# Gaining too much weight too quickly?



## GSD4life_ (Dec 20, 2013)

I took Ari to the vet on Friday, and she weighed in at 21 pounds at 4 months old . She isn't a picky eater, and always eats as much as I give her, she just stays more on the slim side. My vet suggested that I up her feed to a total of 4 cups - she had been getting 3 - a day (side note; she is being fed natural choice) to see if she puts on any weight. We have access to use their scale whenever we want, so I stopped by today to see if she's gained any, and she weighed in at 25.6...that seems like a very rapid weight gain to me, 4.6 pounds in 2 days...just wanted to check in and see if I'm just being a worry wart, or if that was a very quick time to gain so much. Thank you!

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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

If she was in good condition (lean but not overly skinny, not chubby), on 3 cups a day, that's probably fine for now. How much she currently weighs and how many cups a day she's eating is pretty meaningless compared to her condition. Different puppies will be different sizes at various stages of development and will require different amounts of nutrition. And the number of cups is only relative to the amount of calories in that particular food - 3 cups of a food that has 300 calories per cup is not going to compare with 3 cups of food that has 400 calories per cup! 

Over 4 pounds in two days does seem like a lot, my puppies have usually put on around 3 pounds a week, but that's going to vary from puppy to puppy too. If she is too thin and you feel like you need to increase her food a bit, I'd start with a half cup more per day, divided between her meals. Keep in mind that her caloric needs will be changing a lot over the next few months, so I like to check their condition every few days by running my hand down their side to feel their ribs, then increase or decrease a small amount, as necessary.


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## eddie1976E (Nov 7, 2010)

My 12 week of puppy is 22 pounds now and looks "skinny" to me...but after looking at the Body Condition Score, he is a 4 or 5, so I think we are on target. I would go by look rather than weight and the feeding recommendations on the food bag. Although, I think mine is always hungry so I am going to increase his intake a little bit as he is starting to go through a growth stage.


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## GSD4life_ (Dec 20, 2013)

Thank you both for the advice! She is definitely not skinny, just lean...I prefer that over her being chubby. I am going to go back to 3 cups, maybe 3 1/2 verses 4, because like I said..4.6 pounds in 2 days sounds odd to me.

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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

GSD4life_ said:


> She is definitely not skinny, just lean...I prefer that over her being chubby.
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As do many of us.


SuperG


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## Harry and Lola (Oct 26, 2013)

They can gain and lose weight very quickly. She has gained 1kg (2.2 pounds) a day for 2 days, this does seem quite a lot of increased weight quickly even though you are only feeding 1 extra cup, but I assume Natural Choice is a high calorie kibble, so maybe increase by 1/2 cup a day instead of 1. At 4mo you would want her around 28 pounds, no more than 35.


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