# Worried my girl is too skinny! Need advice.



## Havok (Jun 1, 2011)

We've had her since she was 7 weeks old, she's now 1 year and 5 months old. According to the vet and standard GSD growth charts, she's about the right weight for a female. Her parents were not big but not small either, about 85 and 95 lbs. Alice weighs 60 lbs right now and has maintained it the last month or so. Her peak weight was about 75 lbs when she was still on puppy food around 11 months. When she hit 1, we switched her to adult food (blue buffalo). Then we noticed she started to lose weight slowly so recently we switched her to the adult wilderness plan (BB) which has more protein, still nothing. She gets fed 3 cups a day right now and eats all of it every time and isn't throwing it up. Her poop has always been normal.

Facts: 

-She's a some what of a shy dog with new people, she can play with other dogs around anyone but just doesn't like to be petted unless she knows you, she doesn't bite at all, but will bark to give you a warning that she doesn't want the attention right now. This is because we didn't socialize her enough.

-She LOVES to fetch using the chuck-it, and shes a fast runner, she fetches about a couple hours a day when I work and on my days off we visits the dog park 3 times a week for a few hours. So is she just keeping a sort of athlete body?

-We also got a new puppy this past August, another GSD we are doing great at socializing/training him but we are also always bringing along Alice to observe and at home they each get equal amount of attention, I let them set the rules but it seems Alice is letting him be the dominate one which he was anyways from his litter. At first, I fed Alice first, then Miles, but she wouldn't eat until he finishes first. Now she eats at the same time since they became best friends. 

-She got spayed too early I think, didn't know any better and trusted my vet at the time. They recommended to spay her when she was 3-4 months old to prevent the first heat and her cut will be smaller and heal faster. She came back like if nothing happened but I later find out that it could of stopped her growth hormones from helping her develop fully, that's why she looks small for a GSD. 25" on the shoulders.

I know I can't do anything about her getting spayed obviously but do you think she should of stayed on puppy food until she was 2 years old or is it too late to put her back on puppy food. Let me know what you guys think.

Recent pics of her:


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Actually, early spay causes them to be leggier. 25" is over the standard for a female so she's taller than a female GSD should be. She looks lean but not overly skinny. My girl is 24.5" tall and 62 lbs. Can you see her ribs? I can't see Jax's ribs but I can easily feel them. Once she gets to about 65 lbs then I have to press a little to feel her ribs.

Higher protein doesn't cause weight gain. Higher fat/calories do. You could just increase her food a bit instead of switching her food. And if you do switch, look for a higher calorie food.


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## catz (Dec 10, 2010)

I have no real advice but my girl Rio is a year and 5 months and still intact but has the same body shape as your dog. She was always on the slimmer side with plenty of muscle. She can be a very picky eater. Her mum was also quite slim so i assume its her genetics. 
Im interested to hear everyones take on this also


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Looks normal to me. If she was too skinny, you'd be seeing ribs. I'm not seeing any ribs or hip bones exposed. She looks like she's right where she should be.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

She looks fine to me too. Our last female was about 65 lbs. As long as she's healthy as eats well I wouldn't worry about it. If you think she needs a few pounds I would add a bit of canned food rather than switching back to puppy- in fact, many puppy formulas are actually lower in calorie than adult. But again, I think she looks good and is a very pretty girl


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## BR870 (May 15, 2011)

25" at the shoulders is actually alittle oversize for a female. Nothing wrong with 60lbs for a female. Totally within the standard. A female shepherd that is within standard height wise, and not carrying too much weight should be between 50-75lbs. People seem to have this image of GSDs as big, and they were never intended to be.

Your dog is perfect, don't sweat it...

Also, about the spay. If anything, spaying generally makes them carry more weight. She's doing good to be at 60lbs. Try and keep her there. Better for her to be an athletic 60lbs than a hefty 75lbs...


