially on surface made of vitrified tiles. May be that's due to slippery surface and his age factor. More than his skinny appearance I m worried about unhealthy hips.


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## Shridhar (Jul 4, 2018)

Latest Pics


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## dojoson41 (Oct 14, 2018)

*weak hips*

Hi. What does your vet say or recommend?


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## Shridhar (Jul 4, 2018)

dojoson41 said:


> Hi. What does your vet say or recommend?


The place I live in have no good veterinary services specialising in pets. So it's meaningless to meet vet here


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## kaydub_u (May 14, 2018)

Shridhar said:


> The place I live in have no good veterinary services specialising in pets. So it's meaningless to meet vet here


Are you not bringing your puppy to a vet at all? Has it been to a vet or are you planning on bringing your pup to a vet in the near future?


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## Shridhar (Jul 4, 2018)

kaydub_u said:


> Shridhar said:
> 
> 
> > The place I live in have no good veterinary services specialising in pets. So it's meaningless to meet vet here
> ...


Here in India most of vets are specialised in Livestock health and management. I work and reside in relatively remote place and vets here are having little experience in addressing nutrition and fitness problems of pets. I have another female gsd (Suki), she suffered from severe dysentery and pooped more than 30 times in 8 hrs at night. She was less than 9 weeks old at that time and I thought she will die due to dehydration and dysentery. Couldn't find a vet at that time. I feed her yoghurt mixed water with bit of salt and sugar to keep her hydrated whole night. In the morning she did vomit undigested food of two days with lots of water and then suddenly recovered. Now she is 9 month old and beautiful (see her pic). She never had visit to vet except for vaccination.
My livestock vet who is the only option for me visited my house today and vaccinated the puppy. He told winter (puppy) is quite healthy and heavy. I don't know to what extent he is reliable though he is quite experienced in treat pets


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## Shridhar (Jul 4, 2018)

Suki at the age of 8 month a.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Already like the look of his bigger belly in the updated pictures  . We don't want our puppies fat, but nor do we want them to be all bony with hip bones and ribs sticking out. I find I have to adjust the food quite a bit the first year as they grow and need more, and/or stop growing and I need to then back off amounts. 

Teeny baby there so will be awkward and stumbling for awhile, specially on slick surfaces (so be careful with that). Add the fact they grow so fast the body they had last week when running around isn't the body they may have next week so have to adjust and get used to it. 

Socialize, love, pay attention and exercise as appropriate. Lots of training stuff available using tons of treats and praise ---> https://www.germanshepherds.com/for...ick-least-important-part-teaching-tricks.html and --> https://www.germanshepherds.com/for...0-intro-clicker-training-perfect-puppies.html


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## kaydub_u (May 14, 2018)

Shridhar said:


> Here in India most of vets are specialised in Livestock health and management. I work and reside in relatively remote place and vets here are having little experience in addressing nutrition and fitness problems of pets. I have another female gsd (Suki), she suffered from severe dysentery and pooped more than 30 times in 8 hrs at night. She was less than 9 weeks old at that time and I thought she will die due to dehydration and dysentery. Couldn't find a vet at that time. I feed her yoghurt mixed water with bit of salt and sugar to keep her hydrated whole night. In the morning she did vomit undigested food of two days with lots of water and then suddenly recovered. Now she is 9 month old and beautiful (see her pic). She never had visit to vet except for vaccination.
> My livestock vet who is the only option for me visited my house today and vaccinated the puppy. He told winter (puppy) is quite healthy and heavy. I don't know to what extent he is reliable though he is quite experienced in treat pets



I'm glad your puppy is healthy! In a little over a week I am bringing my 6 month old puppy in to get his hips checked. But I live in a large city and things are much more convenient for me. I only asked if you were planning on bringing the pup at all to a vet because when I got my puppy around your pups age he had a parasite and he was about 5 pounds at 8 weeks and needed a dewormer among other things. Glad you got everything situated  Enjoy the cute llittle pup! I love the color and hope to see pictures from you in the future!


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## Shridhar (Jul 4, 2018)

kaydub_u said:


> Shridhar said:
> 
> 
> > Here in India most of vets are specialised in Livestock health and management. I work and reside in relatively remote place and vets here are having little experience in addressing nutrition and fitness problems of pets. I have another female gsd (Suki), she suffered from severe dysentery and pooped more than 30 times in 8 hrs at night. She was less than 9 weeks old at that time and I thought she will die due to dehydration and dysentery. Couldn't find a vet at that time. I feed her yoghurt mixed water with bit of salt and sugar to keep her hydrated whole night. In the morning she did vomit undigested food of two days with lots of water and then suddenly recovered. Now she is 9 month old and beautiful (see her pic). She never had visit to vet except for vaccination.
> ...


I wish I could get him to a good vet. Since I have no pet expert vet, I have no plans to visit a vet.


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