# 1 year and half old Male Small?



## Nico415 (Oct 23, 2014)

Hi All, 

I've been wondering if my German Shepherd is small for his age and/or too skinny. His eating habits are pretty good,no parasites or warms, he just looks pretty small to me still. he only weighs about 68 pounds and is already a year and a half. I feed him Blue Buffalo with shredded chicken as well on occasion. Is there a great weigh to beef him up and not talking about fat because i know its better to have a lean dog, but Im talking about more muscle build. These are his most up to date shots of him. 

Thank you!


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## Nico415 (Oct 23, 2014)

One More shot of him.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

He's fine. Mine is 2 years and 75#.

he will gain muscle as he reaches maturity. Just keep him at a healthy weight.


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## Nico415 (Oct 23, 2014)

Jax08 said:


> He's fine. Mine is 2 years and 75#.
> 
> he will gain muscle as he reaches maturity. Just keep him at a healthy weight.


Thank you! I just still see him at his dangly stage. He Definitely hasn't matured yet, but I guess I keep pushing ahead of ourselves. thanks for your response


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

Is he neutered?

68 lbs at a year old will put him right in the average of the standard as an adult, once he has matured and filled out. 

My male was around 65 lbs at a year old and matured out to a very nice, average 75 lbs.


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## Nico415 (Oct 23, 2014)

N Smith said:


> Is he neutered?
> 
> 68 lbs at a year old will put him right in the average of the standard as an adult, once he has matured and filled out.
> 
> My male was around 65 lbs at a year old and matured out to a very nice, average 75 lbs.


Beautiful Dog! and no he isn't. Can that be a factor for weight gain or loss?


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

Nico415 said:


> Beautiful Dog! and no he isn't. Can that be a factor for weight gain or loss?


 In my experience, it can be a factor in development of secondary sex characteristics, and how much muscle mass the dog builds as he matures. Usually you will see a lot of muscle build between 2 and 3 years old.

Usually, for my intact dogs, I struggle to keep weight on them for the first 18 months. They get tall and gangly before they put any substantial weight on. Once that growth period slows, my dogs readily bulk up, adding lbs of muscle over the next year, usually 10-15 lbs.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

68 is fine. My younger male is 22 months old and 58lbs and he's actually not small height-wise (upper medium size, as stated by a German judge). He is neutered now so he will probably never fill out as much as his father, but I don't consider him unusually small. He comes from lines that are not heavy boned or really thick/bulky. He is the third male I've raised from puppyhood and maybe it's the food I feed, but they all seem to stop growing around 10 months and then hover at the same weight (60-65lbs) until they turn 2/2.5 years and then fill out more until they are 4.

N Smith your dog is gorgeous!


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