# How long till my GSD is full sized?



## shalkedeagle (Jan 9, 2016)

Hey There,

I am new to this forum and also a relatively new GSD owner. I have a boy named Garrus(yes from Mass Effect call me a nerd ) he is 15 months old and 87 pounds as of his last visit to the vet about 2 weeks ago. 

Id like to get an idea of how big he might get. I know its kind of a silly question but I have conflicting information between my vet, the breeder and online research so I figured Id hit the forums and hopefully with some info and background I may get a good guess from some more experienced owners.

firstly I fed him Blue Wilderness large breed puppy up until around around 10 months before putting him on adult large breed at the recommendation of my vet. He eats a combo of kibble and canned every meal.

Beyond his diet I know his father was over 95 pounds(not sure about mom though).

Now the reason for my confusion is that my vet tells me that Garrus is full grown at 15 months and he wont grow past his current weight. My breeder tells that even though the father is 90+ pounds she has had many pups easily hit 100+ up to 120. Beyond that she has said that he will grow significantly more between now and 2 years of age. and some online research has suggested that GSDs wont reach full physical and mental maturity until up to 3 years. Also when I take him out in public many people also comment on the size of his paws and claim that he has alot more growing to do. 

So my question isn't so much how big will he get but I guess should I expect him to get noticeably bigger between now and the next 1-2 years? Ideally I would like to see him at 110+ pounds but not really sure what to expect. I haven't really noticed any growth from him in the past 4+ months so should I be expecting another growth spurt soon or not necessarily. 

Cheers,
Alex


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Quite often they are very close to their full height by 18 months. Mine grew like a weed until about 10 months and then slowed. He may have gained a little more.

They will continue to fill out with muscle up to 3 years depending on the lines. I wouldn't expect a huge gain in weight. 5#? Maybe even 10#?

Do you have pictures of him? From the top and a full side view?


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## shalkedeagle (Jan 9, 2016)

sure thing, give me a few to get some good pics.


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## shalkedeagle (Jan 9, 2016)




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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

He looks heavy to me from that side view. By 5# at least. Maybe a little more.

Can't tell anything from the front views and where he's in a down. When you take a top picture, you want to be behind the dog looking directly down at his back. You are looking for the 'hourglass' at his waist.


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## shalkedeagle (Jan 9, 2016)

hmm, Id be surprised if hes over weight. I don't think I over feed him and I take him hiking 6 times a week. every day I do about 5.5 miles but he is off leash 80% of the hikes constantly running ahead a few meters and then back to me and then back ahead. I could easily see him putting in 7-8 miles a day.

I'm actually concerned that I may be over excersizing him so I was going to follow up in a different post to see if it may be too much for him. In any case here are more pics let me know if these help if not I can take more.


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

Cameras are funny sometimes. He certainly doesn't look overweight to me but that one side photo - I can see why someone would think that.

Do you know how tall he is at the withers? - that helps.


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

You might remember that the breed standard calls for a male being 24-26 inches tall, with the weight topping out around 88 lbs. Dogs over that are considered out of standard. They are still great dogs mind you ... just not the breed standard.


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## shalkedeagle (Jan 9, 2016)

I just measured him, he is 26" at the withers. Im familiar with the breed standard which always did seem odd to me simply because I so often hear about GSDs that are easily over 100 pounds. I always assumed that was more common than the "breed standard"


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

He's a big dog. I'm not surprised he weighs more But I still think he looks heavy.


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## shalkedeagle (Jan 9, 2016)

could you link me a good reference of what he should look like. Would you recommend I cut back on his food intake? 

He currently gets 2.5 cups of kibble with half a can of wet food a meal and he gets 2 meals a day. (all based on Blue's instructions on bag) once again I am feeding him Large Breed Adult kibble for the Blue Wilderness line as well as the canned food which is blue wilderness


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

Jax08 said:


> He's a big dog. I'm not surprised he weighs more But I still think he looks heavy.


