# Is my pup gaining too much weight too fast?



## Dennq (Jun 21, 2010)

Just had last set of shots on my pup and of course the Vet weighed him. I was shocked. On July 26 th he weighed in at 25.5 lbs. Had him in there today Aug 31 and he weighed 45.1 lbs. Thats basically 20 lbs in a month!!! Thats crazy growth. Is this normal??

I dont think he is overweight.


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## rickaz80 (Feb 24, 2008)

If thats the latest picture, he looks good to me. He may be getting ready for a growth spurt. I assume you are regulating his food.


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## Jacek (Jun 28, 2010)

Oh man, that is a nice looking pup!


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## Taylor (Apr 7, 2009)

He is identical to my Strider. They could be twins. Strider is a large guy to.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

What did your vet say? My vet wanted Shasta's growth to be around 10 to 12 pounds a month.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

He looks great to me too! Stosh had a big growth spurt like that too, I think it was 18 lbs in a month, then he slowed back down to 3-4 a week.


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

no way to tell if he is overweight from that type of pic. he would at least to be standing with a pic form the side.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Dennq said:


> Just had last set of shots on my pup and of course the Vet weighed him. I was shocked. On July 26 th he weighed in at 25.5 lbs. Had him in there today Aug 31 and he weighed 45.1 lbs. Thats basically 20 lbs in a month!!! Thats crazy growth. Is this normal??
> 
> I dont think he is overweight.


Can you clarify? Are you concerned that your puppy is getting fat or that your puppy is growing too fast and might be at risk for pano?


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## Dennq (Jun 21, 2010)

another look from the top...?

I am worried he is growing too fast and is at risk for problems later on in life and if he looks obese. Twenty lbs in a month is alot of growth.


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## rickaz80 (Feb 24, 2008)

Is he on puppy food? My VET has us stop feeding the pup puppy food relativity soon because of the possible problem mentioned above ( fast growth ).


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## Dennq (Jun 21, 2010)

rickaz80 said:


> Is he on puppy food? My VET has us stop feeding the pup puppy food relativity soon because of the possible problem mentioned above ( fast growth ).


Yes he is on Acana large breed puppy.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

This thread got me thinking, so I weighed Shasta tonight on our home scale and came up with 42.5 pounds! Crikey! That's a gain of 13 pounds in three weeks! I'm hoping part of that is attributable to the difference between our home scale and the scale at the vet's office. BUT I think our home scale is pretty accurate. 

I'm wondering if we need to switch from the BB Large Breed Puppy to an adult food.


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## rickaz80 (Feb 24, 2008)

The VET described puppy food as to hot. He said puppy food promotes fast growth.


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## unloader (Feb 16, 2010)

Dennq said:


> Yes he is on Acana large breed puppy.


That is a fine food that you are feeding, appropriate for a gsd pup.

If that was a recent photo, I think your puppy looks good. 

How much do you feed per day? How big was the dam and sire? How old is he?


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

My pup gained an average of 3# a week til he started teething heavily. He is rawfed. 
As long as you still feel a couple of ribs, your pup should be gaining!
I agree, as far as kibble goes, the one you are feeding is fine.


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## clearcreekranch (Mar 18, 2010)

My pup gained about 10#s per month. One time I went in for a weigh in on my other dog and they claimed he had gained 15#s in a year. I had them use a different scale and he had not gained any. Sometimes, they need to reset the scale!


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

onyx'girl said:


> My pup gained an average of 3# a week til he started teething heavily. He is rawfed.
> As long as you still feel a couple of ribs, your pup should be gaining!
> I agree, as far as kibble goes, the one you are feeding is fine.


Stark, who is also raw fed gained 3lbs per week, it almost averaged out to about 10lbs per month until he hit about 5-6 months (teething age).


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

from the pic of him standing, he looks healthy and normal. Puppies go through growth spurts just like kids do. I'm waiting for Shasta's to hit. Some pups just put on weight faster than others but you also have to take into account parent size, whether he looks a healthy and like he should. many people on here will tell you that he looks just right for a pup his age. Is your vet experienced with shepherds? An experienced vet could give a better opinion as well. But as i said, he looks healthy and normal to me. Some pups are just bigger than others of the same age. Saw a 5 month old pup the other day who was huge!!! I swear he could have been 9-10 months old and he was in good body condition and weight. he's just a big boy. You have a good looking pup.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

I'm not much help on this one, but that is one handsome pup! 

Also, since you're feeding a LB puppy food, he should be fine. I believe it's when you feed regular puppy food when problems can arise from the levels in the food making them grow too fast, since they're not formulated for the slower growth of large breeds.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

my boy averaged 1.5 lbs to 2.0 lbs a week.
how much are you feeding your pup? i've
never fed puppy food to my dogs.


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## DebGem (Apr 7, 2010)

I have monitored my litter from day one every single week, being that I'm keeping two puppies, actually the oldest and the youngest (the farthest two on my icon) and fostering the third one on the far right til Nov for the buyer, I have had the luxury of monitoring their growth all the way. 

From the get-go they've gained 1-3 lbs per week and the vet's been amazed but not said it's too much too fast. Only once did we get alarmed and that was with Atlas, the oldest, who is (was until this last week when Roush passed him by 3 lbs now) the largest, came up lame one week did we worry about pano. But xrays and a complete check up turned up no problem, and swelling later revealed a bug bite to the ankle that ballooned over and lamed him for two weeks. [florida is so good about that] 

But now at 5.5 months, Atlas is 61#, Roush (his buyer is a Ford fan) is 64# and Athena the youngest female is 51# and they're all very healthy and beautiful. All muscle, strong, agile and very good looking pups who get raves everywhere they go, including their current show trainer. 

It's been a great first litter!


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## mssandslinger (Sep 21, 2010)

zero gained about 15 lbs a month while he was on science diet and i switched him to BB puppy and he is getting tall very fast, i think i need to switch him again


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## Zoeys mom (Jan 23, 2010)

I remember thinking Zoe was going to be like Clifford the big red dog if her growth didn't slow- but it did between 6-8 months. In the last two months she's barely gained 5 lbs. and looks great. Your's is probably just a going to grow up all at once and then halt earlier than other dogs


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