# Just picked up my first Purebreed GSD, seems way to small.



## foxman350 (Oct 29, 2012)

Picked up this little guy today, breeder said he is 11 weeks old, he looked small but figured runts deserve love too but weighed him when I got home and only weighs 8 lbs. Does not hold his bladder well, does seem to have all his teeth. Seems a lot younger. This was a first time breeder, but had all documents (lineage, hip certifications) and was able to meet his parents, both pretty large dogs. I checked his first poop for worms, no worms. Kept a sample for my vet visit this week.


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

His eyes look pretty bright, and from the pic at least what we can see of his coat it seems to be okay, just take him to a Vet for a checkup like yesterday! Congrats on the new pup, but I'm curious as to why you'd get a pup this way? Cost? Distance? Wait time?

I bought a BYB puppy. For me it was all of the above, combined with a healthy dose of willful ignorance! My dog is a gem, but many don't get that lucky...


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## foxman350 (Oct 29, 2012)

Yeah he seems healthy, just looks like a miniature GSD.


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## Springbrz (Aug 13, 2013)

Congrats on the new pup. Very cute. 




tim_s_adams said:


> His eyes look pretty bright, and from the pic at least what we can see of his coat it seems to be okay, just take him to a Vet for a checkup like yesterday! Congrats on the new pup, *but I'm curious as to why you'd get a pup this way? Cost? Distance? Wait time?
> 
> I bought a BYB puppy. * For me it was all of the above, combined with a healthy dose of willful ignorance! My dog is a gem, but many don't get that lucky...


In defense of the OP I think you are making assumptions on this being a byb. They have pedigree and health check documentation. Meet the dam and sire. All the things forum members tell those looking for a pup to look for. Even reputable breeders have a first litter. Sure this may not be an experienced breeder but lets not jump to the conclusion or imply the OP has made some sort of mistake right of the bat.
I didn't see anything in the OP's post about how s/he came to the decision to pick this pup from this breeder.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

8 pounds is small for 11 weeks. It could have some problem, it could just have been a lot smaller than the rest of litter and needs to catch up without all the competition. But, if I was you, I would buy health insurance for the puppy, because you never know, and having had a rough start, it may have some problems.


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## foxman350 (Oct 29, 2012)

Weighed him again cause our scale sucks, and he is closer to 11 pounds still light, but not as bad. Need to get him on a vet scale


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Can you weigh yourself, with the pup, and then without the pup, that may give you a better answer than the pup alone. But 11 pounds is much better.


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

Springbrz said:


> Congrats on the new pup. Very cute.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I did not suggest anywhere that the OP's breeder was a BYB...please read again. 

The OP's puppy looks okay in the picture, if a bit small for the stated age. But any new puppy from any source should see a Vet right away! At least that's what I do...


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## Springbrz (Aug 13, 2013)

@tim_s_adams sent you a PM


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## crittersitter (Mar 31, 2011)

No 11 week old pup is going to hold his bladder. That said, your cute pup does look small. Is he American lines? Just curious. Enjoy him!


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## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

crittersitter said:


> No 11 week old pup is going to hold his bladder. That said, your cute pup does look small. Is he American lines? Just curious. Enjoy him!


If the pup is undersized, the pup may not have developed bladder control yet. Maybe the pup is not the age the breeder stated ?


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

Pictures can be deceiving, @foxman350 do you have more you can post now? How's he doing with the adjustment?


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## GSDchoice (Jul 26, 2016)

huntergreen said:


> If the pup is undersized, the pup may not have developed bladder control yet. Maybe the pup is not the age the breeder stated ?


That was my suspicion too, since it seems to happen commonly that some breeders like to get the pups out early and people have wound up with 7 week pups...

I wonder if you could get in touch with any local owners that bought his littermates. Then you could compare notes on growth...( and have playdates sometimes, too!


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Cute pup, not 11 weeks old. I would guess 7 weeks.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

He’s a cute little guy!
I got Hans at a little under 8 weeks, and Rolf at a little under 10 weeks, and your boy looks more like Hans did.
When mom stops cleaning up the pups and eating their poo, it becomes a really messy and gross situation, so some people just lie about the age of the puppies to get the out of their house.

Poop for vet needs to be fresh, so just get a sample from that day. 
The vet can have a look and give you a better idea about his age.


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## foxman350 (Oct 29, 2012)

Here he is few days after pickup. Loves playing with leaves. Was 10.8 lbs when we got him on Sunday, sitting at 12.2 today.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

He looks about 8 weeks old now. Super cute!


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## Pytheis (Sep 23, 2016)

He’s adorable! One day he’ll grow into his collar.


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## foxman350 (Oct 29, 2012)

Vet visit this Saturday, will be getting him fully checked out


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## Custom Billet (Mar 10, 2018)

Here is Shasta at 8.5 weeks.

He is a cutie!


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## foxman350 (Oct 29, 2012)

Well went to the vet today, she thinks he is about 9 weeks old based on what she saw. He is at 12.5lbs now. Took a stool sample in, he does have round worms, Started treatment for that. Will probably start growing more now.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

foxman350 said:


> Well went to the vet today, she thinks he is about 9 weeks old based on what she saw. He is at 12.5lbs now. Took a stool sample in, he does have round worms, Started treatment for that. Will probably start growing more now.


