# Help feeding a 4 month old underweight puppy



## 474217 (Mar 7, 2018)

On february I adopted a 3 month GSD female, needless to say she was the cutest girl ever. Sadly, she was kinda underweight, I could see and touch her ribs and her skin clearly didn't have enough fat to cover them, her waist was really slim. The vet told me to mix her dried food (I feed her with RC maxi junior for large breeds) with chicken or any meat, so I did. Now she's been growing like crazy, last check at her new vet (with 3 1/2 month) she weighted 11.5 kg, but she still looks skinny, her waist is so narrow :C. I looked for better quality food and i found Taste of the wild (I live in Chile and couldn't find wellness or acana), but now i learned that it's really bad for puppies since it has a really high calcium content (because it seems it's made for all ages). I'm lost, don't know what to do. Up until now, I have mixed her dry RC food with rice, cow liver, beef and chicken breast (all of these are cooked), and I always feed her over the amount of dry food I should (plus that, I add the food I cook).

I found taste of the wild puppy pacific stream formula and it made me even more confused, since I read a lot of comments saying that TOTW didn't have a puppy formula, wich caused the calcium problem.

Can anyone give advice about this?, should I keep feeding her with RC or do I change it for TOTW? the vets I know doesn't really know about which food its better, but one of them told me to keep feeding her with my cooked food + dry food. Here in chile I can also get Brit care, is it a good option? Please help!

pd: she's always hungry


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

She may need to be dewormed. It's very common for puppies to need deworming several times -- sometimes a round of dewormer fixes these weight-gain issues very easily.


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## 474217 (Mar 7, 2018)

The time we went to her vet she was dewormed internally, so I doubt she has any remaining worms. I can't find any worms in her poop either. I feel like shes using all her food to grow instead of gaining weight.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Can you post a picture from her side and from above her back, both while she is standing?


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## tc68 (May 31, 2006)

sofia.o said:


> On february I adopted a 3 month GSD female, needless to say she was the cutest girl ever. Sadly, she was kinda underweight, I could see and touch her ribs and her skin clearly didn't have enough fat to cover them, her waist was really slim. The vet told me to mix her dried food (I feed her with RC maxi junior for large breeds) with chicken or any meat, so I did. Now she's been growing like crazy, last check at her new vet (with 3 1/2 month) she weighted 11.5 kg, but she still looks skinny, her waist is so narrow :C. I looked for better quality food and i found Taste of the wild (I live in Chile and couldn't find wellness or acana), but now i learned that it's really bad for puppies since it has a really high calcium content (because it seems it's made for all ages). I'm lost, don't know what to do. Up until now, I have mixed her dry RC food with rice, cow liver, beef and chicken breast (all of these are cooked), and I always feed her over the amount of dry food I should (plus that, I add the food I cook).
> 
> I found taste of the wild puppy pacific stream formula and it made me even more confused, since I read a lot of comments saying that TOTW didn't have a puppy formula, wich caused the calcium problem.
> 
> ...


Most of us will tell you to get better quality brands like Acana, Orijen, Victor, etc. But since they're not available, then stick with RC. Since you can find RC maxi junior for large breeds, you should be able to find RC German Shepherd Puppy Dry Dog Food. Ask the store where you buy it to order it for you if they don't have it. TOTW Pacific Puppy is ok too. If you're worried about these 2 brands, I used to mix half RC GSD and half TOTW Pacific to my dog for 10 years. (Not the puppy formula for both because they didn't have it back then. Now they do.) He did fine on the mix and loved it that way. He lived almost 12 years. Good luck.


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## Femfa (May 29, 2016)

A photo would definitely help for sure. Lots of people liked to comment my girl was “starving”, but in reality she was a good weight. This is what she looked like...

9 Weeks:










~ 12 weeks:










~ 16 weeks:










My girl is always hungry, even to this day at almost a year old, lol. She’ll eat until she explodes and has been that way since a puppy. I think too many people are used to seeing overweight dogs. Scale number doesn’t necessarily dictate a healthy weight, either. It’s definitely what you can see and feel. 

