# Weight Issue or Normal?



## cpepper5702 (Dec 19, 2012)

Hey everybody in the Shepherd world! (This is going to be long... Bare with me)

I had posted a thread back in December (title: "Bulk Him Up!") about my dog Diesels weight. He's not fat but pretty skinny. At the time of the December post, he was about 8 months old. Well he is now 14 months old and has still has not been able to gain weight. Everyone who replied to my question was incredibly helpful and put my mind to ease. I just want to give everyone an update and piggy back that with the same question as to his weight being to low for his age or right on the money.

BACKGROUND: Diesel was purchased from a phenomenal breeder outside Alexandia, VA. He comes from a champion show line and Schutzhund line. His fur and body characteristics show it too in my own humble opinion (minus his weight lol). His father is ENORMOUS weighing 105 lbs so with the above mentioned and his dads size, this is somewhat concerning to me that even at 14 mos old, he is holding steady around 67 lbs. We take him to PetSmart all the time and everyone and a while we'll weigh him. For the last 3 or 4 months, he's been hovering around 67 lbs +/- 2 lbs (LITERALLY).

Like I said earlier, people have assured me when he was 8 months old that this was perfectly normal. I am just wanting to know if this is still true. You can see his ribs and his hips pretty well. I don't believe he's malnourished. We switched his food from Canidae to Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy (the shiny blue bag) but he doesn't eat a lot. We give him 4-5 cups per day. Anything over that, he won't eat. He'll come in and eat maybe a cup but then go walk around the house, lay on his bed, see what we're doing for a couple hours then come back and eat another cup then repeats. Come 10 or 11pm he still hasn't finished his food. We've tried to give him the Blue Buffalo wet food and mix everything up which then he eats all his food in one sitting but takes like an hour... The Vet told us to up his food because he is looking really thin. But again, when we give him more food, he doesn't finish it and only eats about 4-5 cups even when we give him say 6 cups. I'll try to upload some pics of him now at 14 months if my iPad will let me. If not, stay tuned and I'll upload them from the computer tomorrow morning. Thanks for your help and sorry for the long opening question/biography.

- Colton


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Mine has stayed at 68 pounds since she was about a year. People say she is skinny, the vet says she is ideal. I have stopped worrying about the weight because she is healthy and that is just what her body type will probably always be.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

you don't have a larger GSD. don't worry about his weight. don't
over feed him trying to make him gain weight. 4 to 5 cups of food
a day is a lot.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Unless you post photos, we can't really judge 'normal' for him or not. We need him standing, then a view from directly above looking down as well as from the side.

That said, keep in mind the vast majority of the dogs in the USA are FAT FAT FAT so what many people have in their minds as 'normal' is actual fat...


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## cpepper5702 (Dec 19, 2012)

*Pictures*

Okay. Sorry for the wait. I have some pictures for you all. Let me know if you need more...


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

How tall is he?


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## cpepper5702 (Dec 19, 2012)

Sorry for the late response. Our washer broke down today and I've been busy with that. He is 30" to the top of the shoulder.


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## cpepper5702 (Dec 19, 2012)

Just kidding... 28" ish


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## cpepper5702 (Dec 19, 2012)

This thread kind of went dead... Based on the pictures I posted, should I have a concern for his weight?


Thanks,
Colton


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## RiverDan (Mar 22, 2013)

I am by no means an expert. So take it for what its worth.
How much exercise does he get. Not just walks, but muscle building exercise? Swimming, fetch, running, jumping...etc...?

He looks like he needs a bit more muscle on his rear end. Might just be the pictures.


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## BellaLuna (Jan 27, 2013)

He looks fine to me... 

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## RiverDan (Mar 22, 2013)

Also, he could fill out later. 2-3 years.
Great looking dog though.


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