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## Havok (Jun 1, 2011)

Jax08 said:


> Actually, early spay causes them to be leggier. 25" is over the standard for a female so she's taller than a female GSD should be. She looks lean but not overly skinny. My girl is 24.5" tall and 62 lbs. Can you see her ribs? I can't see Jax's ribs but I can easily feel them. Once she gets to about 65 lbs then I have to press a little to feel her ribs.
> 
> Higher protein doesn't cause weight gain. Higher fat/calories do. You could just increase her food a bit instead of switching her food. And if you do switch, look for a higher calorie food.


Her ribs don't show at all from any angle. Glad to hear others have the same sized pet. The wilderness shes eating is just a basic grain free chicken recipe bag (not really directed for a specific breed size). I just noticed they introduced the wilderness plan for large and small breeds bags. I'll switch her to the large breed once this one runs out, same flavor and she never had trouble switching between different blue buffalos. I also might add a bit more into her daily amount, like a cup.


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## BR870 (May 15, 2011)

Havok said:


> Her ribs don't show at all from any angle. Glad to hear others have the same sized pet.


My female is only about 55lbs last time I weighed her. Granted, she is only 10 months, but still I doubt she will ever go much over 60 if that. Her frame is very similar looking... Nothin to worry about


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## Havok (Jun 1, 2011)

BR870 said:


> 25" at the shoulders is actually alittle oversize for a female. Nothing wrong with 60lbs for a female. Totally within the standard. A female shepherd that is within standard height wise, and not carrying too much weight should be between 50-75lbs. People seem to have this image of GSDs as big, and they were never intended to be.
> 
> Your dog is perfect, don't sweat it...
> 
> Also, about the spay. If anything, spaying generally makes them carry more weight. She's doing good to be at 60lbs. Try and keep her there. Better for her to be an athletic 60lbs than a hefty 75lbs...


I agree with you there. Alice grew up with an all black GSD female at the park. She was a few months older than Alice, she got big and next to Alice, got me concerned. She's about 80-100 lbs last time I checked with the owner. They both love to fetch but Lily doesn't bother running to get the ball if Alice goes for it, she just doesn't stand a chance anymore. lol

Here they are chilling:


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Havok said:


> Her ribs don't show at all from any angle. Glad to hear others have the same sized pet. The wilderness shes eating is just a basic grain free chicken recipe bag (not really directed for a specific breed size). I just noticed they introduced the wilderness plan for large and small breeds bags. I'll switch her to the large breed once this one runs out, same flavor and she never had trouble switching between different blue buffalos. I also might add a bit more into her daily amount, like a cup.


If her ribs aren't visible then I wouldn't add anything to her diet. Sounds like she's doing just fine. She's just a lean, athletic GSD.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Abby has a slim build too. 25.5 and 67-70 pounds.
Your dog looks fine. As stated, she is just lean and athletic.
Enjoy her.


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## vomlittlehaus (Aug 24, 2010)

Your dog should not be 90-100 lbs. That is too big. My female is 70lbs and 24" at the withers, within the breed standard. I also think spaying and neutering early make them get taller than they would have if not fixed. So she looks lanky because she is taller than she should be for her body. That black GSD in the picture looks very much like my female and I doubt it weighs more than 80lbs (unless it is now overweight, but looks in good weight in the picture). Your dog should have a 'waist'. It should not look like a rectangle from above.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

why are you worried about your dogs size?
what size do you think she should be? your dog
is tall and thin and that's what she's supposed to be.
your dog is fine. don't worry about her size.


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## Alexandria610 (Dec 2, 2010)

Havok said:


> -She got spayed too early I think, didn't know any better and trusted my vet at the time. They recommended to spay her when she was 3-4 months old to prevent the first heat and her cut will be smaller and heal faster. She came back like if nothing happened but I later find out that it could of stopped her growth hormones from helping her develop fully, that's why she looks small for a GSD. 25" on the shoulders.