If you can get photos that are directly from the side and from above, it’ll help us tell you more about what her body condition might be. My photos are just kind of for reference what a healthy weight might look like.


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## 474217 (Mar 7, 2018)

sorry for the wait, here are some pictures of her (are about a week old, took them but never uploaded).

Im still considering the change of her food though, but find any decent review of Brit Care.


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## Femfa (May 29, 2016)

She looks fine to me. Lots of times when dogs are eating or drinking they're sucking in, and it makes them look skinnier than they actually are. She might be a touch skinny, but nothing where I would be majorly concerned about her well being myself. Too many people are accustomed to fat dogs, so when they see a dog that's an appropriate weight they freak out, haha.


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## Seer (May 24, 2011)

Puppies need high protein. Beef, beef and more of it. Lots of raw meat. With the photo I would not be overly concerned, that said a lack of amino acid and B inefficiencies are very much not desirable and/or bad.


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## [email protected] (Jan 16, 2018)

*Growing up vs growing out*



sofia.o said:


> The time we went to her vet she was dewormed internally, so I doubt she has any remaining worms. I can't find any worms in her poop either. I feel like shes using all her food to grow instead of gaining weight.


I have heard it said (from breeders) that they go through stages, sometimes growing OUT (might look like "sausage on pins" for a while) and then get bigger but skinny (growing UP). Some say giving (raw) ribs is good for weighting up. As long as she is a healthy weight, and you can feel some ribs but they are not too sharp, and she has a waistline, she should be OK. That's what I am aiming for per people's advice on this forum. Making her overweight is bad for her.


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## [email protected] (Jan 16, 2018)

Femfa said:


> She looks fine to me. Lots of times when dogs are eating or drinking they're sucking in, and it makes them look skinnier than they actually are. She might be a touch skinny, but nothing where I would be majorly concerned about her well being myself. Too many people are accustomed to fat dogs, so when they see a dog that's an appropriate weight they freak out, haha.


So true! People forget what "healthy" looks like! I think that pup looks good too.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

sofia.o said:


> The time we went to her vet she was dewormed internally, so I doubt she has any remaining worms. I can't find any worms in her poop either. I feel like shes using all her food to grow instead of gaining weight.



Worms have life cycles. The first time she was dewormed, it got the live ones but eggs may have been left behind. You not seeing them does not mean they are not there.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

She looks fine in those pictures. She's probably just going thru an awkward stage. If she's gaining weight, I wouldn't get to concerned.


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## Denise1633 (Dec 18, 2020)

474217 said:


> On february I adopted a 3 month GSD female, needless to say she was the cutest girl ever. Sadly, she was kinda underweight, I could see and touch her ribs and her skin clearly didn't have enough fat to cover them, her waist was really slim. The vet told me to mix her dried food (I feed her with RC maxi junior for large breeds) with chicken or any meat, so I did. Now she's been growing like crazy, last check at her new vet (with 3 1/2 month) she weighted 11.5 kg, but she still looks skinny, her waist is so narrow :C. I looked for better quality food and i found Taste of the wild (I live in Chile and couldn't find wellness or acana), but now i learned that it's really bad for puppies since it has a really high calcium content (because it seems it's made for all ages). I'm lost, don't know what to do. Up until now, I have mixed her dry RC food with rice, cow liver, beef and chicken breast (all of these are cooked), and I always feed her over the amount of dry food I should (plus that, I add the food I cook).
> 
> I found taste of the wild puppy pacific stream formula and it made me even more confused, since I read a lot of comments saying that TOTW didn't have a puppy formula, wich caused the calcium problem.
> 
> ...


Hello, I'm not sure if this post is still active but I moved to Chile too and adopted a German Shepherd that was found in the streets. He's been with me for a couple of days now and he's doing amazing. The only thing is that he is severely underweight. He is about to be 3 months and he's only weighing at 8 pounds. I feed him Waffen Premium because I was told that was a really good brand here. Do you have any suggestions on how I can help him gain weight? After two years, how is your puppy doing?


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

OP hasn't been on here since that ONE POST two years ago


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