Can you name the areas you see that indicate he is overweight? Is it just at the waist and tuck areas?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

shalkedeagle said:


> could you link me a good reference of what he should look like. Would you recommend I cut back on his food intake?
> 
> He currently gets 2.5 cups of kibble with half a can of wet food a meal and he gets 2 meals a day. (all based on Blue's instructions on bag) once again I am feeding him Large Breed Adult kibble for the Blue Wilderness line as well as the canned food which is blue wilderness


That's really not a lot of food! And he hikes 7-8 miles per day?? Try cutting out 1/4 can of wet per day. A LITTLE heavy. Not that much. Just maybe 5 pounds. But like I said, he's a big dog, he has a big body and he'll weigh more than "standard". Bone makes a difference too. He looks like he has a heavy bone structure. Very solid in the chest area. 26" is the top of standard so don't be surprised if he tops out about 27"

Looking at his side picture, I would want a little more tuck and I want to be able to feel his ribs. Structure plays into that though. If I have my boy thin so you can see his ribs, then his hip bones stick out. Whereas his brother has a shorter loin area and looks great with a little rib showing.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Also keep in mind that there are a lot of 100-pound and up German Shepherds that are just overweight. (Not all but many).


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## shalkedeagle (Jan 9, 2016)

@Jax08 I'm not sure what you mean. You're saying I'm not feeding him enough but then suggesting I feed him even less? I think there's a typo in there?


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Mine have always filled in until 2-3 years, not so much in weight but in girth. He doesn't look fat to me from the top view but he's not underweight either. I keep mine thinner. From the side view, it's hard to tell but he looks a little heavy.


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

I have an 18 mo old female that is 27" and about 80 lbs. She only gets 3 cups of food per day but her activity level is way low.

I have done a bit of research and agree that most of the OS GSD's that I have seen (120-135 lbs) are simply 20 lbs or more overweight. 

My consideration of how much my dog should weigh is based on her bone structure and considering that she is a GSD and hips and proper support are important to me - thus I will never allow her to get overweight. I'd rather she's a little under than over in the weight area. I would think a 5 lb over or under ideal is very acceptable in this size of dog. 

I think its a great idea if you start another thread regarding the amount of exercise and if it may be too much. You're likely to get a variety of answers - but IMO it will be helpful for you to consider responses with the fact that you have an OS dog and that does make a difference. It concerns me. Where is the down time?

I have seen posts here in the past where some people who used their dogs extensively in work or sport - the dogs can pay for it when they get older. The military uses their dogs hard too and they get damaged which plagues them in their senior years.

Did you have X-ray's done before you began this heavy exercise regimen?
If you have not - it might be needed so you know what you're working with.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

shalkedeagle said:


> @Jax08 I'm not sure what you mean. You're saying I'm not feeding him enough but then suggesting I feed him even less? I think there's a typo in there?


No where did I say you were not feeding him enough. 

I said that really wasn't a lot of food. That is not a typo. It means I don't think you are feeding him a crazy amount of food and then I suggested cutting a total of 1/4 cup of wet food per meal out.


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## shalkedeagle (Jan 9, 2016)

Jax08 said:


> No where did I say you were not feeding him enough.
> 
> I said that really wasn't a lot of food. That is not a typo. It means I don't think you are feeding him a crazy amount of food and then I suggested cutting a total of 1/4 cup of wet food per meal out.


Ah okay I thought you meant It's not alot of food as in I should be feeding him more lol. My bad...


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## shalkedeagle (Jan 9, 2016)

I think I will make another post about it. I havent had him x-rayed, I guess it would be a good idea to do that.



Stonevintage said:


> I have an 18 mo old female that is 27" and about 80 lbs. She only gets 3 cups of food per day but her activity level is way low.
> 
> I have done a bit of research and agree that most of the OS GSD's that I have seen (120-135 lbs) are simply 20 lbs or more overweight.
> 
> ...


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