This sort of offends me. I know you didn't mean anything by it to others, or to offend others, but I just have to point out that I trust my vet whole-heartedly when it comes to my dog. I know that some people will disagree with me on this one, but I guess it just depends on which veterinarian you have and if you can trust their knowledge and years of schooling.

My GSD was spayed just before turning 4 months due to the fact that she is a rescue, and she has not had any negatives of being spayed so early. She is 22in at the shoulder and 55lbs at her heaviest. She's about 16 months old and still putting on a little weight. As others have said, 25in for a female is above average. Judging by the pictures, she looks very healthy and to be a young female that has yet to finish filling out entirely.

Anyway, didn't want to step on any toes or call you out - just wanted to make a statement that trusting your veterinarian isn't necessarily a bad thing, at least, not in most instances. And by spaying that early, you aren't stunting their growth. Sure, some of the characteristics aren't as prominent, but it doesn't mean they will be a skinny dog, a small dog, an under-average GSD. 

At least, that is my opinion on the matter. There are a lot of threads about spaying and neutering at different ages, and the effects that happen due to that.

Regardless, I think she's gorgeous, and I don't think you need to worry about her growth/weight.


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## sportsman1539 (Jan 22, 2011)

Your dog has a very similiar build to mine. Very "leggy" and thin. Mine is 24" tall and about 60 lbs at 10 months old. She is very lean and athletic. I do feed 4 cups a day(diamond naturals adult lamb and rice) to mine because she is so active. I will say she does seem a little thin in that first pic and from the look of it she could probably stand to gain 5 lbs but no more. Like someone else said, its better to be a little on the thin side. Heres a pic of mine so you can get the idea. She is the lighter of the two dogs.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

Good gosh you stole my dog!!!! 

Honestly she looks fine to me. Just because mom and dad were on the higher end of the weight scale doesnt mean she will be. My girl Shasta is 1.5 yrs and is about 65lbs. She's still intact as I dont intend to spay her until early next year, probably just before her 2nd birthday.


Shasta


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## Havok (Jun 1, 2011)

KZoppa said:


> Good gosh you stole my dog!!!!


Lol they do look alike. Alice and Miles both have the same collar coat except she's a light sable and he's a medium sable. Same mom different dad. I think Alice curls up like that from watching our cat. Heh.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

haha yeah i opened this thread and saw the pictures and was like







. The shading on your dogs back and my dogs back is just about identical as is the little "smudge" mark on their noses where it started to tan lol. Looking at your pups pictures and my pups, i can now see what Shasta would look like if her right ear stood up completely instead of being broken at the tip.

They're a couple of cuties. Mine curl up on the couch like that all the time.


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## warpwr (Jan 13, 2011)

I don't know what Miss Molly's supposed to weigh but I know what she does weigh.
79 lbs. 
I just checked her on the vets scale yesterday. She will be 10 months old in a couple of days.
I guess she's on the large size for the standard GSD which is 48 to 70 lbs according to United Schutzhund Clubs of America - Breed Standard .
Wow, she's not fat by any means but she is a pretty good sized dog.










Her Dad = Covy-Tucker Hill's Sheriff - German Shepherd Dog
Her Mom = The Girls at Covy-Tucker Hill (Mimi, second from the bottom).

Our last GSD, Kazar weighed 120 lbs., whew!


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

warpwr said:


> I don't know what Miss Molly's supposed to weigh but I know what she does weigh.
> 79 lbs.
> I just checked her on the vets scale yesterday. She will be 10 months old in a couple of days.
> I guess she's on the large size for the standard GSD which is 48 to 70 lbs according to United Schutzhund Clubs of America - Breed Standard .
> ...


That's a big girl you have there. She shares many ancestors with my Abby, especially Sundance.


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## robinhuerta (Apr 21, 2007)

*Fat is not the new black*...as they would say in fashion.
Your dog looks fine!


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