Good news and after this reset, off to a good life! He will probably need plenty of rest to grow. I don't know your experience with dogs but do not overfeed him because you want him to catch up or it can cause bone issues. You want to able to always feel his ribs and spine when you pet him with a flat hand. He will grow according to his genetic make up when fed well.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

I can't agree with withholding food especially to the point of feeling ribs and spine. Puppies grow very fast. They need nutrition to grow. They need a healthy amount of body fat for a strong immune system and fat is necessary for the brain to develop normally. If your puppy would get sick, they NEED a reserve of body fat to draw on for recovery. 

Many people withhold food for joint health when what they should be doing is feeding their puppy a proper diet, properly exercising their puppy, and keeping their puppies off of manmade surfaces.


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## foxman350 (Oct 29, 2012)

Currently feeding him 2 cups a day at 4 feedings. He will catch up when he feels like it ?


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

MineAreWorkingline said:


> I can't agree with withholding food especially to the point of feeling ribs and spine. Puppies grow very fast. They need nutrition to grow. They need a healthy amount of body fat for a strong immune system and fat is necessary for the brain to develop normally. If your puppy would get sick, they NEED a reserve of body fat to draw on for recovery.
> 
> Many people withhold food for joint health when what they should be doing is feeding their puppy a proper diet, properly exercising their puppy, and keeping their puppies off of manmade surfaces.


My dog was overweight when he had bloat surgery. He lost so much weight, I was relieved he had extra to lose. He was five lbs up, and ended up five lbs under. He recovered quickly. It would have taken much longer if he was ten lbs under.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

LuvShepherds said:


> My dog was overweight when he had bloat surgery. He lost so much weight, I was relieved he had extra to lose. He was five lbs up, and ended up five lbs under. He recovered quickly. It would have taken much longer if he was ten lbs under.


This pup was a runt. He may not have received necessary nutrients in the womb. Being smaller, he may not have been able to compete with siblings for nourishment. Then the poor little thing had worms, triple whammy!


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

MineAreWorkingline said:


> This pup was a runt. He may not have received necessary nutrients in the womb. Being smaller, he may not have been able to compete with siblings for nourishment. Then the poor little thing had worms, triple whammy!


Yes, he should put on weight now. I didn’t mention mine had Giardia as a young puppy, and was on the light side until we got rid of them. It was resistant to medication and took a while to resolve.


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## foxman350 (Oct 29, 2012)

His ears are trying!


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## GSDchoice (Jul 26, 2016)

Looks like a good try! 

So...there seems to be a lot of ear drama on this forum...

the ears go up, the ears go down, the ears go up, the ears go down...
try not to get stressed...


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

Those ears will be up before you know it. He's a super cutie.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Perky puppy!


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## tc68 (May 31, 2006)

What a cute face.


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## Chuck94! (Feb 8, 2018)

That does seem very small to me!


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## Chuck94! (Feb 8, 2018)

Oops just saw that he has round worms


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## foxman350 (Oct 29, 2012)

Here he is at 15 lbs now. Starting to grow like a weed(a weed that likes to bite)


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## CometDog (Aug 22, 2017)

He is adorable!! Happy to hear things are on track now.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

Thanks for the good news. We need good news.


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## foxman350 (Oct 29, 2012)

new hairdoo, around 17.5 lbs now


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

Glad to hear he's growing well! From what I've seen from your picts and such, he looks all GSD. to me....


If it matters, do a DNA test!


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## readaboutdogs (Jul 8, 2001)

Really cute!!!!


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## CatMan900 (May 24, 2018)

My guy was underweight until he hit about 7 months then he had a big growth spurt and is now 80lbs. As long as the puppy isn’t skinny I wouldn’t worry too much


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## Frisco19 (Aug 12, 2019)

Cute pup!


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## foxman350 (Oct 29, 2012)

Sitting at 23lbs now about 3 months and two weeks


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## January (Sep 15, 2019)

So handsome! You’re doing an amazing job with him.


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## Oscar2019 (Oct 9, 2019)

Aww he looks so handsome! They do start to grow fast once they are separated from the others ! We picked up ours at 9 weeks and he looked so little . 6 weeks later he was a giant compared to the size we've got him with !


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

I adopted a pup that was the smallest in the litter at birth. Her breeder was very careful in making sure ALL the pups got adequate nutrition, both from mom, and when they were started on puppy food. 

By the time she came home with me at 8 weeks, she actually slightly heavier than one of her other 2 sisters!

So, runts CAN catch up!

He is SUPER cute! Nice to see the progress he's made!



> (a weed that likes to bite)


Oh, that made me laugh!!:grin2:


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## T'Challa! (Dec 4, 2019)

foxman350 said:


> Sitting at 23lbs now about 3 months and two weeks
> View attachment 527885


Thats good! I think by your post you were just worried as a new parent as we all are, my boy was only 20 lbs at 3 months, yours may have just been younger than your were told or not fed properly as the runt usually is. now it looks like hes getting bigger everyday! You shouldn't worry he looks great! T'Challa is 1 year this month and is about 85-90 lbs, nature will take its course the smaller of the puppies can surprise you as they grow


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